910 9th St. SE
20.86 acres

Les Gove Park is a park, recreational and educational campus serving the entire community. The cluster of amenities in this popular campus includes the Auburn Community & Event Center, The REC Teen Center, Les Gove Gymnasium,  Senior Activity Center, White River Valley Museum and the Auburn Library.  

Park Features:

• Les Gove Multipurpose Building
• Gymnasium and Climbing Wall
• Large variety of community facilities available for rental
• Discovery Playground, including an ADA swing and regular swing
• Bocce Courts (Free bocce instruction is provided by the Auburn Bocce Club on Tuesday and Thursday from 3:00 - 6:00 PM, mid-April through mid-October, weather-permitting.)
• Rotary spray playground - open daily 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
  Check out the spray playground funders (PDF).
• 1/2 Mile Looped Trail
• Outdoor Fitness Equipment
• Public Artwork
• Restrooms
• Views of Mt. Rainier
• One Softball field

Recreational Area

The outdoor recreational component of Les Gove Park is found primarily in the south 2/3 of the park. A half-mile paved trail encircles an attractive bermed and treed area including 100 flowering cherry trees given by the Japanese Sister City Lions Club of Kasuga-Cho in 1984. 

Other recreational features include a softball field, informal play fields, water playground and play structure. The Rotary Spray Playground is located in Les Gove Park is one of the city's favorite features for young children and the Discovery Playground, offers an accessible playground options for children of all ages and abilities. 

Les Gove Park Gymnasium

The Les Gove gymnasium allows participants to drop-in to a variety of programs scheduled throughout the year, including open gym sports, and indoor preschool playground, rock climbing instruction and more. The Gymnasium also supports a host of organized programs, rock climbing classes, and birthday party packages. The facility is available for rentals and other special events. The Les Gove Park Gymnasium is attached to the REC Teen Center and the Auburn Community & Events Center.    

Auburn Community and Event Center

Set in Auburn’s scenic Les Gove Park, the Auburn Community & Event Center is the perfect location for your next special occasion. An elegant wood floor and expansive floor to ceiling windows add to the beauty of the facility. A large outdoor patio provides flexibility for indoor and outdoor use. An on-site attendant is provided to assist with your needs. Whether you are planning a wedding, reception, anniversary, party, family reunion or corporate event, our beautiful facility has an array of amenities to offer you. The Community and Event Center also offers fitness memberships to the brand new workout room, a variety of classes, and so much more!

Senior Center

The Senior Center is a 12,000 square foot, one story, brick structure, constructed and completed in 2002. The structure features a large room dining/meeting area which will hold 200 people, a commercial kitchen, meeting rooms, and a large reception/gathering area in addition to a pool room and computer lab.

Library

The City and King County Library entered into an agreement where a new library building was built in Les Gove Park, owned by the City, part of the King County Library system. The library is at the southwest corner of the park, with access from Auburn Way South.

Museum

The White River Valley Museum, cooperatively managed by the City of Auburn and the White River Valley Historical Society, is located behind the Library in Les Gove Park. It is also a one story building. Inside is a reconstruction of a log cabin, the reproduction of Auburn's Main Street at the turn of the century, a caboose representative of the railroad history of Auburn, and a representative display of the native Americans and other early residents of the area. Additionally, the museum has exhibits on a variety of historical subjects and a unique gift shop. Outdoor features include antique farm machinery displayed in an enclosed area. The farm machinery will be relocated to the Olson Canyon site in the future. The museum grounds are fairly limited and are predominantly paved.

Park History

Named for former Mayor Leslie J. Gove, who served from 1936 - 1946 and again in 1955 for only two months. Gove was Mayor during the time the park property was converted from undeveloped land to a housing development for war workers. When the property was approved for the development of a fifteen acre park in 1960, councilman Fred Towner was instrumental in getting the park named for Mayor Gove. Mayor Gove's family members were early pioneers in the area, who moved here in 1875. They farmed north of Auburn and put in the first water system in the area, giving them running water from a source on the West Hill to their back porch. The park was dedicated in 1966. The 20-acre park has rolling mounds and meadows with 100 cherry blossom trees given to us from our Japanese Sister City, Kasugo, Japan, which is now part of our newly formed city called Tamba, Japan.

Driving Directions

910 9th St. SE
From I-5 or Hwy 167, take the Hwy. 18 East. Take the Auburn-Enumclaw Exit onto Auburn Way So. Turn left onto Auburn Way So. at the end of the ramp. Continue south on Auburn Way. Go past the Dairy Queen. Turn left onto 'F' Street. Take a quick right onto 9th Street. Take a right on 'H' Street. Follow the street into the park. Les Gove Multipurpose Building is on the left.