Description: This 98-acre community park includes artificial turf soccer/football field, baseball field (375'), two softball fields (305'), basketball court, two tennis courts, Boundless Playground which offers recreation for children of all abilities, amphitheater, 2-acre open grass meadow area, 3-mile trail system, concessions, restroom, 100-person pavilion, picnic areas, heritage garden, pond, and 70 acres of natural area.
A special thank you to Katherine Kritzer and Girl Scout Troop 43572 for choosing Sehmel Homestead Park for their plant beautification project!
The troop worked with the Master Gardeners in planting beds located in front of the park pavilion.
We have now added “Art to the Park” at Sehmel Homestead Park
Thanks to the generous donation by Don and Mary Ellen Sehmel and the skill of local artist Tom Torrens, we have added metal cattle sculptures accurately representing the cattle that existed when Don and Mary Ellen lived on the homestead and raised up to 120 head of cattle at a time.
Master Gardener Demonstration Garden
On June 25, 2011, the Master Gardeners celebrated the grand opening of the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden. The garden is a fenced-in area within Sehmel Homestead Park situated at the end of the park near the hiking trails. It features eight raised cedar planter boxes, container plants, and a shed for gardening tools. The demonstration garden is open for visitors any time the park gate is open. Work parties take place every Wednesday morning and there are often tasks that people who aren't Master Gardeners can help with.
The Master Gardeners also created a native plant garden at the park. Heritage Garden, a more natural, wild-looking area is located at the park's trailhead.
For the latest information, visit the WSU Pierce County Master Gardeners' page on Facebook.
Sehmel Homestead Park Pavilion
The PenMet Parks Board of Park Commissioners celebrated the opening of the Pavilion at Sehmel Homestead Park on June 25th, 2011.
The 4,560 square foot Pavilion was completed on time and on budget. Our thanks to all who made this community asset a reality.
About the artist: Tova Beck is 12 years old and is a student at Kopachuck Middle School. She won first place in the Tahoma Audubon Bird Drawing Contest two years in a row, and has been commissioned to produce paintings for a conference booklet for an international educational honorary society. Her original paintings are on the cover of a published coloring book, and she sells her artwork at local fairs and at Chalet in the Woods in Gig Harbor. Tova is a self-trained artist who likes to photograph nature before painting. A Peninsula Gateway Newspaper article on Tova can be found online: http://www.gateline.com/2010/03/18/6493/nature-inspires-young-artist.html
Tova on Sehmel Park: “What I like about Sehmel Park is how you can walk through a shady forest on a hot day and come into a beautiful sunlit field of lupines. Also, the expanses of playfield are so big that everyone can have space to play. I brought my cousin, Kailyn, who is two, to the playground. She squealed with delight. Sehmel Park is a place that is good for everyone.”
Sehmel Homestead Park Ground Breaking Ceremony
Community members helped kick off Sehmel Homestead Park construction at a Ground Breaking Ceremony on July 7th, 2008. The Sehmel Homestead Park Grand Opening and Dedication Ceremony took place on May 15th, 2010.
