According to Bothell Park Manager Pat Parkhurst, about 30 of the 40 acres that comprise the city’s Blyth Park consist of what is at present a largely inaccessible hillside.

“A lot of people, when they go to the park, they probably don’t realize how big it is,” Parkhurst said, of the acreage at 16950 W. Riverside Drive.

After two pubic meetings, the last of which was held Dec. 9, Parkhurst said officials are refining plans to refine the park, which is the city’s oldest. The local Lion’s Club donated the land that makes up the park in 1959.

Parkhurst said based on comments from the two public sessions, one major feature of Blyth Park’s new master plan likely will be increased access to the park’s hillside.

“The community really wanted to see more trail construction up the hillside,” Parkhurst said.

Some others suggested improvements include enhancing picnic and playground areas along with increasing access to the Snohomish River. The latter suggestion may or may not lead to construction of a new dock in the waterway.

Parkhurst noted the city recently added a disc golf course to the park in an attempt to attract some more active recreation. She said the park often can seem a bit isolated, sitting as it does at the end of Riverside Drive. With that in mind, officials felt attracting larger groups of people to the park was not a bad idea.

“Everybody seems to like it,” Parkhurst said of the golf course.

As development of Blyth’s new master plan goes forward, more steps toward active recreation might be taken.

In the past, Blyth and its hillside were home to a popular children’s slide. Parkhurst said the metal slide had become worn out and unsafe, eventually removed from the park by the city. She added it might be replaced in new plans, but nothing is decided.

“We’re really just at the concept stage,” Parkhurst said.

The next formal discussion regarding the park is set for Jan. 13 before the Bothell Parks Board. Parkhurst said there is no set timeline for finishing the plan or for putting in place any changes at the park.

Currently, there is no funding available for the park project. Parkhurst said the first step in revamping the park is finishing the planning process and obtaining a good cost estimate for implementation of the plan.

Bothell already has hired an outside consultant, landscape architects the Berger Partnership, to help with the overall work. Once a strategy for Blyth is in place, the city can go out for grants to implement its grand scheme for the park.