update: August 2025

Key Pen Parks continues working toward transferring ownership of the 360 Trails property from Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to full ownership by Key Pen Parks.

Grant funding is available to support the transfer of land from one public agency to another. Applying for that grant funding is a competitive process, which is why community support is so important. Letters from residents of the Key Peninsula in support of transferring  full ownership of 360 Trails from DNR to our local Key Pen Parks can tip the scales in our favor.  

In 2023, many of you wrote letters of support for our grant request - thank you! Although our grant application was not successful at that time, those same letters of support can be submitted again along with our 2025 grant application. If you submitted a letter of support for our previous application, you're welcome to update or add to that letter for this application

If you're new to the Key Peninsula or if you missed the chance to voice your support in 2023, there's still time for you to make an impact this year! Please send your letters of support to us at [email protected] or mail to Key Pen Parks at 5514 Key Peninsula Hwy NW, Lakebay WA 98349.

The more outpouring of community support this application receives, the better chance that we can take full local ownership of the beloved treasure that is 360 Trails.  

To submit letters of support, questions, or comments about the Land Transfer Grant, please contact us by September 26 at answers@keypenparks or 253-884-9240.

FAQs

Does Key Pen Parks have the knowledge to solely manage forest land? We do not currently have the knowledge and staff on hand to solely manage this forest, but if this transfer is granted and approved by DNR and 360 Trails is transferred to our District, we will take the opportunity to either bring on a permanent forester to join our team or hire a contractor to help us manage the forested land.

Will this transfer of 360 Trails to Key Pen Parks raise taxes for residents of the Key Peninsula? Key Pen Parks already pays any property taxes for 360 Trails as required in our lease from DNR, and our staff already maintains the land for recreational purposes.
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Will the responsibility of managing this land cause strain for the district and its residents? Under the terms of our current lease from DNR, we already fully maintain the land and provide and manage all recreation opportunities in the trails; these factors would not be new costs in the annual budget.

the survey

Thank you to everyone who voiced their opinion through our survey. We received over 430 responses and saw about 93% support for the transfer of 360 Trails to Key Pen Parks' ownership. Check out the responses here: Community Survey Responses for "Bring 360 Trails Home."

If you have any additional concerns or questions, please direct them to [email protected].