Major projects at Cape Disappointment State Park are being postponed by a year.

Cape Disappointment State Park is long overdue for upgrades. This ought to be the year the Washington Legislature approves them.

Cape D is among Washington’s most popular outdoor destinations, attracting about 1.1 million visitors in 2021, 6th-most among the state’s 171 state parks. (Our peninsula’s beaches were in 2nd place with 3.7 million, just behind Deception Pass near Anacortes with 3.8 million.)

A mix of state and federal property, Cape D is a key element of Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. It is one of the crown jewels of Southwest Washington.

This large and ecologically diverse landscape contains many places where a person can truly get away from it all and commune with nature in the shade of massive old-growth trees — a haven for Pacific Northwest native wildlife and plants. Waikiki with its stunning backdrop of cliffs, sea caves and Cape Disappointment Lighthouse must be among the most-photographed sights on the Pacific Northwest Coast, perhaps only rivaled by nearby North Head Lighthouse. Maya Lin’s Confluence Project, the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, evocative Deadman’s Cove, the historic fortifications at Mackenzie Head, Bell’s View Overlook, the natural amphitheater and tidepools at Beards Hollow, and the wild open spaces of Benson Beach are just a few of the park’s other remarkable assets.

Although state taxpayers and budget writers have been generous to the park over the decades — the renewed North Head Lighthouse is a noteworthy success story — in some other ways the park has languished. The park’s entrance and office could easily be confused for that of a 1950s trailer park. Though well maintained by state personnel, it is tiny and traffic is often backed up during increasingly busy weekends. Campsites near the north end of Benson Beach are threatened by coastal erosion and worn by heavy use. Antiquated culverts, potholed parking areas, invasive vegetation and other issues substantially degrade what should otherwise be a world-class destination.

The Legislature and governor are generally aware of these problems and came close in the 2019-20 budget to providing funds to address some of them. This money, plus more slated for the 2021-23 spending cycle, would have fulfilled what State Parks calls its Isthmus Plan, which was formulated for Cape D in 2004. (The park’s gateway facilities occupy a narrow isthmus or saddle of land between the ocean beach and Baker Bay, part of the Columbia River estuary.) That 2019-23 work ended up being kicked down the road, and is now being considered for the upcoming budget period.

Unlike the state Senate and Gov. Jay Inslee, the state House of Representatives includes only a portion of needed funds in its just-released draft budget. With effectively one-party rule in Washington, there will be no excuse if Cape D modernization isn’t approved by House Democrats. Before the gavel comes down on this legislative session on April 23, everyone should come together in support of this vital, long-delayed project.

Although not currently planned, the park would also greatly benefit from extensions of its trail system. The first-rate walking path between the Beards Hollow parking area and North Head — artfully separated from traffic lanes — should at least be extended to the park headquarters. Better yet would be a dedicated pedestrian trail along the shore of Baker Bay between Ilwaco and the park.

A final point — more for Washington State Parks and the Washington State Board on Geographic Names than for the Legislature. As many have noted, there’s nothing disappointing about Cape Disappointment except for its name. We really should formally revitalize its Chinook name, Kais, by which it was known for many centuries. Cape Kais has a nice alliterative ring to it.