Our families spend a lot of time in Portland’s parks. With summer right around the corner, we’ll be filling our days, when not at camp, seeking out green space to play, picnic and run. We recently checked out a new park in Cully, and as with most of the new city parks we’ve visited, we weren’t disappointed.
Khunamokwst Park (pronounced KAHNah-mockst) is located on 2.4 acres on the corner of NE 52nd between Wygant and Alberta streets. The park is a wide-open space with a giant field for running, games or simply laying down a blanket or chairs. Kh unamokwst Park is the first Portland Parks & Rec Park of its kind in that it shares the indigenous name with the land it sits on. Chinook wawa was the language commonly used by the original people of this area.
“Khunamokwst means ‘together’,” notes Jon A. George, Tribal Councilman from the Grand Ronde Tribal Council. “And that is what this beautiful green space will enable all of us to do, to come together to honor the original people of this place, the Clackamas and Multnomah people, our ancestors. The name honors the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, the Willamette Valley Treaty Tribe, and it is a name that honors our community of Portland. Together we will enjoy the beauty and protect the health of this place, just as our ancestors did.”
The park includes both a play structure and a nature play area complete with boulders for climbing, a hillside slide and a water feature where kids can interact and play with dams and flowing water. Khunamokwst has something for everyone including the skate dot, a skate park designed with beginners in mind. There are a few picnic tables and a large picnic shelter, which provides shade.
The paths into the park are paved for bike riding, running or walking, and the play structure area floor is filled with wood chips. The Portland Loo bathroom is brand new and very clean with hand sanitizer inside and a hand washing station outside.
The day we visited, Khunamokwst was busy, but the space is so open, we never felt overwhelmed by crowds. It’s a great place to hang out for hours, though we would recommend on hot days, if you don’t have a shelter or tent to provide shade while lounging on the lawn, to bring your sunscreen. portlandoregon.gov/parks/61985
