Engineer’s Drawing, 90% Design

Tramp Harbor Dock

Overview: In partnership with the Vashon Park District (VPD), the Vashon Parks Foundation is fundraising to replace the Tramp Harbor Dock. The Tramp Harbor Dock is Vashon’s only outer waterway pier and a one-of-a-kind recreational attraction. The dock was closed in 2019 due to structural deterioration and has been sorely missed by the community. 

A new design is 90% complete, was engineered to meet regulatory requirements and is in the permitting process. The rebuild will cost $3.2 million and the VPD has applied for several grants that are projected to cover all but $500,000 of the total cost. The VPD has earmarked $200,000 in its Capital Improvement Plan for the project.  There will be no new taxes or levies to fund the dock. The Vashon Parks Foundation’s contribution is essential to help ensure that the new environmentally friendly and physically sound dock will be completed in early 2027.

Financial Need: The Vashon Park Foundation is seeking contributions from the community totaling $300,000.  Community participation is a requirement of grant applications and represents a testament to the value of the dock to the island.  It is critical to the success of the Park District’s grant applications. 

Description of the New Dock: The new dock will have a similar appearance to the existing dock with a smaller platform area. The new dock will be 346’ in length and the end of the dock platform will be 30’ x 16’. The pier itself will have a 9’ wide trestle and coated steel grating to allow light penetration to help sustain marine life below the dock. Precast concrete pilings will replace the current creosote coated pilings.  The site will have enhanced ADA compliant parking and a beach access stairway.  

Tramp Harbor Dock History: County docks connected steamer ships to new roads and markets for farmers in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  The docks remained for years as community places and recreational spaces far past their original use. Decades later, abandoned mining docks were enticing recreational spots. Today on Vashon only private docks and one public dock exist in good condition. 

The Tramp Harbor Dock holds countless memories and stories. Its  journey began over one hundred years ago in 1921 as the Standard Oil dock and supply station. It was the new neighbor to the island’s first automobile ferry dock built around 1916. The ferry dock was out competed by drivers wanting access from Seattle and abandoned in favor of the north end triangle ferry route in 1922.  Standard Oil then leased the ferry dock from King County for a few years before it fell into disrepair. Nothing remains of the original car ferry dock aside from cut off pilings to the south of the current dock. 

The Standard Oil dock was reconstructed in 1939 with a broad surface at the water end.  The shore landing platform just north of the dock was used for six bulk storage tanks and a dispensing station.  Standard Oil stopped using the pier in the early 1980s and the fuel storage site was demolished.  It was then converted to a fishing pier in 1982 and the King County deed was passed to the Vashon Park District in 1995 when it was renamed the Tramp Harbor Dock. 

Our dock is treasured by generations of islanders and visitors drawn to the pier for its abundant opportunities to engage in the unique and beautiful setting. It is accessible to children and anyone wanting to stroll or roll a short distance with maximum reward. The dock also contributes to the character of Vashon because of its historical significance.

Our marine environment is deep in our collective identity and an extension of island life. It is time to bring a new Tramp Harbor Dock back for all of us.

 FAQs

  • No. The new dock will be 16 feet shorter in length due to non-negotiable tribal treaty rights of the Point Heyer Geoduck Tract that surrounds the outer area. The width of the new pier will be 9’, 2’ narrower than the current dock. The rebuilt dock will have a platform of 30’ x 16’, approximately one quarter the size of the current 60’ x 32’ platform. The dock will have a 9’ wide trestle and coated steel grating. The current dock has wooden plank decking. Precast concrete pilings will replace the current creosote coated pilings.

  • No. The funds for the dock will come from private donations, existing money earmarked for the project by the Vashon Park District and grants from the State of Washington and King County.

  • Two Washington State Recreational and Conservation Office grants and one King County grant.

  • The ultimate amount of funding coming from grant sources is uncertain. Grant funding is a competitive process and may not be awarded at all. If grant funding is awarded, yet the Foundation does not meet its goal of $300,000 it is possible that the Vashon Park District will fund the shortfall especially if funding is close to the cost of construction.

  • It is possible that the Vashon Park District could fund the shortfall especially if successful funding is close to the cost of construction. However, if making up the shortfall is out of reach of the Park District in May of 2025, the dock will not be built.

  • All donations that have been given to the Foundation and specified for the dock rebuild are tracked for each named donor. If the project does not proceed as planned, each donor will be contacted and given the option to roll their donation to the Foundation’s general fund, or to be refunded.

  • The target funding goal does not cover a proposed picnic area in front of the dock. If funding goals are exceeded, the excess money will be used for a picnic area and potentially expanded number of parking spaces.

  • No. The approximate cost of demolition is $250,000. The Vashon Park District will bear this cost.

  • The District only owns the tidelands beneath the first 180’ of the 340’ dock. The remaining 160’ to the end of the dock is under stewardship of the State Department of Natural Resources (DNR). An Aquatics Land Lease requires the District to remediate the current dock. These requirements are met in the current rebuild design.

  • Please visit this location to review the design.