Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park tour during the fall season

So last weekend all of a sudden, we decided to go somewhere to see the fall colours, as this special month of October is dedicated to the tranquillity of nature, the colour of tree’s leaves, which turns, red, yellow and orange and falls to spread the mesmerizing canvas that can be captured and memorized forever.  In the state of Washington, people celebrate the fall colour festival. This beauty of nature will wither away early due to heavy rain in Seattle, as these trees are preparing themselves for the winter season as they are going to bear the heavy coating of the snow in the upcoming months. So simply we decided to roam around and see if what we witnessed was sumptuous.

We went to the Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park, which was once named Lake Washington Beach Park, it is a public park located in Renton, Washington along the southeastern shore of Lake Washington. When we went there, we saw the trees had already shed all of the leaves due to heavy rain the day before we went, but then also we managed to see the beauty of nature.  

About the Park: 

It consists of 57 acres of land and waterbody, including 5 acres of grass and 5,400 feet of shoreline. Its amenities include a swimming beach with an on-duty lifeguard, an eight-lane boat launch, two restaurants, a 900-foot pier/water walk, two miles of paths and trails, a newly renovated park and tennis courts. Dogs are not allowed in this park. The Gene Coulon Beach Park offers park-wide entertainment. Being known for the two-mile walking path alongside the beach, their two popular restaurants Kidd Valley and Ivar’s Seafood Bar come in a close second. It has four covered pavilions with built-in barbecues, a fishing dock, and volleyball, tennis, and horseshoe courts. Two restrooms occupancy the park on opposite ends. 

History of the park:

Initially, this land was used for industrial purposes, mainly coal dumping, log production, sand mills and all, but the land’s industrial purposes ended after World War 2. The park was then used as a casual recreation spot for locals to enjoy the outdoors. Swimming lessons were held in Lake Washington, and citizens held picnics on the beach.

The park is named after Gene L. Coulon, director of the Renton Parks Department from 1949 until he died in 1977. Coulon was born in 1916 in Seattle, Washington. After graduation, he served in the U.S army in World War 2, then returned to Washington to work for the Renton Department of Parks and Recreation in 1947. During his time as director, he was respected for his attention to diversity and balance of programs within the department, including the development of the Carco Theatre. He supervised the development of 21 city parks, the most notable being his vision for Lake Washington Beach Park, the area that Gene Coulon Beach Park now occupies. Before city development, Lake Washington Beach Park was littered with industrial debris from the historic use of the land. Coulon envisioned a new public park that would respect the land’s history and make Renton a desirable place to live. The full development was completed in 1982, which was marked by an opening ceremony commemorating Gene Coulon’s service to the public as well as the community’s support which made the park possible.

The fall season and colours:

This season there were many trees covered with colourful leaves, and it portrays the one we generally see in paintings. I also witnessed birds of assortment like Canadian geese, Seagal, ducks of several varieties etc. I saw many people who were involved in fishing, but it was mentioned that the water is full of chemicals due to industrial existence hence fishes are not good for consumption. People were also involved in barbeque and some of them were taking pictures for social media.

It was a wonderful time we spent there; I am sharing some of the photos we have taken during our visit. I am also going to embed the video for your reference, kindly subscribe to our channel for such amazing upcoming vlogs. Also, watch our old vlogs and videos and support us.