Little Kingsbury park makes big news

A little park in the shadow of the Tahoe Rim Trail has been getting a lot of press lately.

There isn’t even a sign for 4.5-acre George Brautovich Park nestled off the main road to the rim trail’s north Kingsbury Trailhead.

“We have had the signs removed because of numerous neighborhood complaints that people looking for the North Kingsbury Trailhead would stop at Brautovich Park trying to access a trail with their snowmobiles, motorcycles and/or quads,” Community Services Director Scott Morgan said. “There is no trail access from Brautovich Park.”

Named after former Douglas County Undersheriff and Rotarian George Brautovich, who always wanted to see the Andria Drive Park developed with barbecue and a ballfield and play equipment. The park also features a dog park.

Recently, a stream zone restoration and rehabilitation project at the park was named one of the Best in the Basin by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Governing Board.

“The Best in the Basin Awards recognize outstanding achievements for Lake Tahoe and our communities and set a standard of excellence in the region,” TRPA Deputy Director and External Affairs Chief Julie Regan said. “It’s impressive to see that after 30 years of awards, innovative projects that go above and beyond are forging ahead.”

That news came just a week after a ribbon cutting for the renovation, which moved the ball field and playground to less sensitive lands to make room for the historic stream environment zone.

The project was done jointly by Douglas County and the Nevada Tahoe Conservation District.

The work on a half-acre of the park doesn’t look like much now, but it will eventually help reduce sediments flowing into Lake Tahoe.

The project was approved by the TRPA governing board in 2020 which released $57,406 in water quality and $20,109 in stream zone mitigation funds.