News
Annual Member Event - Sept 27th, 1pm Whether you have yet joined as a member or not, take advantage of an opportunity to meet new friends, have fun and learn more about what's ahead for beautiful Lake Sammamish State Park!
Potluck Lunch * Live Music * Nature Scavenger Hunt
Q & A
Lunch and Fun at the Lake!
Join us in the flex space at the beautiful new Sunset Beach Bathhouse at 1 p.m., Sunday, September 27. Bring your families and a dish to share (hors d'oeuvres, main dish, salad or dessert). We'll eat about 1 p.m. while enjoying guitar music from Rick Young. We will provide plates, eating utensils and beverages! See our Facebook page for more info.
New Children's Playground coming!
Check out photos of the new all-accessible playground coming to the park in 2016! Playground designers say it will be the best in the state! www.Playground4All.com Donations are needed to top off the funds needed to build the playground, to be located near Sunset Beach and the new bathhouse. The state legislature is covering 75% of the $1 million needed and the rest is up to the public!
A private donor will match the first $50,000 in donations. For more information on how you can help, email flssp@outlook.com
Saturday, July 11th The celebration of the opening of the new bathhouse at Sunset Beach was a wonderful event and marked the completion of another project to improve the Park.
See the following two links for more complete coverage:
http://mtsgreenway.org/blog/new-beach-house-graces-the-shore-of-lake-sammamish
http://www.issaquahreporter.com/news/312964721.html
Tuesday, July 7th Celebrate the opening of the park's new bathhouse near Sunset Beach at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 7. A ribbon cutting of the bathhouse and a celebration of the park's annexation into the city of Issaquah will be shared by state and local officials, FLSSP members and the public. Tours of the bathhouse, music by Sammamish Symphony string ensemble and refreshments will be offered.
Summer Smash - Free Music June 6th - Go to web site here: Summer Smash
May 6, 2015
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November 23, 2014
Docks Project Wins $1M Boating Facilities Grant – ½ way there
Our Lake Sammamish State Parks Dock project was ranked as tied for second highest priority in competing for Boating Facilities Grant projects from across the state, and should be funded! BUT this project is dependent on an additional $1.1M matching capital grants funding from the legislature through the park service for non-boater elements (like the fishing floats, and a portion allocated to non-power boating use of these docks). The money for Boating Facilities Grants comes from gasoline taxes paid by boaters and therefore must be used for power boat oriented projects. Total funding available for state agency sponsored projects for 2015-2017 is $2M, and based on this ranking our $1M request should be fully funded. The Boating Facilities Grant is ‘use it or lose it’ so it’s critical that the legislature funds the parks portion of this investment.
Project ranking: http://www.rco.wa.gov/
Grant program details http://www.rco.wa.gov/grants/
August 26, 2014
Boat Docks and Beach Improvement Grant Requests
Imagine boat docks surrounding a protected sandy swim area, on a revived and improved Sunset Beach! Two projects in accordance with the 2007 master plan will develop 3 picnic shelters at Sunset Beach, redo the lawn, adding drainage and irrigation, replace trees, and add 2 sand volleyball courts, as well as barbecues and picnic tables. Two "Y" shaped floating boat docks 400' each will improve boater access to the park for everyone including those with disabilities. These new docks are needed because the beach project will be restoring the shoreline both north and south of the swim area, so there will no longer be a place for boats to beach in this area. The park has requested a Boating Facilities Grants of $1M for the dock (with a $375K match by Parks) and $3.17 M from the Recreation and Conservation Funding Board for on-shore improvements. FLSSP is supporting these funding requests and we plan to work with parks on dock design.
Project details are available here: https://secure.rco.wa.gov/PRISM/search/ProjectSnapshot.aspx?ProjectNumber=14-1683 and https://secure.rco.wa.gov/prism/search/projectsnapshot.aspx?ProjectNumber=14-1682 Grant request presentation: https://secure.rco.wa.gov/prism/search/ProjectSnapshotAttachmentData.aspx?id=200526
June 5, 2014
Park Ranger Rich Benson reports that the Sunset Beach Bathhouse will be replaced with a new facility in the summer of 2014.
Construction has begun! Photos soon.
“It will have been 40 years since we have had improvements like this here at the park,” said Ranger Benson. Part of the bathhouse design calls for a lifeguard room, but there is currently no lifeguard program at the park.
“State Parks is currently working with the City of Issaquah to see if there is a partnership opportunity to bring lifeguards back to the park. Comments from the community to local leaders would be welcome.”
May 27, 2014
Thank you Kiwanis Club of Issaquah! A playground design is in the works thanks to the club's $20,000 donation. See our Facebook page for pictures and more details of the Park events.
Find out more about what Friends are up to at the annual meeting, 6:30 pm on June 12 at the state park. Dessert potluck. Everyone is welcome!
March 2014
From Rich Benson:
The Sunset Beach Bathhouse replacement project has been approved and will be completed this year.
Apparently, bids will go out around April 1st with construction beginning early enough to have “substantial” progress by June 13th. That really is good news. It will have been 40 years since we have had improvements like this here at the park. Thanks to everyone who has advocated for this project.
Without substantial evidence that we will have a lifeguard program here in the near future the lifeguard portion of the building will be replaced with something different, like additional shelter space. If that happens, when we potentially do get lifeguards in the future, any space for that program would have to then be addressed. State Parks is currently working with the City of Issaquah to see if there is a partnership opportunity to bring lifeguards back to the park. I don’t have a lot of details on this effort at this time but comments from the community to local leaders would be appropriate.
Thanks for all that you do."