Mable Kerr Park
 Mable Kerr Park, located at 4600 Gifford Place, nestles between Orchard Hills Golf Course to the North, Sunset View Road to the East, the Washougal School District to the South, and the Gifford-Liedtke neighborhood to the West. The property lines have long been confused in this park. Most of what the park users have come to know is actually Washougal School District land. Now a gravel path and property corner posts delineate the two properties. Individual volunteers and groups such as Young Life stepped forward to build all of the trails through this park and plant over 500 trees. The Parks Foundation of Clark County donated funds and collected volunteers for the 2009 Earth Day trail building and tree-planting event. One section of trail remains unfinished on the East side of the pedestrian bridge; however, volunteer efforts may finish this project in 2010. Trailheads are located at 45th/Gifford Place and at Sunset View Road to the north of the Washougal School District property. This park provides opportunities to view wildlife such as deer, songbirds and heron. Please respect the residents adjacent to the park by keeping your dog on a leash at all times. Weeds, such as English Ivy, prove relentless to cover everything in it’s path. There are ways you can help! 1)Remove English Ivy from your own yard. Birds carry seeds away to infest other sites and small pieces or clippings of stem can re-sprout new plants. Find alternatives to English Ivy in your favorite nursery. 2)Be a part of “Washougal Pulling Together”. Volunteer at the next Ivy or invasive weed pull. Mable Kerr Park was used as prune orchards by the Kerr Family up until the early 1950’s. The Reynolds Aluminum plant in Oregon is rumored to cause the demise of the Clark County prune industry. Kerr Park’s prunes died off and native alder trees and shrubs established. English Ivy and Himalayan Blackberries also gripped the site, such that native tree and shrub growth slowed natural generation of healthy forest. The Kerr Family, wanting the property forever preserved from structural development, entered into a 1998 sale agreement with the Columbia Land Trust and the City of Washougal to save the property as a park. Upon inspection in 2006, the CLT expressed concern of the invasive weeds strangling the park. Washougal Parks Department began aggressively cleaning the site of weeds and hauled out years of garbage and debris… many dump truck loads! The Parks Department currently maintains Kerr Park to the standards that CLT requires and awaits successful transfer of the deed. | |
Park Map: (Click Thumbnail to view map) | Historical Photo: (Click Thumbnail to view) |