Dockton marina fully reopens
Published 11:30 am Tuesday, December 2, 2025
After nearly six years of construction, closures and delays, Dockton Park’s marina and boat launch are fully open again — marking the end of a long-running King County renovation that began in 2019.
The second and final phase of work wrapped up this summer, bringing a rebuilt breakwater, new finger piers, an upgraded boat ramp dock and a reconstructed floating moorage dock back into service.
County officials say the work is intended to improve safety and access at the popular harbor while making the structure more durable in the face of storms and tides.
“We appreciate the community’s patience as we worked through a complex renovation and are excited for boaters and visitors to once again enjoy these revitalized facilities,” Eleanor Lee, strategic communications officer for the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks said in an email. “Since winter isn’t ideal for an outdoor celebration, we’re considering a community event in the spring.”
The reopening restores full, uninterrupted use of Dockton’s moorage and boat launch for the first time since the renovation project began in 2019, after several years of partial openings and seasonal closures tied to construction.
The work was split into two phases, funded in part by a Boating Facilities Program grant from the state Recreation and Conservation Office and the 2020–2025 King County Parks, Recreation, Trails and Open Space Levy.
Phase 1, completed in 2022 after pandemic-era supply chain delays, rebuilt the inner moorage system and access dock, added a new swim float, installed a sewage pump-out station and fire suppression system, upgraded cross-bracing and hardware, and coated the fixed pier walkway with non-skid material.
The new dock structure uses grated decking to let more light reach the water and steel piles that do not leach toxins, replacing aging creosote-treated timbers — changes meant to improve habitat for fish and other marine life.
Phase 2 focused on the outer edge of the facility: replacing the breakwater, upgrading the boat ramp dock and installing new floats for moorage. That work was confined to a tight in-water construction window, from Aug. 1 to Sept. 30, set by federal and state permits to protect endangered fish species.
That schedule frustrated some islanders, who objected to closing the only launch on Vashon that can regularly handle larger boats during the height of boating season.
At the time, County staff acknowledged the timing was far from ideal, but said any further delay would have pushed the project into the same summer window the following year while leaving deteriorating structures in place.
The county’s original goal to reopen the park by Sept. 30 also hit a snag, with work taking longer than expected.
But now, county officials say, the payoff is a safer, more resilient facility that should serve the island’s boating community for many years.
The marina’s revival adds another chapter to Dockton’s working-waterfront story. From 1892 to 1910, the area was home to what was then the West Coast’s largest shipbuilding dry dock.
