Lake Sylvia State Park to close June 10 – Sept. 30 for construction project

The entirety of Lake Sylvia State Park will close this summer for construction, including the campground, lake access, and day-use areas. The closure is expected to last from June 10 – Sept. 30. 

The campground is expected to reopen Oct. 1 for first-come-first-served campers, which is standard during shoulder and low season. 

According to Washington State Parks (Parks), the construction will replace a failing culvert that runs under the park’s entrance road. The culvert will be removed, and a bridge will be built over the stream. This is the only paved, year-round vehicular access to the park. 

The project will improve safety on the entrance road to Lake Sylvia and improve the connectivity of the stream that is currently constricted by the existing culvert and associated road fill. Staff at Lake Sylvia and the Friends of Schafer and Lake Sylvia will also use this time to beautify the park. 

Parks says that it is important to know while Parks is completing its culvert replacement project, the City of Montesano is also doing sidewalk construction on Sylvia Lake Road, which leads to the park entrance. That means parking on Sylvia Lake Road outside the park and walking into the park will not be possible. 

Parks officials encourage residents to reach out to the City for more details on their project. 

The entrance to the park will be an active construction site with heavy equipment needed to remove thousands of cubic feet of soil associated with the culvert and build the bridge. Safety is our most important priority; for the safety of visitors, staff and contractors, we ask that people not try to go around this construction site to walk into the park. 

The community trails around and above the park will be accessible by foot through the city forest. 

Parks asked that people contact the City of Montesano for more information on city forest trails.

 There should not be impacts to visitors or the community before June 10 or once the construction is completed.