Columbia Park is a public park located in Benton County,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The park comprises the Columbia Park East in

Kennewick Kennewick () is a city in Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located along the southwest bank of the Columbia River, just southeast of the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima rivers and across from the confluence of the C ...

, and the adjacent Columbia Park West in Richland.City of Kennewick page
Columbia Park
Retrieved January 06, 2009. Together, the parks function as a single park with of shoreline along the Columbia River. The park is a popular destination for residents of the Tri-Cities.

Recreational features

Columbia Park has numerous recreational features, some of which include a privately run

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

, disc golf course and a family fishing pond. There are several trails for hiking and bicycling in Columbia Park. Running the entire length of the park is the

Sacagawea Heritage Trail The Sacagawea Heritage Trail is a relatively flat multi-use recreational trail in the Tri-Cities, Washington. It travels along the Columbia River for its entire length, forming a loop that connects Pasco, Richland and Kennewick. The entire trail ...

, a bike trail that loops around the Tri-Cities providing bicyclists access to Pasco and Central Richland. The trail is popular, especially during times of warm weather. There is a Veterans Memorial in the east end of the park. This memorial has the tallest freestanding granite structure in the United States, standing at 40 feet in height.

Geocaching Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", at specific l ...

in the park is a popular activity. In 2015 there were 19 geocaches in Columbia Park.

Playground of Dreams

In the east end of the park is the ''Playground of Dreams'', which was built in 1999. Around half of the cost of the original playground was donated by Bechtel Hanford, KNDU-TV and Radio Tri-Cities. Around 6,000 volunteers helped in the construction of the playground On November 29, 2003, arsonists burnt down the playground. Again the community raised the needed money to rebuild and volunteers from around the area offered a cumulative total of over 8,000 work hours. The playground was reopened on May 8, 2004. No one was arrested for the crime. The Playground of Dreams has a wooden castle-like structure with artwork that looks like a spaceship, farm, house and pirate ship along with more local themes including the Blue Bridge and the

Cable Bridge The Cable Bridge, officially called the Ed Hendler Bridge and sometimes called the Intercity Bridge, spans the Columbia River between Pasco and Kennewick in southeastern Washington as State Route 397. It was constructed in 1978 and replaced the ...

. There is also a swing set, monkey bars, climbing wall and an obstacle course. Adjacent to the Playground of Dreams are a family fishing pond and an aquatic playground.

Boat Launches

There are a few boat launches in and near Columbia Park, offering boaters access to the Columbia River. All of the launches have parking lots that also serve as trailheads for the Sacagawea Heritage Trail.

Events

Since 1966 Columbia Park has hosted the a hydroplane race known as the

Columbia Cup The HAPO Columbia Cup is an H1 Unlimited hydroplane boat race held each July on the Columbia River in Columbia Park, Tri-Cities, Washington. The race is the main attraction of the annual Water Follies festivities. With the exception of 2020, Tri- ...

. During the Columbia Cup, portions of Columbia Park require a fee to enter and portions of the Sacagawea Heritage Trail are closed. On Independence Day there is a large celebration in the park known as the River of Fire Celebration. There are multiple vendors and daylong activities, ending with fireworks being launched off of a barge floating offshore. There are also several community events held throughout the year, and a polar bear plunge, which is held in the winter.

History

During the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

, Meriwether Lewis and

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Miss ...

traveled along what later became Columbia Park when they explored up to

Bateman Island Bateman Island is an island located on the Columbia River immediately east of the Yakima River Delta between the cities of Richland and Kennewick, Washington, in the United States. It is approximately long and wide () and is part of the city of ...

in Richland. Bateman Island is as far upstream on the Columbia River that they explored. Previous to building the McNary Dam near

Umatilla, Oregon Umatilla (, ) is a city in Umatilla County, Oregon, United States. The population in 2010 was 6,906, but the city's population includes approximately 2,000 inmates incarcerated at Two Rivers Correctional Institution. Umatilla is part of the ...

and SR-240, Columbia Park Trail was US Highway 410 and later US Highway 12. Most of the current route of Columbia Park Trail follows the old route of US 410 except in the east end of the park where the old road is now used as a portion of the Sacagawea Heritage Trail. During the Columbia Cup in July 1996, two men wading through the river stumbled across a human skull. There was a police investigation where more human remains were found. It was determined that the remains belonged to a man who lived around 9,400 years ago. The remains have been named

Kennewick Man Kennewick Man and Ancient One are the names generally given to the skeletal remains of a prehistoric Paleoamerican man found on a bank of the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington, on July 28, 1996. It is one of the most complete ancient ...

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

br>Columbia Park
Retrieved January 06, 2009.

References