JOYCE — Clallam County is polishing the jewel in its crown to sparkle for the official start of summer.
Most improvements to Salt Creek Recreation Area should be finished by Memorial Day, according to Joel Winborn, manager of the county parks division.
Already considered the county’s most picturesque park, Salt Creek has newly built trails, new and disabled-accessible restrooms, paved roads and parking lots, and — for land yacht owners — hard-surface pads with water plus 30-amp and 50-amp electrical hookups.
Other improvements include a basketball court, a sand volleyball court and a new playground.
Workers also will replace a vault toilet so despised by visitors that “we ought to have a public burning,” Winborn said Thursday.
The park lies 14 miles west of Port Angeles off state Highway 112.
While summer visitors will appreciate the enhancements, they also will make Salt Creek a year-round camping destination. Seven of the 39 motorhome pads are pull-through sites that can accommodate king-size rigs.
Despite the improvements for motorized campers, Winborn is most enthused about a new trail that meanders from a parking lot in the park’s southwest corner to the World War II coastal gun emplacements known as Camp Hayden.
From there, the trail leads to the base of Tongue Point, famed for its tide pools.
A paved road also leads to the area — which boats three outlooks over Crescent Bay and the Strait of Juan de Fuca — but the trail keeps walkers out of vehicles’ way.
