Quick Facts

• Cook Family Park Map
• Hours: Daily from dawn to dusk
• Size: 79 acres 

Construction Update

Trail Access at Cook Family Park - 85th Avenue Trail Access: Construction has started on the Durham segment of the Fanno Creek Trail Connections Project, extending from the southern end of SW 85th Avenue to the Ki-a-Kuts Bridge near Durham City Park and Tualatin Community Park. There will be increased traffic on SW 85th Avenue between the cul-de-sac and the gate by the RV dump station due to construction vehicles and equipment. The trail to Cook Family Park will remain open for cyclists and pedestrians during this time. Flaggers will be on hand to assist with guiding cyclists and pedestrians thru the work area when construction equipment is using the trail access. We ask that community members please be vigilant when near the construction area. 

Park Description 

At Cook Family Park, you’ll find play structures for ages 2-12, hard and soft trails, and the Tupling Butterfly Garden. The riverfront location gives boaters easy access to scenic waterways. Five picnic shelters, along with soccer and ball fields, are available for rent. 

Ki-a-Kuts Bike and Pedestrian Bridge: This connection provides a link between Cook Family Park and Tualatin’s Community Park and Durham City Park. To access the bridge from Cook Family Park, start at the butterfly garden pathway at the eastern end of the parking area. Continue beyond the butterfly garden to a new concrete pathway that parallels the Tualatin River. This trail winds under a train trestle. After passing under the trestle, the bridge is up a short hill to the right.

Beautiful Blooms: Late summer is a great time to visit the Tupling Butterfly Garden in Cook Park. Flowers planted here are designed to provide constant blooms from spring lasting though late summer. This begins with pinks, purples and blues in May and ends with gold, yellow and white in September. The garden was initially made possible by a generous donation from Kristine Ann Tupling. It is maintained by Parks Division stationed at Cook Family Park. 

Parking

• Tot Lot: Nearby parking 
• Main Playground: Accessible sidewalks to the playground from the parking area located near the maintenance facility. 

Play Area

• Tot Lot: Poured in place rubber safety surfacing.   
• Inclusive Playground: Padded turf surfacing. Open during normal park hours! 

Play Equipment

• Tot Lot: Designed for ages 2-5, includes tactile elements, an expression swing and all-abilities swing, and several musical play features. 
• Inclusive Playground: Designed for ages 5-12

Locater Map

• This free, interactive web app works across all your devices and can help you explore the Park’s many amenities – whether you’re planning ahead or already here.

Contact

Park Maintenance, parks@tigard-or.gov, 503-718-2591
Submit Online: Public Works Service Request

This article was published in the Tigard Historical Association newsletter.

John E. Cook entered public life as a member of the Park Advisory Committee which was composed of six people (five private citizen members and one member of the City Council), which he served on for 10 years. This committee was charged with finding an open space for a public park. They soon became interested in some acreage along the Tualatin River. John Cook spoke with the legal caretaker for this property (as the legal owner resided in Boston, Massachusetts). He discovered the 36 acres that the committee was interested in had already been deeded to Washington County.

However Julia Tigard (Mrs. Curtis Tigard) served on the Washington County Park Committee and knew that Washington County did not have sufficient funds for the development of the 36-acre property as a park so she assisted John in convincing the County Court that Tigard had the funds to develop a public park and that the 36-acre property should be deeded to Tigard. This was accomplished in the summer of 1962. This park property was mainly wooded, but had some open space for future recreation.

Then in October 1962 the major Columbus Day storm hit Tigard and uprooted trees on this 36-acre deeded property destined to be made into a public park. After trees and brush were torn up by the storm, John’s Park Advisory Committee issued a plea to the public for assistance in the cleanup work and the Marine Reserves, Chamber of Commerce, Jaycees, and the Lions Club members all turned out to offer their aid.

The downed trees were removed and an old well was found which became operational to aid in the new park’s development in the years before city water reached the area for the park. A formal ribbon cutting ceremony was held in ca. 1964 which opened Tigard Park. John E. Cook remained active with fundraising to add new facilities and amenities to the new park through BBQ chicken roasts and sales, selling over a thousand pounds of BBQ chicken a year to a responsive community who wished the new park to succeed.

When Julia Tigard resigned from the Washington County Park Board, John became a member continuing his work to beautify the Tigard region. The Tigard Park Advisory Committee continued its advocacy for green space and competed for environmental improvement dollars. His efforts were supported by Howard Terpenning, executive officer of the Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District.

Public access to the new Tigard Park was obtained through an agreement between John C. Bilyeu (who owned the home that is now the Quello House), Tigard School District, and the City of Tigard. Fred Anderson was the attorney for all three parties involved in the public access discussion and he arranged for the high school and Bilyeu to each give a fraction of their property for a public road down to the Tualatin River from Durham Road.

So successful were the efforts of John E. Cook in securing the original 36-acre deed to the property for the park, in fundraising for its development, and in securing public access that the Tigard City Council re-named the new park Cook Park in his honor.  In the early 1970s, a Councilman had come into Cook’s Pharmacy and told John of the park’s new name.

The City of Tigard has continued to purchase properties adjacent to the original 36 acres with the most recent acquisitions being the land for the soccer field and the land for the Tupling Butterfly Garden.

Dr. Barbara Bennett Peterson, Former Professor of History, Oregon State University, Historian Tigard Historical Association