PORT ANGELES — Clallam County has completed the acquisition of a 1.2-acre parcel that will serve as a public portal to the shores of Lake Crescent.
County commissioners Tuesday approved a quit claim deed for a donated piece of land at Eagle Point on the southwest side of the lake off U.S. Highway 101.
A private landowner donated the $43,725 parcel to the county to be used for public access.
The land is accessible from a small parking turnout at Eagle Point about a mile east of Fairholme.
“I think we’ve expressed it before, but it bears repeating: Thank you to the estate for this,” Commissioner Jim McEntire said in Tuesday’s commissioners’ meeting.
Public access to freshwater or saltwater is the No. 1 priority in the county’s parks and recreation master plan and a long-standing directive of the Board of County Commissioners.
“That [property] will be a great addition,” McEntire said.
The parcel will remain largely undeveloped except for perhaps a picnic table, county Parks, Fair and Facilities Manager Joel Winborn has said.
Next month, the county Park and Recreation Board will discuss the installation of a sign at the turnout, Winborn said.
The waterfront property is inside Olympic National Park, as is county-owned Camp David Jr. on the north side of the lake.
Winborn has said the property is part of an estate in which the heir had no ties to the area.
The family trust agreed to pay any back taxes prior to the transfer, to which there are no deed restrictions or limitations.
The park board voted unanimously to recommend the property acquisition July 1.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
