Parks & Recreation Landscape Design Pacific Northwest | PLACE
Creating Places for Play Across the Pacific Northwest
Parks and recreation spaces are the living rooms of our communities — the places where neighbors meet, children grow, families gather, and residents connect with the natural world. PLACE Landscape Architecture has built one of the Pacific Northwest's most respected parks and recreation design practices, delivering community parks, trail systems, sports facilities, and recreational amenities that have become beloved fixtures of the communities they serve. From small neighborhood pocket parks to large regional facilities, our approach is always the same: listen deeply to the community, design with ecological intelligence, and create spaces that are joyful, safe, and enduring.
Our parks and recreation work spans Washington, Idaho, Montana, and beyond. We have designed seven-acre community parks directly adjacent to regional trail systems, master-planned large recreational complexes with multiple athletic fields and amenity zones, and created intimate neighborhood green spaces that transform underused parcels into vital community assets. Each project begins with a rigorous process of site analysis, community engagement, and program development — ensuring that the finished design reflects the genuine needs and aspirations of the people who will use it.
Our Parks Design Process
Great parks don't happen by accident — they are the result of a careful, inclusive design process that balances community input, ecological considerations, budget realities, and long-term maintenance requirements. PLACE's parks design process begins with thorough site analysis, assessing the physical characteristics of the land — topography, soils, hydrology, existing vegetation, adjacencies — that will shape the design. We then engage stakeholders through community meetings, surveys, and workshops to understand how the community uses and values outdoor space, what they need from this particular park, and what aspirations they have for their neighborhood.
From that foundation of site knowledge and community input, our team develops concept alternatives that explore different approaches to organizing the program on the site. We present these concepts publicly, gather feedback, and refine them into a preferred concept that moves forward into detailed design. Our construction documents are thorough, coordinated, and designed for contractor clarity — reducing change orders and ensuring the project is built as designed. We provide construction administration services to monitor quality and address issues as they arise in the field. The result is parks that are built right, open on time, and loved by their communities for generations.
Trail Systems and Greenway Design
Trail systems are among the most impactful investments a community can make in its quality of life and public health. PLACE has extensive experience designing multi-use trail corridors, greenways, and active transportation networks that connect neighborhoods, parks, schools, and destinations across the Pacific Northwest. Our trail design work integrates careful attention to alignment — minimizing environmental impacts while maximizing user experience — with thoughtful design of trailheads, wayfinding, interpretive elements, and amenities that make trails welcoming and accessible to users of all abilities and backgrounds.
We understand the regulatory and permitting complexities that often accompany trail projects, particularly those crossing sensitive ecological areas, floodplains, or multiple jurisdictions. PLACE has navigated these challenges on numerous projects and brings the experience and professional relationships to move trail projects efficiently through the approval process. Explore our parks and recreation portfolio to see examples of our trail and park work throughout the region.
Community-Centered Design Across Washington and Idaho
PLACE serves municipal clients, park districts, school districts, and nonprofit organizations throughout Washington, Idaho, and Montana on parks and recreation projects of every scale and type. Our experience spans urban parks in Spokane, community parks in smaller cities and towns throughout Eastern Washington and North Idaho, and destination recreational facilities in resort communities from Sandpoint to Whitefish. This breadth of experience means we understand the specific context — financial, political, ecological, cultural — of each community we serve, and we design accordingly.
If your community, agency, or organization is planning a parks or recreation project in the Pacific Northwest, we'd welcome the opportunity to discuss how PLACE can contribute. Contact us through our Spokane office at 509-570-2157 or our Sandpoint office at 208-995-3727. We create places for play — and we'd love to help you create yours.
