Park Improvement Project Grant Helps Breathe New Life Into Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park

With support from a 2020 Park Improvement Project Grant, new wayfinding signs will be installed along the Ginkgo Petrified Forest Interpretive Trail. These wayfinding signs will include “Tree Numbers” to help guide guests. In addition, “You Are Here” maps will be placed in strategic locations along the trail. Wayfinding signs play a vital role in assisting park-goers, reducing erosion and the creation of social trails.

Interpretive Specialist, Kevin Lieske, says, “After a wildland fire tore through our interpretive trail here at the Ginkgo Petrified Forest in 2018, our wayfinding signs have been severely lacking, leaving hikers rather confused as to how to proceed on the trail system. The Park Improvement Project grant money, provided by the Washington State Parks Foundation, will significantly enhance the visitor experience here, as hikers meander through this shrub-steppe ecosystem, marveling at the ancient trees that have turned to stone.”