Hello, everyone, Because of the economic challenges facing our state and nation, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will need to cut fuel costs and reduce its general expenditures by several million dollars statewide by June 30, 2009.
To do our part, Riverside State Park will be changing operating hours in two areas of the park during the winter. The ORV and equestrian areas of the park will be open weekends only through November and then will close for the winter starting December 1.
We are planning to reopen both areas in March or April; however, this will depend on weather and road conditions. We also will be performing limited snow plowing of park roads and trailheads during the winter. We will do our best to keep the Bowl and Pitcher day-user area and the Highway 291 boat launch site clear of snow.
We put a lot of thought into how we can make these required budget cuts with the least amount of inconvenience to our visitors. We decided the best thing to do was to reduce operating hours during the off-season months and keep the hours of operation the same for the peak season (May to September).
We considered winter attendance figures and use patterns as well as the cost of fuel to maintain these areas. We do not anticipate further service reductions at this time, but we will keep you posted. I appreciate your support of State Parks through these tough economic times.
Please feel free to give me a call with questions or suggestions. Rene’ Wiley Riverside State Park Area Manager 9711 W. Charles Road Nine Mile Falls, WA. 99026 (509) 465-5064
