Ebey Waterfront Park and Boat Launch Facility opened in August 2005, a $4 million inter-tidal marine park that meets boating needs while serving as a magnet to draw citizens, shoppers and tourists to downtown Marysville. The project was a 10-year effort from the drawing board to its grand opening, but it had been in the imagination of city leaders since the 1940s prior to the project breaking ground in June 2005.

Ebey Waterfront Park provides access to the Snohomish River Delta and Port Gardner Bay for pleasure boaters, anglers and hunters, but it also serves as an invaluable resource for economic development, downtown revitalization and tourism along the city’s southern gateway.

The 5.4-acre park, located south of First Street between SR 529 and the privately-owned Geddes Marina, was purchased by the City for $880,569 in 1998 from Welco Lumber Co., applying a state Interagency for Outdoor Recreation (IAC) grant that assists communities in buying and developing property for motorized boating access. In sum, IAC provided $817,000 toward planning and construction.

Park features include four-lane public boat access, a short-stay moorage float, restroom facilities, Ebey fish plaza, picnic pavilion, space for public fishing, walking trails, landscaping, wetland restoration and wash-down stations. Parking is available for 46 car-trailer combos and 32 regular parking spaces.

A special attraction is a playground imported from Denmark that incorporates a colorful maritime theme into climb-on equipment shaped like channel markers, bell buoys, and other icons of the sea, says Jim Ballew, Parks and Recreation Director.

The park could also serve as the trailhead for a future trail network that would extend west along the Ebey channel into the Snohomish River Delta’s rich tidal estuary, an area shared by all sorts of wetland animals, birds and marine wildlife.

Ebey is a tidally influenced, navigable waterway that requires boaters to pay attention to channel depths and obstacles. Signage is placed recommending that boaters exercise caution at low tides when utilizing the park. For tide information consult www.saltwatertides.com or www.tidesonline.com.

Park construction began in June 2004 by general contractor Premium Construction of Everett, on a project designed by the Hammond Collier Wade Livingstone team, including landscape and urban design consultants Hough Beck & Baird, Inc., and Arai-Jackson Architects, all of Seattle. Asst. City Engineer Jeff Massie served as Project Manager.

The boat launch opened for public use was Aug. 14. Hours are dawn to dusk. Premium Construction will remain on site until the contract is completed in September, Ballew says. For more information about the project and dedication, contact Parks and Recreation at (360) 363-8400.