June 19, 2011 in Outdoors

Big Rock climbers’ paradise won’t be paved, but …

… They need to put up a parking lot

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Rich Landers photo

The Rocks of Sharon area was preserved for conservation and public access.
(Full-size photo)(All photos)

After years of negotiations, Spokane’s conservation community rejoiced in 2009 when the Dishman Hills Natural Area Association acquired 80 acres known as the Rocks of Sharon from private investors.

The ruggedly scenic parcel formed a strategic link to Spokane County conservation lands. The purchase included Big Rock, the area’s visual icon – a vertical paradise of granite and quartzite that trespassing climbers have been enjoying since the 1950s.

But while the parcel was served by a Spokane County road easement, it has lacked one essential element: parking.

Climbers and other visitors, knowing they had public access to Big Rock from the upper reaches of Stevens Creek Road have been getting tickets from Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies.

Since there’s no room on the sides of the road to pull off, they’ve been parking illegally along the easement.

The DHNAA has been trying to negotiate a deal with adjacent private landowners to purchase enough land for parking.

“We think we’re getting close, but developing a parking lot is expensive, more than $150,000,” said Jeff Lambert, DHNAA member. “Until we get this worked out, we’re asking people to access Big Rock from the longer but beautiful trail coming from Holman Road and the Iller Creek Conservation Area.”

Chad Luhr, a homeowner whose driveway leads off the Stevens Creek Road near Big Rock, said he was forced to take a stand against illegal parking.

He’s posted signs and dug a ditch blocking the easement. He and other neighbors have called the sheriff when necessary to maintain their access and room for the school bus to turn around.

“I don’t think people appreciate the impact they have when 20 cars are parked in this narrow spot,” he said.

The problem is not new. “A lot of people have been coming for years and recreating on somebody else’s land,” Luhr said.

“Now that the association has purchased Big Rock, even more people think they have a right to park anywhere they want.”

Lambert said the tank-trap ditch Luhr dug with a back hoe across the upper reach of the Stevens Creek Road easement might be illegal.

“But it’s working to everyone’s benefit right now because it’s preventing people from going up a few hundred yards and parking illegally on other private land, “ he said. “And it keeps out the illegal motorized use.”

Meantime, Luhr said he gets a lot more flak than understanding from hikers and climbers seeking the short route into Big Rock.

“But the (DHNAA) is getting the word out,” he said. “The problems have dropped off. A parking lot will help.”

Eight comments on this story so far. Add yours!

• 

  RedCedar on June 19 at 9:16 a.m.

  Blocking a public right of way by digging a ditch across it is more illegal than parking on the public right of way. This is a story that I’m pretty sure has more to it than is being reported. The “easement” that people park on is apparently not an actual road. I’ve not been there so I can’t quite picture the layout, but clearly there must be some amount of public road right of way past the ditch, and that portion is not being used as a school bus turn-around. It seems to me that that portion could be made into a parking lot right now for very little money by filling the ditch, clearly fencing the property lines around the the public easement, and posting signs that say something like “no parking south of here” to tell people that they need to park at the end of the road and not in the school bus turnaround. No doubt the full gold-plated diamond-studded $150,000 government-certified parking lot would be nice, but until then a few hours of grader work and some signs could probably make a serviceable parking area that would keep visitor’s cars out of the way of local traffic and would have enough space on all but the most popular sunny summer weekends.

  Of course it’s also possible that the fellow who dug the ditch simply doesn’t like the park, the climbers, and the public going past his land in general. Frankly, if it was me and I had any amount of acreage there, I’d just mark off a spot on the edge of my land, put up some signs, and let people park on it. It’s not much trouble and it’s a quicker and easier solution than waiting for the government or some conservation group to build the Taj Mahal of parking lots, and it’s ultimately more satisfying (at least it would be to me) than getting into a pissing contest by digging ditches across the road and calling the cops whenever people try to park there.

• 

  richl on June 19 at 9:48 a.m.

  It’s not that simple, RedCedar. A steep slope goes up on the west and the slope drops off steeply into Stevens Creek on the east. There’s really no room on the public right of way for getting more than one vehicle off the road.

