Page 58 - Southern Oregon Magazine Summer 2021

neck of the woods | parks

increase livability, not just for people in the city, but for the
whole area,” believes Mayor Carol Westfall.

“I use them myself, and so does my family,” says Dan Blake,
chairman of the city parks advisory board. He’s a trail run-
ner, plays tennis, and is a swimmer who enjoys family outings
with his wife and children at city parks.

Like Westfall and Bellon, Blake notes opportunities that exist just
outside the city limits, including the 150-acre Steen Sports Park
with its indoor field house, indoor batting cages, soccer, baseball
and softball fields, hiking-jogging trails, sand volleyball, and ten-
nis/pickleball courts.

Klamath Falls’ largest park is 458-acre Moore Park. It’s a regional
hub because it offers diverse activities, including a youth play area,
picnic areas with barbecue pits, soccer fields, disc golf, a marina,
and several miles of walking, running and mountain biking trails
that are used by cross country skiers and snowshoers during
snowy winters.

Opening this summer at Moore Park is a new 6-acre bicycle skills
area, where beginners can learn and develop bicycle and moun-
tain biking abilities. Planned for 2022 is a 20,000-square-foot
“Destination” playground with features such as a tree house, long
slides, wheelchair swing, beginner zipline, and play structures
resembling an F-15 jet, Crater Lake, and a lava tube cave.

Boaters and kayakers can access Upper Klamath Lake from the
Moore Park Marina, while across town Veterans Memorial Park
gives kayakers access to Lake Ewauna. Trails from the park include
the Klamath Wingwatchers’ Lake Ewauna Nature Trail, which fol-
lows the western shore of the lake, and the geothermally heated
Lake Ewauna Trail along the lake’s east shore.

From Vets Park it’s a short walk to the south end of the Link River
Nature Trail, which follows the river upstream past Klamath’s
“falls” to Upper Klamath Lake, passing a new trail that provides
access to Moore Park. At the Link River Trail’s north end is
Putnam Park, where birdwatchers seasonally congregate to watch
dancing grebes.

For water lovers there’s the Ella Redkey Swimming Pool, an out-
door Olympic-size pool that’s geothermally heated and open all
year, even during subfreezing winters. Open swim sessions, water
aerobics, lap swimming, lessons and a range of water-related
activities are offered, including a day when owners are encouraged
to swim with their dogs.

Different, too, is the Klamath Piano Project. Each spring pianos
are placed at select downtown locations. Each piano is decorated
with colorful designs created by local artists. Most years they’re
moved to storage sites in September, but they’ll be in place longer
this year because Klamath Falls is hosting the Oregon Main Street
State Conference in the downtown area October 6-8.

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