Trail access is clearly marked on maps, but when I approach the easternmost trail into Whipple Creek Park, which comes out on Northwest 11th Avenue, some homeowner’s signs says PRIVATE PROPERTY, KEEP OUT! Is this a trailhead or isn’t it? I’d prefer to use this one if I could because it’s nearest my home and the next nearest access is the southern one on 21st Avenue, which features three big scary unchained dogs.
— Frustrated near the Fairgrounds
Whipple Creek Park is a sort of oddity: a large (300 acres) but minimally developed park with a network of rough trails beloved by birders, hikers and horseback riders. Parking is available on Northwest 21st Avenue, and the county has worked with equestrian groups and other volunteers to make various improvements to the trails, including a couple of new bridges over flowing creeks, but no major park developments are planned for Whipple Creek Park.
We put your question about that 11th Avenue access to the Greater Clark Parks District, and unfortunately it seems a pretty open-and-shut case: The map is wrong.
“The Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation Trails Map does show a trail access from Northwest 11th Avenue into Whipple Creek Regional Park,” said spokeswoman Jilayne Jordan. “However, this is actually a privately owned section of trail connecting a commercial stable to the park. It cannot be used by the general public. Please thank the writer for calling it to our attention.
