McGarvey Natural Area

About the park

Acquired by King County in 2000, McGarvey Park Open Space is a 400 acre multi-use forest connecting King County's Petrovitsky Park with Wetland 14 Natural Area and Spring Lake/Lake Desire Park. Over 5 miles of trails fit for hiking, biking and equestrian use wind through McGarvey Park and connect with the trail system at Spring Lake/Lake Desire Park.  The property was acquired through the “4:1” Program which is a growth management tool that creates an open space buffer between urban and rural lands.

As a multiuse site, King County actively manages the Parks forest to conserve habitat biodiversity while encouraging passive recreation use.  Historical logging activity resulted in the property growing an unusually high percentage of bigleaf maple and red alder. Through active management, King County is working to restore a more healthy mixed coniferous deciduous forest with multiple canopy layers and a diverse plant community.

There are four wetlands in McGarvey that provide critical habitat for many birds and amphibians as well as beaver and a variety of native wetland plants and fungi. With active management and regeneration of a mixed coniferous forest, McGarvey park will also provide valued habitat for upland plants and wildlife.

Park activities and facilities