May, 2026

May Newsletter

Come celebrate spring with us at Lake Sammamish State Park! Friends of Lake Sammamish State Park is bringing back the howlin’ good times at our Spring Walk ‘n Wag event. Come on out to the park on May 9th starting at 10 am to celebrate at a fun fur friendly event.

If you can’t make our fun walk in the park consider joining us through a lasting donation this spring as we kick off our campaign through Washington GiveBIG to renew the heritage apple orchard at Lake Sammamish State Park. We are seeking to raise $7500 to kickstart the partnership with City Fruit and WA State Parks to bring back a little bite of our community.

May is also mental health awareness month and we want to encourage you all to get outside this month to enjoy the benefits that nature has for our mental and physical well being! When outside, let's remember to be safe and water wise.

Happy Spring,

Paige Basinger

FLSSP Board President

Our work is volunteer driven and community supported. Please join our community of supporters by volunteering with us at the park or donating to support our community events and restoration efforts for an even better, more vibrant Lake Sammamish State Park.

Lets Celebrate Spring Outside and Help our Minds and Body

May is mental health awareness month and we here at FLSSP support the opportunity to reduce the stigma around mental health and create awareness about the benefits of being outside in nature for our mental and physical well being. Nature has proven to be a natural reducer in stress, irritability, and other factors that contribute to our mental load. We are so fortunate to have Lake Sammamish State Park right here in our backyard to get outside, explore, swim, walk, bike and enjoy all that nature has to offer including the benefits to our mental well being. It is fitting that the official color of mental health awareness month is green - come on outside and share in the benefits and bounty of this wonderful community gem. We can’t wait to see you at the park!

Partner Highlight:

Lake Safe

As the Weather Warms be Water Safe

When the weather heats up, who can resist a dip in the lake? May 15th is Washington Water Safety Day and as much as we encourage you all to get outside and enjoy the opportunity the park has to offer including the opportunity to play in the water, we also want to ensure that you play water safe.

Lake Sammamish State Park has two lifejacket stations (at Tibbets Beach and far end of Sunset Beach) where the public can use a life jacket for the day. Please do not hesitate to use and share the life jackets - life jackets can save a life.

Encourage all your friends and family to be water safe this year while we enjoy the fun, sun, sand and water that the park has to offer. To learn more about water safety please visit the WA State Parks Page here

Walk n Wag is Back - May 9th at 10am

Walk n’ Wag 2026 is coming up on May 9th and we can’t wait to welcome all our dog friends and families Saturday, May 9th at 10 am for a fun day at the park! Bring your fur buddies to take a 3K walk in the park, visit our vendor village for all the treats, take part in the costume contest, participate in some fun art led by Wicked Rae's, register for puppy yoga, and so much more. Register today to join us at the park on May 9th and don’t forget to get your dog a hand crocheted hat!

FLSSP would like to thank our sponsors for Walk n’ Wag 2026: Bellevue Veterinary Emergency & Specialty, Alpine Animal Hospital and The Grange Supply! All proceeds from Walk n’ Wag go toward supporting projects and improvements at Lake Sammamish State Park.

Join the Fun!

Dog at the Park

As we host Walk n Wag at Lake Sammamish State Park FLSSP would like to remind you of the dog rules for Lake Sammamish. Dogs are welcomed and encouraged at the park, but please remember to keep our fur friends leashed and under physical control at all times. Dogs are not permitted at designated swim areas. Please do not leave your dog in your car at the park.

GiveBIG for FLSSP 2026:

Help Renew the Heritage Apple Orchard at Lake Sammamish State Park

Get your giving spirit ready to adopt a tree or apple bud at Lake Sammamish State Park! This GiveBIG season, FLSSP needs your help to raise $7,500 to support our effort to renew the heritage apple orchard at Lake Sammamish State Park in partnership with City Fruit and WA State Parks. For each donation of $50 (or more!) FLSSP will put your name on a plaque near the Orchard that you are helping renew. GiveBIG is May 5th, but you can start giving today at GiveBIG. FLSSP and support our work to restore and renew Lake Sammamish State Park and its heritage apple trees!

Camp S’more July 25-26, 2026

Remember to mark your calendars for a wild night of fun at Camp Smore July 25th and July 26th. Cougar Mountain Zoo will be joining us for our wild nights presentation so don’t miss out on this special opportunity to camp out under the stars at Lake Sammamish State Park.

Registration will open soon.

Restoring Lake Sammamish One Acre at a Time!

Please join us May 16th from 10am to noon for our Spring Restoration Series

Spring has sprung and now is the time to get outside and pull those weeds. This May 16th from 10 am - noon join us to get your hands a bit dirty as we pull non-natives from the Bat Box Meadows site, spread down wood chips and mulch, and work on caging the red cedars to protect them as they grow. Join us as we work to restore Lake Sammamish State Park one acre at a time. Register here.

Community News

Road Closure just Past the Park Entrance

Starting soon, Northwest Sammamish Road just west of the Lake Sammamish State Park entrance will be closed as Washington Department of Transportation works to build a new bridge over Schneider Creek to help fish recovery. To learn more please visit WSDOT site here: I-90 – Lewis, W. Village Park, Schneider Creeks – fish passage projects | WSDOT

Please be aware that the Eastlake Sammamish Trail and Parkway will also be closed to use.

Learn More about FLSSP

Hannah Rudin, FLSSP Board Member, joined Cascade of History Live Broadcast to share a little about our organization Friends of Lake Sammamish State Park. We hope you enjoy the show here. Skip ahead to minute 32 if you just can’t wait to hear about FLSSP. You can check us out on social media too!

Coming Soon Bat Boxes for Bat Box Meadows

Thanks to our community’s generous support we will be replacing the aging bat boxes with new ones at Bat Box Meadows in the coming months. When the weather gets warmer and the ground dries out make sure you take a walk on the orchard loop and check out our restoration site at Bat Box Meadows and see if you can spot the new bat boxes coming soon. To learn more about bat houses please visit our friends at Bats Northwest here.

See you at the park!

operations@flssp.org