Visit Wheelchair-Accessible Portage Park

Covering accessible travel isn’t easy. Charles and I do tons of pre-trip research followed by detailed in-person visits, in order to uncover the wheelchair-accessible gems we share with our readers. It’s not exactly glamorous, but I’ve been doing this for over 30 years and I love it. It’s a process that we’ve honed over the years, and with due diligence it yields impressive results. Such was the case last week when we were checking out some possible new accessible additions to the International Selkirk Loop (https://emerginghorizons.com/the-international-selkirk-loop-for-wheelchair-users-and-slow-walkers/). And low and behold we discovered wheelchair-accessible Portage Park, a newly constructed stop on this international driving loop.

A Seattle City Light Project

Located in Metaline Falls in Northeastern Washington, Portage Park is a project of Seattle City Light. The utility owns Boundary Dam, which is located upriver and provides a substantial portion of Seattle’s energy. As a result of this ownership, Seattle City Light is required to implement measures that mitigate the impact of nearby recreational opportunities. And Portage Park is one one of those measures.

To be fair, Portage Park is an unofficial name. The locals dubbed it that because it’s a safe place for paddlers to put-in and subsequently dodge the dangerous rapids in the river. I spoke to one local lady who was enjoying the park with her walker; and she was excited about this new development for safer canoeing and kayaking. She also liked the accessible pathways through the park. But even though she lives nearby, she still had problems finding this new riverfront area.

Admittedly, finding the correct turnoff to the park on Highway 31 can be a bit tricky. Portage Park is located in “the village” area of Metaline Falls, which is about one mile north of the Metaline Falls Bridge. In order to find it, you need to turn west on Larsen Boulevard off of Highway 31, then bear left when you come to a fork in the road. Portage Park is located near the end of the road. Once you get on the right road, it’s easy to find, but there are currently no signs on the highway. Hopefully that will change in the future.

Wheelchair-Accessible Portage Park

The good news about Portage Park, is that once you find it, it’s a great spot for wheelchair-users and slow walkers. In fact, access was figured into this project from the beginning. I look at a lot of “accessible” projects, and I can tell that great care was taken in the planning stages of this one.

Of course there are accessible parking spots near the accessible vault toilets; but they went one step further with the signage. The spaces of all the accessible spaces are of course marked; however there’s also an extra sign over in the hash mark section, to remind folks not to park there. I know this shouldn’t be necessary; however it never hurts to educate the public.

From the parking area, there’s level access over to a wide paved trail which leads in both directions. The left section winds through a picnic area along the river for about 850 feet to an accessible viewing platform, which offers a great view of the river. If you go the other way on the trail it’s about 500 feet to an equally accessible viewing platform. There are benches on the platforms and they are just nice spots to chill and enjoy the river views.

There are also a few accessible picnic tables near the parking lot, but the ones along the river are shaded and more private. And just so there are no misunderstandings, there are also signs that mark the end of the accessible trails.

It’s a very peaceful area, and wheelchair-accessible Portage Park makes a great road trip picnic stop. So next time you are passing through Metaline Falls, take some time to enjoy this beautiful — and barrier-free — river view area. Best of all, it’s free.