Whipple Creek Regional Park

This 300-acre regional park is located off Northwest 179th Street west of the Clark County Fairgrounds. The park's primary feature is 4.3 miles of trails that cater to hikers and horseback riders alike.

Dirt trails to be restricted to foot traffic only starting Thursday, Nov. 1

Trail map for Whipple Creek Regional Park.

Clark County Parks will put seasonal trail restrictions in place at Whipple Creek Regional Park to preserve the park’s natural surface trails.

Beginning Thursday, Nov. 1, dirt trails will be open only to foot traffic at the 300-acre park off Northwest 179th Street. Equestrians and mountain bikers can continue to use gravel trails year-round.

This is the second year the county has restricted access on the park’s dirt trails, which can be muddy due to poor drainage, clay soils and steep slopes.

Since 2010, the Whipple Creek Restoration Committee and community volunteers have donated more than 8,500 hours to build reroutes, improve drainage and spread gravel across the park’s main trails, making them accessible year-round. Volunteers also realigned and restored a series of natural surface trails.

Clark County Parks will post signs at main entrances to Whipple Creek Regional Park explaining the seasonal closures and displaying a map of the park’s gravel and dirt, or primitive, trails. Signs also will be posted at each dirt trail entrance reminding users the trail is open only to foot traffic during wet weather.

The county’s decision last year to restrict access to some trails yielded positive results. Volunteers did not need to do as much maintenance, and the recreational experience was improved for all trails users since there was less mud.

Following restrictions during the last rainy season, dirt trails at Whipple Creek Regional Park were opened to all users in mid-May of this year.

Ongoing trail improvements

The Whipple Creek Park Restoration Committee and volunteers marshaled by Clark County Parks are working to improve trails to make using the park during winter months less of a muddy experience.

For more information, watch this CVTV video from December 2013.
[video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7kZbd_pU90&list=UUewKspvAN5bZdKGqAQ0Y92Q]

Facilities

Multiuse hiking and equestrian trails (trails are seasonally muddy)
Parking lot at Northwest 21st Avenue entrance
Whipple Creek Regional Park trails (PDF)

The park is also a pristine, tranquil forest environment and is home to many types of wildlife, including woodpeckers, hawks, deer, flying squirrels, herons and beavers. Opportunities abound for wildlife viewing.