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Danville-Georgetown

A native Douglas Squirrel sits on a branch nibbling a pinecone

About the Park

Danville-Georgetown Open Space is a 340-acre park located east of Maple Valley. The park is named for the historic railroad line that traveled through the site and the nearby former Georgetown mining town. Former logging roads provide the backbone of an extensive 14-mile trail network within the forested open space.

The site is bordered by Rock Creek Natural Area to the west, the 315-acre Kent Watershed to the south and privately-owned working forest land to the east. Nearby are also the Wetland 79 Natural Area, the BN Peninsula Natural Area, Big Bend Natural Area, Landsburg Reach Natural Area and the 17.4 mile Cedar River Trail connecting Lake Washington to Landsburg.

Note: While the trails at Danville-Georgetown are multi-use, in 2013, Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance and Backcountry Horsemen of Washington, Tahoma Chapter entered into a voluntary agreement wherein trail signs would be installed within Danville-Georgetown and Henry's Ridge Open Spaces to indicate which trails are primarily used by which group according to which group performs the majority of stewardship and trail maintenance at each site.

Park activities and facilities

Dog walking

Hiking

Horseback riding

Mountain biking

Nature observation

Volunteer

 

Mountain bikers are encouraged to use nearby Henry’s Ridge Open Space and Black Diamond Open Space for mountain bike recreation.

Location

Two miles east of Maple Valley, five miles northeast of Black Diamond.

Nearby Bus Stops

143, 168, and DART Route 907  on Maple Valley - Black Diamond Rd SE & SE Kent-Kangley Rd.

Parking

There is roadside parking along SE Summit Landsburg Road.

Trailheads

The main trailhead is on SE Summit Landsburg Rd about one mile northeast of SE 262 St.

Park History

The open space area of Danville-Georgetown and nearby Henry’s Ridge used to be railroad grant land, then industrial timberland, then it was dedicated to King County in exchange for the ability to develop the Maple Ridge Highlands subdivision through the Four-to-One Program, resulting in 575 homes on 150 acres of the property and protecting 600 acres as publicly owned open space.

Formerly known as Maple Ridge Highlands Open Space, the site was renamed by King County Ordinance as Danville-Georgetown Open Space and neighboring Henry’s Ridge Open Space. These two open space areas are bisected by Summit-Landsburg Road. The name “Danville-Georgetown” comes from the old railroad line that used to travel through the northern portion of the area and the name “Georgetown” comes from the old mining town 7 (now merged with Ravensdale) that was in the southeastern portion of the area. Henry’s Ridge refers to an entertainment district during the mining era.

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