• 

  RedCedar on June 19 at 10:43 a.m.

  Okay, richl, I’ll take your word for that, since like I said, I haven’t been there. It just seems like there should be a way to safely park a few cars without having to build a gold-plated parking palace. I think a neighbor could be more neighborly, maybe with some legalese absolving them of liability or people could park back down the road a little way. Surely sending deputies out to ticket people for improper parking isn’t cheap either. There are a lot of trailheads that don’t have much in the way of parking, and they’re generally okay except on really popular days.

  The world is getting more crowded and that means we all have to adjust a little bit to get along in closer proximity. The wilderness isn’t really wild any more. The fewer natural places people have to go, the more crowded the remaining ones get. I don’t know what the scene is at the end of that road. Maybe if I lived there and I saw people throwing trash all over, getting drunk, shooting bottles on my fence posts, etc., I’d be a grumpy old cuss and Kelly-hump the road and call the cops too. On the other hand, if it’s mostly a rock-climbing spot, those annoying skinny rock-climbing preppies with their spandex tights, energy drinks, cell phones, and priuses probably don’t do a lot of littering, drinking, or shooting and I could either ignore them or set up an espresso cart and make money off of them.

• 

  soccermomsusie on June 19 at 11:29 a.m.

  Really people! These are called the Rocks of Sharon not THE ROCKS OF SHARING!!!

  It all starts with Socialist Sesame Street telling everyone how we should share everything and ends with Soviet Tanks rolling into Prague.

  I don’t want to blow this out of proportion, but the tank trap ditch which this Patriot has dug to keep smelly exercisers, hippy rock climbers and socialist bicyclists at bay is a long-standing tradition for those who cherish their freedoms.

  HEAR OUR VOICE!!!!

• 

  RedCedar on June 19 at 2:43 p.m.

  Oh, now the truth is coming out. It’s not a parking issue, it’s a battle between “Patriots” and “hippy socialists”, and if we don’t watch out, Soviet Tanks will roll into Prague. Or something. Yes, you’re blowing it out of proportion. Not everything has to be a battle with entrenched positions (so to speak), and not everything is a slippery slope where if one side gives an inch of ground, it’ll be a one-way trip to disaster.

  If I owned the property at the end of the road, I’d figure out some way to make people a parking spot, and then maybe I’d also ask them for donations or help with keeping the place tidy and maybe putting in some improvements. Get a few of those “hippie socialists” to help and they’ll put pressure on the others. It’s worth a try at least. Part of why I’d do it is that I think we all have to do our part to get along, and part of why I’d do it is to give a big finger to the government that says a parking lot has to cost $150,000. Maybe I’m a “patriot” in terms of not having much use form government plans, government projects, government rules, and government bureaucrats, but I’m a “hippie” in terms of thinking people can figure out how to get along all by themselves without going crying to the government all the time.

  I’m not just blowing smoke here, either. I happen to own land that people drive though all the time for recreational purposes. I could legally dig Kelly humps across it at both ends, but I don’t because that would be an a-hole-ish thing to do and I see too much of it already. Even the good Democratic governor of Montana has blocked the once-public roads across his property out of Saltese. It does torque me to see somebody riding through my place on their quad, stop to look at the view, and toss a beer can over the hill, but those people are in the minority and one day I’ll be close enough when it happens to confront him about it.

• 

  spokane_boy on June 19 at 3:46 p.m.

  The problem isn’t with most of the daytime users—the climbers, the hikers, and the mountain bikers—they’re the ones working hard and investing a great amount of resources (time, money, and labor) to provide the solutions here. Props to all the individuals including those named in the article above, and all the groups involved such as the Dishman Hills Natural Area Association, Spokane County Parks, the Access Fund, the Washington Trails Association, the Spokane Mountaineers, and businesses such as Mountain Gear (please excuse me for the groups I’ve left out).

  Please be patient. A parking lot and access will happen: it’s merely a matter of time.

• 

  greenlibertarian on June 19 at 7:35 p.m.

  Appreciate your input on this RedCedar.

  FYI, SoccerMomSusie is a satirist, and pretty damn good one.

• 

  johnclarke on June 19 at 8:04 p.m.

  welcome back soccermom