Les Gove Park and Community Campus

11th & Auburn Way S.
20.86 acres

Les Gove Park is a park, recreational and educational campus serving the entire community. The cluster of amenities in this campus, which includes the Library, Parks and Recreation Administration Building, Senior Center and White River Valley Museum, make Les Gove Park and Community Campus a very popular destination.

Park Features:

• Multipurpose Building
• Large variety of community facilities available for rental
• Play Structure
• Bocce Courts (Free bocce instruction is provided by the Auburn Bocce Club on Tuesday and Thursday from 2 - 5 p.m. through October 18, 2007, weather-permitting.)
• Rotary spray playground (Open Memorial Day through Labor Day)
• Horseshoe Pits
• ½ Mile Looped Trail
• Public Artwork
• Restrooms
• Views of Mt. Rainier
• Exercise Stations
• Two Softball fields

Recreational Area

The outdoor recreational component of Les Gove Park is found primarily in the south 2/3 of the park. A half-mile paved trail encircles an attractive bermed and treed area including 100 fl owering cherry trees given by the Japanese Sister City Lions Club of Kasuga-Cho in 1984. Other recreational features include softball fields, informal play fields, water playground and playstructure. The water playground located in Les Gove Park is one of the city's favorite features for young children. Currently, a single playground site serves the park.

Parks, Arts & Recreation Administration

The Parks, Arts & Recreation Administration Building is a one story, 7000 square foot brick building built in 1977 and renovated in 2002 to house administrative and recreation staff. The building includes a multi-purpose room which can be divided into two meeting rooms, a reception area and kitchen.

Senior Center

The Senior Center is a 12,000 square foot, one story, brick structure, constructed and completed in 2002. The structure features a large room dining/meeting area which will hold 200 people, a commercial kitchen, meeting rooms, and a large reception/gathering area in addition to a pool room and computer lab.

Library

The City and King County Library entered into an agreement where a new library building was built in Les Gove Park, owned by the City, part of the King County Library system. The library is at the southwest corner of the park, with access from Auburn Way South.

Museum

The White River Valley Museum, cooperatively managed by the City of Auburn and the White River Valley Historical Society, is located behind the Library in Les Gove Park. It is also a one story building. Inside is a reconstruction of a log cabin, the reproduction of Auburn's Main Street at the turn of the century, a caboose representative of the railroad history of Auburn, and a representative display of the native Americans and other early residents of the area. Additionally, the museum has exhibits on a variety of historical subjects and a unique gift shop. Outdoor features include antique farm machinery displayed in an enclosed area. The farm machinery will be relocated to the Olson Canyon site in the future. The museum grounds are fairly limited and are predominantly paved.

The REC and potential site of future Community Center

The City acquired the former YMCA building in 2004 and renamed it the REC. It is approximately 12,000 square feet and used for youth recreation programs and camps.

Park History

Named for former Mayor Leslie J. Gove, who served from 1936 - 1946 and again in 1955 for only two months. Gove was Mayor during the time the park property was converted from undeveloped land to a housing development for war workers. When the property was approved for the development of a fifteen acre park in 1960, councilman Fred Towner was instrumental in getting the park named for Mayor Gove. Mayor Gove's family members were early pioneers in the area, who moved here in 1875. They farmed north of Auburn and put in the first water system in the area, giving them running water from a source on the West Hill to their back porch. The park was dedicated in 1966. The 20-acre park has rolling mounds and meadows with 100 cherry blossom trees given to us from our Japanese Sister City, Kasugo, Japan, which is now part of our newly formed city called Tamba, Japan.

For information about the future of the park, check out the Park, Recreation and Open Space Plan.

Driving Directions

DRIVING DIRECTIONS

From I-5 or Hwy 167, take the Hwy. 18 East. Take the Auburn-Enumclaw Exit onto Auburn Way So. Turn left onto Auburn Way So. at the end of the ramp. Continue south on Auburn Way. Go past the Dairy Queen. Turn left onto ‘F’ Street. Take a quick right onto 9th Street. Take a right on ‘H’ Street. Follow the street into the park. Les Gove Multipurpose Building is on the left.