Lyons Ferry State Park

Lyons Ferry State Park was a state park near Starbuck, in the U.S. state of Washington, from the early 1970s until 2002, when the property lease was relinquished by the state due to budget constraints. [ [http://www.union-bulletin.com/articles/2006/03/26/local_news/local2.txt "New idea floated for state park"] , "Walla Walla Union-Bulletin", March 26, 2006]

Since 2002, the property, owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has been operated by the Port of Columbia as the Lyons Ferry Park and Lyons Ferry Marina. [ [http://portofcolumbia.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=40 Lyons Ferry Park and Marina webpage on the Port of Columbia website] ]

The park is on Washington State Route 261 near the confluence of the Snake and Palouse Rivers, which is considered part of Lake Herbert G. West since the construction of Lower Monumental Dam in the late 1960s.

The park includes a marina, as well as swimming and picnic areas available to the public.

The area is so-named after a ferry across the Snake River which ceased operations in the 1960s. The original ferry is still located at the park. The ferry has since been replaced with the Lyons Ferry Bridge (also known as the Snake River Bridge), still in use today.

The bridge has its own interesting history. The steel truss bridge was originally built for the Columbia River crossing at Vantage, Washington in 1927. In 1963 that crossing was upgraded to a four lane bridge, and the older bridge was dismantled. The same bridge was then re-assembled in 1968 in its current location.

References

External links

* [http://portofcolumbia.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=40 Lyons Ferry Park and Marina webpage on the Port of Columbia website]
*gnis|1502908
*geolinks-US-hoodscale|46.625|-118.21