Columbia Park (Tri-Cities)

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Columbia Park is a large public park along the Columbia River in Benton County, Washington, in the Tri-Cities area. It combines Columbia Park East (400 acres) in Kennewick and Columbia Park West (50 acres) in Richland, making a total of about 450 acres with 4.5 miles of river shoreline.

The park offers many activities, including a private golf course, a disc golf course, a family fishing pond, and several hiking and biking trails. The Sacagawea Heritage Trail runs the length of the park, connecting Pasco and Central Richland and is popular in warm weather.

In the east end is a Veterans Memorial featuring a 40-foot freestanding granite monument—the tallest of its kind in the United States. Geocaching is popular here as well; there were 19 caches in 2015.

The Playground of Dreams, located in the east end, opened in 1999. It was funded by donations from Bechtel Hanford, KNDU-TV, and Radio Tri-Cities, with about 6,000 volunteers helping during construction. It was burned in 2003 by arson and rebuilt with over 8,000 volunteer hours, reopening on May 8, 2004. The playground has a wooden castle-style structure and artwork themed around a spaceship, farm, pirate ship, and local landmarks like the Blue Bridge and Cable Bridge, along with a swing set, monkey bars, a climbing wall, and an obstacle course. A nearby family fishing pond and an aquatic playground are also part of the area.

Boat launches around Columbia Park provide river access and have parking that also serves as trailheads for the Sacagawea Heritage Trail.

Since 1966, the park has hosted the Columbia Cup hydroplane race, which can require entry fees and temporary trail closures. Independence Day brings the River of Fire celebration with vendors and fireworks on a barge offshore, and the park hosts winter events including a polar bear plunge.

Historically, Lewis and Clark traveled along the area that would become Columbia Park, reaching Bateman Island in Richland—the farthest upstream they explored. The Columbia Park Trail mostly follows the old US 410 route, with parts in the east end now part of the Sacagawea Heritage Trail.

In 1996, during the Columbia Cup, two men wading in the river found a human skull. The investigation uncovered more remains, belonging to a man who lived about 9,400 years ago, known as Kennewick Man.