[Ski]

Oak Tree Park 10-28-14 Low elevation urban dayhike. Total trail miles: ± 1.0 mi. Max. elevation gain: ± 80 feet (Trail mile figure above is approximate and does not include the Water Ditch Trail, which remains under construction.) The main entrance and parking lot are South 74th & Cedar. There are also access points from South Pine Street, South 80th Street, and South Tacoma Way. Oak Tree Park is an area of approximately 25 acres, and is a small remnant of the native Oak-grass prairie ecosystem that once stretched from present-day DuPont almost to McKenna: historically maintained by aboriginal native Americans by repeated burning to prevent the encroachment of underbrush and Douglas Fir in order to provide abundant harvests of Camas root, a staple part of their diet. The introduction of sheep by white settlers wiped out the Camas root, and development has eliminated most of what was formerly known as "The American Plain", most of which is now on what was known as the "9th Division Prairie" on Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Predominant species are native Garry Oak, Douglas Fir, Pacific Madrone, and Black Cottonwood, with an understory of mostly Snowberry and Oregon Grape. Unfortunately much of the Park has been overrun with non-native invasive species: Himalaya Blackberry (Rubus Procerus), English Ivy (Hedera Helix), and Scotch Broom (Cytisus Scoparius). A relatively new facility, Oak Tree Park was established in 1996, and remains mostly undeveloped other than the trail system, which is still under construction. On my arrival, I met Dean and Mike S., who I haven't seen in over 30 years. South Tacoma is indeed a small world. We talked a bit about the projects currently under construction at the Park. There is fresh water available, which will be of particular interest to those seeking to protect their precious bodily fluids.

As in other MetroParks facilities, there's a map at the main entrance trailhead, as well as "You Are Here" signs along the trails, and an interpretive sign at a point providing an overlook view.

oak_tree_park_aerial_map

The trail system winds through Oaks and Douglas Firs, and there's just enough trail to keep it interesting.

The "Oak Tree Trail" will take one to the southwest corner of the Park at the 7900-block of South 80th Street. MetroParks Tacoma would do well to take some proactive measures to stop the local residents from dumping their yard waste inside the Park before it starts looking like the northeast corner of Seahurst Park in Burien. The "Camas Trail" will take one to the south end of the Park to a dead-end on the end of 33rd Avenue South, which appears to be in the back corner of a mobile-home park.

To the west of the "Camas Trail" is a parcel which is not part of the Park, and is typical of most undeveloped real estate in South Tacoma which is accessible by vehicle. It's actually not nearly as bad as were the sites on which presently sit the Home Depot at 74th & Tacoma Mall Boulevard or the Lowes at Center & Orchard.

The "Water Ditch Trail", presently under construction, ends at the 7800 block of South Tacoma Way, directly across the street from a car dealership.

To be fair, in spite of the construction mess and the piles of garbage on the adjoining parcel, parts of this little piece of the planet are quite nice.

I do, however, after perusing their Design Plan question the wisdom of penciling in a $10,000 "observation tower" that will most likely become the target of vandalism and graffiti, and offer views possibly of Rainier on clear days but otherwise mostly the backsides of strip malls, car dealerships, and mobile home parks. This is particularly puzzling when they've only allotted $5,000 for removal of invasive species, very little of which has been done, and if the ivy and blackberry and Scotch broom aren't removed, the effort to retain a small piece of that Oak-grass prairie ecosystem will have been in vain. A nice little nature walk in the very heart of South Tacoma, about a mile west of where I grew up. From the planning documents and all the heavy equipment on site, it looks like they have big plans. I look forward to seeing them completed and revisiting this area.

[puzzlr]

Interesting how a relatively small area of park land gets such intense design scrutiny. Those fancy interpretive signs cost 3 times what they allocated for invasive weed removal -- $15K!

[Chico]

I like the oaks down along Scatter Creek (Scatter Creek Wildlife Area) south of Olympia. They are actually on an adjoining property that a property owner allows the state to manage for bird hunters. It's a dandy area just for walking. Even a few mounds to ponder over like you do at Mima Mounds.