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King County Parks launches Ranger Program to enhance park safety and improve the visitor experience
Summary
May 19, 2025: King County Parks is launching a new Park Ranger Program this summer to enhance visitor experience and safety with specially trained Rangers serving as ambassadors, educators, and public safety resources across regional parks, trails and backcountry areas.
News
King County Parks in June will launch a new Park Ranger Program to provide a greater staff presence and enhance the visitor experience across its extensive parks and trails system. The first cohort of six Park Rangers will begin their duties this summer, serving as welcoming ambassadors, educators, and public safety resources for park visitors.
King County Parks conducted extensive community outreach to assess what it would take to increase equitable access to parks, trails, and natural areas. Participants consistently said they wanted more official staff presence to create a safe, welcoming environment for all visitors.
The Park Rangers will begin performing field work on June 7.
“The Parks Ranger Program was developed in response to community requests for on-site professionals who can help ensure that King County’s parks, trails, and natural areas are safe, welcoming places all people can enjoy,” said King County Parks Director Warren Jimenez. “The Rangers are key to a broader strategy to keep the places where people gather, relax, and play clean, safe, and open.”
Park Rangers will be assigned across King County’s regional parks, trails, and conservation areas, with assignments based on visitor activity and community needs. Rangers will also work in pairs for backcountry and bike patrols to ensure coverage of King County’s vast outdoor spaces. Visitors will be able to easily recognize Park Rangers by their distinctive uniforms and the King County Parks insignia on their vehicles and mountain bikes.
This insignia will be on King County Park Rangers' uniforms, vehicles, and mountain bikes.
The curriculum includes training for anti-bias, search and rescue, backcountry mountain bike training, trauma-informed de-escalation, Wilderness First Aid, active shooters, defensive driving, First Aid, CPR, bomb threats, King County’s immigrant and refugee ordinance, cultural resources, animal control and safety, and harassment prevention for employees.
The Park Rangers Program is part of a broader approach by King County Parks to improve visitor safety and accessibility. Along with operations, maintenance, and programming staff, community partners, and the King County Sheriff’s Office, the Rangers will foster positive interactions through community engagement, education, and voluntary compliance with park rules.
"Can we talk of integration until there is integration of hearts and minds? Unless you have this, you only have a physical presence, and the walls between us are as high as the mountain range," Chief Dan George (Geswanouth Slahoot), Tsleil-Waututh Nation.
"I appreciate the way that King County Parks involved the community in the process of developing the Rangers program from surveys to focus groups and input from partners like Golden Bricks Events,” Chevon Powell, Founder and Managing Director of Golden Bricks Events. “Seeing community engagement evolve into a program that is not only about safety but also about fostering a sense of belonging in our parks is truly awesome."
The program is funded by the voter-approved King County Parks Levy.
Multimedia
- VIDEO: Park Ranger Spotlight: Enhancing Safety and Belonging at King County Parks
- TRACKS: An interactive map of environmental stewardship in King County
Resources
Quotes
The Park Ranger Program was developed in response to community requests for on-site professionals who can help ensure that King County’s parks, trails, and natural areas are safe, welcoming places all people can enjoy. The Rangers are key to a broader strategy to keep the places where people gather, relax, and play clean, safe, and open.
I appreciate the way that King County Parks involved the community in the process of developing the Rangers program from surveys to focus groups and input from partners like Golden Bricks Events. Seeing community engagement evolve into a program that is not only about safety but also about fostering a sense of belonging in our parks is truly awesome.
We're excited to work with the King County Park Rangers this year at Refuge Outdoor Festival, a 3-day camping event geared toward People of Color. It's an opportunity for our attendees to connect directly with King County Parks and receive information and support in a more personal, human-centered way.
Can we talk of integration until there is integration of hearts and minds? Unless you have this, you only have a physical presence, and the walls between us are as high as the mountain range.
Contact
Eleanor Lee, King County Parks, 206-477-4530