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Project Overview
Clackamas County is updating its park system plan to guide decision-making, planning, and operations for the next decade. The Plan will guide decisions about park operations and maintenance, and future improvements and growth, ensuring long-term fiscal sustainability. The Plan defines the role of Clackamas County Parks within the regional recreation system while balancing community desires with operational and financial sustainability.
Why do we need a system plan?
In a time of tight budgets and competition for funding, a clear and supported system plan allows us to maintain, develop and enhance our parks efficiently and responsibly, to respond to the needs of the community, avoid duplication, and support a healthy environment and a high quality of life for residents and visitors. System plans serve as the blueprint for the future for the parks, and guide decisions on operations, service levels, maintenance, capital improvements, portfolio management, and funding. It is crucial for a park system to have a plan that reflects current and anticipated conditions and needs of the community.
Why now?
Clackamas County Parks needs an updated plan to ensure it meets the community’s evolving needs and to support strategic investment decisions as resources, funding, and assets shift over time. A system plan is often required to qualify for funding opportunities and supports future system investment opportunities.
Who will develop the plan?
The system plan will be developed with extensive and meaningful community engagement through a variety of methods to ensure as many voices will be heard as possible. Community input will directly inform priorities, investment strategies, and the long-term vision for County Parks. A Public Advisory Committee (PAC) will help guide the work, review the input and develop recommendations; the Parks Advisory Board will review and discuss the draft plan, and the final plan will be acted on by the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners, after additional public review.
What is Clackamas County Parks?
The Clackamas County Parks program owns and operates a system of parks in unincorporated areas of the county. The system includes 15 parks and 4 undeveloped properties, totaling nearly 1,000 acres of public land. The system features 242 campsites, 11 picnic shelters, 7 water access sites, and access to the Springwater Corridor Trail. These spaces provide outdoor recreation opportunities including camping, picnicking, hiking, fishing, and water access to approximately 1.4 million visitors each year.
Clackamas County Parks works cooperatively with other park and recreation providers in the area, including the North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District (NCPRD), Oregon State Parks, and federal agencies such as the United States Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.
Explore a map of all the parks owned and operated by Clackamas County.
Timeline
This year-long project, from fall 2025 to fall 2026, will be broken into the following phases.
- Listen and Learn - Background research will be conducted on current conditions and meetings will be held with community members and technical experts to ensure a comprehensive understanding of Clackamas County Parks.
- Plan our Parks Future - This phase will include extensive community outreach through focus groups, surveys, tabling events, and a community meeting to inform the draft vision, goals, objectives, and best practices for the Plan.
- Develop the Plan - Findings from the Listen and Learn phase and input from the Plan our Parks Future phase will be synthesized to draft and finalize the updated Clackamas County Parks System Plan.
Get Involved!
There will be opportunities for community members to provide input throughout the system plan update process. Sign up below to receive emails with project updates and meeting notices. Check back for events and activities throughout spring and summer 2026.
Project Advisory Committee (PAC)
The PAC, made up of community members and business representatives with an interest in County Parks, will meet four times during the update process to review and comment on work products and engagement efforts, help host public events and activities, and serve as liaisons with the community and business community. PAC meetings are open to the public.
Meetings
| Date | Meeting |
|---|---|
| Jan. 21, 2026 6 – 7:30-pm | County Parks System Plan Public Advisory Committee |
Project Library
Project documents and materials are posted here as they become available.
Contact
Tom Riggs, County Parks Manager
Project Manager
parksinfo@clackamas.us
503-742-4414
