Thurston County plans to close trails at Burfoot Park for three to six months starting around spring 2027 to rebuild deteriorating footbridges and stairways.

The closures are part of a two-phase capital improvement project at the park on Boston Harbor Road Northeast, The Olympian reported Tuesday, Aug. 25.

The work will replace wooden bridges and stairways that have exceeded their life expectancy along the trails connecting the hilltop parking area to the Budd Inlet shoreline.

The structures are failing. County documents describe them as deteriorated "to a point that they do not serve the volume of people who use the facility."

The project carries a combined budget of roughly $960,000 across both phases, according to Thurston County's Capital Improvement Program.

Phase 1 is estimated at about $519,440, funded primarily through Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) revenue, with $351,000 budgeted in 2026 and $89,500 in 2027. Phase 2 carries $440,000 in grant funding split evenly across those same two years.

The park's main draw is shoreline access to Puget Sound and Budd Inlet, reached by the trail system's bridges and stairways. The county describes Burfoot as a heavily used facility popular with residents and visitors to the region.

Burfoot Park, at 6927 Boston Harbor Road NE, is one of Thurston County's five regional parks, alongside Deschutes Falls Park, Kenneydell Park, Frye Cove Park and Guerin Park. It is open daily from 9 a.m. to dusk.

The design phase was underway as of the county's 2025–2030 Capital Improvement Program. No specific construction start date beyond "around spring 2027" has been announced. The county has not said which trail segments will remain open during the three-to-six-month closure or whether any alternate routes will be available.