Lakebay Marina Redevelopment
   

Current Lakebay Announcements

 
Legislature allocates $1.3 million in new funding for Lakebay!
 
 
                                    History                                          Project Information
                                  Engage                                                       Partners
 
 
History of Lakebay
 
Lakebay Marina is located on Key Peninsula in Pierce County, across the water from Penrose Point State Park in Mayo Cove, with picturesque views of Mount Rainier. This is an underserved, strategic location for recreational boaters between Olympia and Tacoma.
In its current condition, the site is not capable of meeting the needs of recreational enthusiasts. The facilities are closed to visitors and the docks have been removed due to safety risks.
In 2021, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in partnership with the Recreational Boaters Association of Washington (RBAW’s) Marine Parks Conservancy purchased the marina with funding from the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO), the Washington State Department of Commerce, and Pierce County. 
The redevelopment of this marina is pivotal to preserving public access at this site and its rich history. Lakebay Marina dates back to 1884, when the pier was built for small cargo ships and servicing the renowned Mosquito Fleet. The site also housed an egg and poultry cooperative, which sustained the economy of the Key Peninsula during the Great Depression.
There is a tremendous opportunity to restore this marina and make it publicly accessible for a wide range of recreational activities. Additionally, there is significant potential to restore and protect habitat and water quality in Mayo Cove, which is a pocket estuary with kelp, and eelgrass that supports rearing salmon, Pacific herring, and numerous shellfish species. The preservation and redevelopment of Lakebay is cited in Pierce County’s growth management plan.
The building on the Pierce County Register of Historic Places. This project will evaluate the potential and cost for relocating and preserving the building, if possible.
 
Project Information
Future Plans
This project provides many opportunities to increase the sustainability of a marina at this site.
These opportunities include:
  • Removing the bulkhead and restoring the shoreline
  • Removing creosote treated wood and Styrofoam to reduce pollution
  • Installing grating to reduce shading
  • Replacing the fuel dock with modern equipment to minimize spill risk
  • Landscaping adjacent uplands to support native species.
  • Improving the marina, docks, and public access points to restore opportunities for boating, sailing, kayaking, and stand-up paddleboarding, swimming, crabbing, and more.
This site also presents a unique opportunity to use modern, state-of-the-art materials during renovation to create a model facility to be an example of how we can offer public access in a way that is environmentally stable and stewards this site for future generations.
This project will likely serve larger numbers of trailered boats and hand launched vessels, but will also be accessible by larger vessels from the water, including power boats and sailboats.
Parking will be enhanced and available for boat trailers, day use, and launched vessels.
The planning process will focus on low impact design and materials and will consider local climate change projections.
Site capacity will be determined during the planning process, but we anticipate planning for at least 40 vessels per day and possibly another 20 hand launched boats.
As previously indicated, there is also a chance to preserve the historic marina building on the Lakebay site. This project will evaluate the potential and cost of different scenarios