Stevenson Lights Its Tree on One Corner of Second and Russell. The City's Next Gathering Spot Is Across the Street.

Stevenson's tree lighting on Friday, December 4, takes place on the courthouse lawn at the northeast corner of Russell and Second. On the other side of Second Street, on the block between Russell Avenue and Leavens Street, is Walnut Park, a much smaller patch of green.

Those two pieces of ground were the subject of a city council decision in October. Stevenson spent more than a decade planning a plaza on the courthouse lawn. In October, the council directed the city to seek a change of scope that would put the grant money left from that effort toward a design for Walnut Park. According to the Skamania Dispatch, Public Works says that park's old walnut tree is dying and will have to come down. That puts this year's Christmas in the Gorge, which runs November 25 through December 13, on a corner that is starting to change.

The Lawn That Holds December 4

The courthouse lawn covers 1.07 acres. Stevenson's 2024 parks, recreation, and open space plan lists what happens there. It hosts the community Christmas tree lighting and is the first choice for political and free speech gatherings. It works as a natural amphitheater for high school band performances, and its slopes are, in the plan's words, "premier barrel rolling hills for the youngest area residents." The lawn also holds the Armed Forces Memorial, street-side benches, a drinking fountain, a flagpole and a small picnic area with a monumental petrified log.

Here is the December 4 schedule from the Skamania County Chamber of Commerce:

• 6:30 p.m.: Tree lighting on the courthouse lawn, with caroling and free cookies, cocoa and cider
• 7:00 p.m.: Starlight Parade along Highway 14 through downtown
• Theme: "Old-Fashioned Hometown Christmas"
• Entry deadline: Wednesday, December 2, open to businesses, organizations, community groups, families and individuals
• Prize: The Starlight Parade Trophy and a cash prize, sponsored by WKO Inc.

A Decade of Planning on That Lawn

The plaza effort is older than most of the decorations that will go up this year. An October city memo says the project has run for more than a decade and cost about $200,000 in planning and related work. The city reached an agreement with the county over the courthouse property in December 2022. In August 2023 it hired Understory Architecture to turn conceptual designs into engineered plans.

The next design phase stalled after a June 2024 council vote. An August 2024 city memo put construction of the current design at $4.3 million, against a goal of $3.2 million. That is a gap of $1.1 million, roughly a third more than the city had planned to spend.

A city survey that spring drew 432 completed responses. Fifty-three percent supported the plaza overall. Support was higher among the people closest to downtown: 63% of downtown stakeholders and 58% of daily downtown visitors.

The idea did not go away. When the council took up the leftover grant money this fall, one councilmember described what residents bring up most often, as reported in the Skamania Dispatch's October round-up:

"If they bring something up, it's the plaza."

Why the Council Looked Across Second Street

According to the mayor's memo as reported by the Dispatch, about $147,000 of a state Commerce grant remains. That grant is expected to expire in July 2027. The council had three options: keep going with the plaza, move the money to a design for Walnut Park, or give it up. Its direction was Walnut Park, as a first step that does not abandon the plaza. The Dispatch reported that the mayor planned to file the change of scope with Commerce the next day, and that a re-authorized grant would come with a new deadline.

The Dispatch reported that Kelly O'Malley-McKee of the Stevenson Downtown Association told the council the plaza route still faced hurdles, including a revised agreement with the county for the lawn. She offered the association's help raising private money for either site.

Walnut Park is the small spot most people walk past without a second look. It covers 0.19 acres, about a sixth the size of the courthouse lawn. It was rebuilt during the 2004 Second Street improvement project and now has tables, benches, bike racks, rock retaining walls, interpretive signage, a directional kiosk, pavers bought through community donations and a dance tutorial set into the pavement. In summer, the business next door leases the central space for outdoor dining. The parks plan says the legacy walnut gives the site "both shade and character," and a few younger walnuts grow nearby.

