Community Spotlight: Sweetwater Creek Waterwheel Park Opens — Ribbon Cutting April 10 — Belfair Bugle

Something special is happening right in the heart of Belfair this week — and if you’ve driven past Belfair Elementary on Highway 3, you may have already spotted it. Sweetwater Creek Waterwheel Park is opening its gates, and the North Mason Chamber of Commerce is hosting a ribbon-cutting celebration on Thursday, April 10 at 1 p.m. to mark the moment.

This isn’t just another park. Sweetwater Creek Waterwheel Park is a years-in-the-making community vision brought to life by the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group (also known as the PNW Salmon Center, right off NE Roessel Road in Belfair). Tucked just across Highway 3 from the Theler Wetlands, the park features the only freshwater ADA fishing access in all of Mason County — a real game-changer for families and anglers of all abilities. Plans also include native plant gardens, a nature playground, solar panels, and interpretive trails connecting people to the salmon that make Hood Canal country so special.

The Salmon Center has been a quiet pillar of North Mason life for years — running Salmon in the Classroom, hosting story-time events for families at their Belfair campus, and stewarding Hood Canal’s watershed one stream at a time. This park is their love letter to Belfair, and the whole community is invited to the celebration Thursday.

Park Details

• Location: Next to Belfair Elementary School, across Highway 3 from Theler Wetlands
• Operated by: Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group / PNW Salmon Center (600 NE Roessel Rd, Belfair)
• Features: Only freshwater ADA fishing access in Mason County, native plant gardens, nature playground, solar panels, interpretive trails
• Admission: Free and open to the public
• Ribbon Cutting: April 10, 2026 at 1:00 PM — hosted by North Mason Chamber of Commerce

If you’re proud of what North Mason is building — come out April 10, shake some hands, and see what your neighbors have been working on. This is what community looks like.

Sources: PNW Salmon Center (pnwsalmoncenter.org), Mason County Journal, North Mason Chamber of Commerce