Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park

Join Us to Celebrate the Park and Meet the Caretaker! 

WHEN: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 | 12:00 - 1:00 pm

WHERE: Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park parking lot & restroom entrance near Safeway and Henery Hardware.

Join us to celebrate this wonderful 75-acre park in the center of our city. Parks staff have been hard at work restoring the Kah Tai park public restrooms. They have been closed for nearly 20 years! This month we celebrate the re-opening of the restrooms with a fun ribbon cutting. And did you know that Kah Tai Nature Lagoon also has a Park Caretaker? Stop by to meet Ed Mead, the new Caretaker, toast the parks team with some hot cocoa and take a walk through this beautiful natural area to see migratory birds and native plant restoration projects.

General Location:

The park is bounded by Sims Way, 12^th St., Landes St., 19^th St., and Kearney St. A parking lot is located off 12^th St. Pedestrian entrances are located at 12^th St., Sims Way, Kearney St., and Landes St.

General Description:

Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park belongs in its entirety to the City of Port Townsend as of 2013. As a Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) park, perpetual 6(f)(3) protections prohibit its use for any purpose other than that described in the grant which funded its creation: a passive nature park supporting activities that are in keeping with protection of wildlife habitat. Off-leash dog use is generally incompatible with wildlife habitat and is discouraged.

Birding is a favorite pastime at the park. The park is on the Olympic Loop of the Great Washington State Birding Trail. Admiralty Audubon documented 62 land-associated and 36 water-associated species in a twice-monthly, two-year study completed in 2011. More than 200 species of birds have been sighted at Kah Tai since the first thorough documentation in 1978. Kah Tai’s southern uplands have walking and bicycle trails that are heavily used as the park provides access between East and West Port Townsend. The trails are handicapped-accessible and are used by strollers, walkers and wheelchairs. There is currently no trail that loops around the lagoon. Boating, fishing, and swimming in the lagoon are prohibited.

History

Kah Tai was a tidally flushed estuary until 1930 when Port Townsend built Sims Way across the mouth of the lagoon. In 1963, the Port of Port Townsend decided to expand its boat haven with the assistance of the Army Corps of Engineers. At the time, the ecological value of estuaries wasn’t readily understood and Kah Tai’s value as an inexpensive dumping location for dredge spoils was considered a better purpose. The transfer of 231,000 cubic yards of marine sand and mud decreased the lagoon area by more than half and completely altered its physics, biology, and chemistry. Subsequent attempts to build a planned unit development on the dredge spoils mobilized citizens to save what remained.

Volunteers did all the legwork, and in 1980-81, a Washington State Interagency Commission for Outdoor Recreation (IAC) grant proposal for federal LWCF support purchase the private parcels in the park received funding from the Secretary of the Interior’s contingency funds. The expectation upon purchase of all private parcels (from a total of 19 owners) was that the publicly-owned parcels (County, PUD and Port) would all be transferred to the City.

A second grant funded in 1983 by IAC provided funds to match private donations and sweat equity to develop a nature park primarily on the recovering dredge spoils of the port-owned Southern uplands, with port agreement. The final plan was unanimously approved by the City council.  The small lagoon was dug and connected to the bay, with the approval of the Army Corps of Engineers. Trails were established, and volunteers built the bridge, picnic shelter, and restroom.

Today Kah Tai serves as the second largest drainage basin in Port Townsend; drainage basin #9 serves more than 700 acres of the City. The 1960s dredge spoils have matured into thriving uplands. Kah Tai became Port Townsend’s first Adopt-A-Park in 2001 when a consortium called the Kah Tai Alliance adopted the park. More recently, the park has had its adoption renewed by the Rainshadow Bird Alliance. Despite intermittent prohibitions on planting native species in the uplands until the recent transfer to City ownership, volunteer efforts to remove invasive weeds and robust natural succession have produced a beloved nature park. 

For the past couple of years, a caretaker has been stationed full time at the Kah Tai Lagoon. The caretaker cares for the park by picking up litter, answering questions, and implementing small projects throughout the park. As of 2026, we are happy to welcome Ed Mead to the park as our official caretaker.

Total Acreage: 

75.86 acres