The same Dispatch round-up reports that Public Works says the legacy tree is dying and will have to come down, so the park needs work either way. Ideas floated at the meeting for the park included restrooms, ADA access, lighting, a mural and space for small markets.

The September Survey Asked for What the Holiday Season Uses

Walnut Park's list of possible features lines up closely with what downtown regulars asked for a month earlier. At the September 17 council meeting, the Downtown Association reported 163 responses to its survey, according to the Dispatch's September round-up. Ninety-two percent of respondents visit downtown daily or weekly, and 95% said they feel welcome and safe there. They asked for more businesses, restrooms, steadier hours and fewer empty storefronts. Placemaking ranked as the top priority, and many respondents brought up the plaza without being asked.

The holiday season tests those same requests on Second Street. Restrooms and lighting matter most when a crowd arrives after dark for a 6:30 p.m. tree lighting and stays for a 7:00 p.m. parade. Steadier hours are exactly what Plaid Friday and the Cocoa Crawl depend on.

Plaid Friday falls on November 27. The Chamber pitches it as a relaxed, local alternative to Black Friday. Participating downtown businesses offer merchant deals, a reusable Love Local tote and prize entries, and the Chamber asks shoppers to wear plaid. The downtown Plaid Friday participants page says every participating merchant will hold a gift basket drawing. It lists A&J Market, Bits N Spurs, Bloomsbury of Kanaka Creek Farm, Clark & Lewie's, Columbia Hardware, El Rio Texicantina, Gotta Hava Java, High 5, High Maintenance Nail Studio, Hotel Stevenson and 77 Cork & Tap Bistro, North Bank Books, Out and About, out on a limb, Red Bluff Tap House, Riverside Resale, Skunk Brothers Spirits, The Cabin Drive Thru, Traverse PNW Market and Walking Man Brewing. Check that page for each shop's current hours.

The Cocoa Crawl runs November 28 through December 6. Buy a $5 commemorative mug at the Chamber, 167 NW Second Street, then fill it with free hot cocoa at downtown businesses showing the Cocoa Crawl cup icon. Since the Chamber sits on Second Street, the walk starts on the same street as Walnut Park and the courthouse lawn.

The Season by Date

Most of Christmas in the Gorge happens on or near Second Street. Some of it happens at Skamania Lodge or up the road in Carson and Cook.

For the scavenger hunt, pick up an entry form at a participating location, find the hidden Bigfoot at each stop, record where you found it and turn in the completed form for a chance at a prize. The Chamber also lists holiday promotions at participating businesses across the county from November 25 to December 13, marked with a holiday promotion icon on its map. The Chamber also lists three arts and crafts bazaars, each marked with 2026 details coming soon: the Christmas in the Gorge Arts & Crafts Bazaar at the Skamania County Fairgrounds, the Holiday Village Fair in the Stevenson Ballroom at Skamania Lodge, and the American Legion Post #137 Arts & Crafts Bazaar at the American Legion Hall in Carson. The fairgrounds and Legion bazaars list free admission.

Carson Lights Its Tree at a Nursery

Two nights after Stevenson's lighting, Christmas in Carson holds its own at Gator Creek Gardens, a family-owned nursery at 81 Hot Springs Ave. It opened in 1999 and sells plants, bark, rock and soil. The Sunday, December 6 lighting starts at 6:30 p.m. with Santa photos and free cookies and cocoa. It wraps up three days of giveaways, discounts and seasonal treats at participating Carson businesses, and the Christmas in Carson Facebook page posts updates.

The following Saturday, December 12, Cedar Creek Alpacas in Cook hosts Christmas on the Farm. It has a holiday light display, visits with Santa and the alpacas, and gifts in the Farm Store.

Back in Stevenson, the Walnut Park design depends on the requested change of scope to the state Commerce grant. Under its current terms, that grant is expected to expire in July 2027.

At Woodland Real Estate, we follow decisions like the Walnut Park grant across Skamania County. If you'd like to talk about what's changing near your part of the Gorge, let's connect.