Blackwell Island Recreation Site

View images of accessibility features in a new window.

Parking. There is a large, paved and striped parking area with room for 130 vehicles with trailers and 34 single cars. The car spots are along the east edge of the parking lot, adjacent to the group picnic pavilion and individual picnic pads. Four trailer spaces and 4-5 single-car spaces are designated as accessible, with access aisles for vehicles with a side ramp. A concrete sidewalk goes around the perimeter of the lot, connecting the parking, picnic areas, boardwalk, and boat launch area.

Cell phone reception. Cell phone reception is strong.

Fee-payment stations. Payment kiosks and automated fee machines (credit card readers) sit on paved surfaces on the western side of the parking lot, near the boat launch lanes, and on the eastern side, near the picnic pavilion.

Toilets. An accessible double vault toilet sits near the picnic pavilion, with a pay box for the recreation site in front of it. Additionally, there is an accessible restroom facility near the boat launch area with 8 flush toilets, 4 on the women’s side and 4 on the men’s. Each restroom has sinks and an accessible stall with handrails near the commode. 

Drinking water. The site has 3 accessible drinking fountains: 1 next to the flush restroom facility on the west end of the site, and 2 along the sidewalk bordering the single-car parking area on the east end of the site.

Picnic areas. The reservable pavilion on the east side of the recreation site has room for up to 50 people. It covers a concrete pad with 4-6 accessible picnic tables with extended tops to accommodate wheelchair users. There are also 4 accessible group grills.

In addition, there are 15 first-come, first-served individual picnic pads at the recreation site. Each concrete pad has a picnic table with an extended top and an accessible grill. Near the pavilion are 9 pads and across the parking lot on the west side of the site are another 6 pads, along the edge of the canal.

All 6 picnic pads near the canal and 4 of the pads on the east side of the site are near the parking lot and connected to it by a concrete pathway. The other picnic pads, while accessible, are farther off the main sidewalk in a grassy area. Trash receptables are scattered across the site.

Boat launch and docking area. A paved path leads from the parking lot to the boat launch lanes and temporary boat docking area. Three concrete ramps with handrails provide mobility device users with safe transition from the parking area to the boat docks. These ramps, like all surfaces at the site, have a slope of 2 percent or less. The boat dock on the right extends out into the Spokane River, providing accessible fishing access and additional room for temporary boat docking.

Boardwalk. A ¼-mile-long wooden boardwalk loops from the northwest corner of the parking lot to the northeast corner. It passes through wetlands between the Spokane River to the north and the developed site to the south. Along the boardwalk are several interpretive panels and 3 viewing platforms with protective railings and benches with and without arms.

Native plant garden. At the south end of the site, visitors can use packed-gravel pathways to move through a native plant garden. These pathways, which form an 1/8-mile loop, may be challenging, depending on the weather or uneven surfaces caused by erosion. The garden has several benches without arms and interpretive signs that may be difficult to read.

NOTE: Descriptions and photos uploaded June 2025. Please note that actual on-the-ground conditions may vary due to natural events (e.g., weather, wildfires, erosion), normal wear and tear, or site improvements.