Clallam County Commissioners on Monday agreed to send a letter of support for a state Recreation and Conservation Office grant application totaling about $1 million for the Anderson Lake State Park extension of the Olympic Discovery Trail.
The Peninsula Trails Coalition is helping coordinate letters of support for the grant application to build the extension, upgrade the trail and upgrade current facilities along that trail section.
The application is part of a plan to complete the Olympic Discovery Trail from Port Townsend through Anderson Lake State Park and then in future phases extend it the full length of the Quimper Peninsula to link to the existing trail at Discovery Bay.
Jeff Bohman, Peninsula Trails Coalition President, said they embarked on a serious effort with Jefferson County about seven to eight years ago to extend the trail the 11 miles from the Four Corners area to Discovery Bay.
The Jefferson County Commissioners reviewed a study of different route options about four years ago and decided to prioritize the northern section, from Anderson Lake Road to Eaglemount Road. The next section would extend from Eaglemount Road to Discovery Bay.
The coalition is working with the county to fund the extension to the state park as well as with the state to extend the trail through the state park, Bohman said.
“Jefferson County has made good progress during the past three to four years to extend the trail to the state park,” he said. “They have a preliminary design and hope to complete construction in 2024 or 2025.”
The coalition also is working with the state Parks Commission to do the project within the park on an equivalent timeline, which has practical advantages, Bohman said.
Bohman said the approximately $1 million grant request is right in the ballpark with other state grant requests of this type.
It will include a significant upgrade of current facilities along the trail as well as improvements to the trail itself, Bohman said.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached by email at brian.gawley@peninsuladailynews.com.
