As of May 27, 2017 the major attraction in the park became the
Memorial to the Methow, a memorial created by artist Smoker Marchand. It is dedicated to the Methow people of the area, after whom the nearby Methow River is named. The memorial is comprised of a metal sculpture of an Indian spearing salmon while mounted on a horse standing in the river, with fish swimming in the river at the horse's feet. The memorial is landscaped with river worn stones, boulders, large pieces of driftwood and tall grasses. Nearby is a teepee and a historical marker entitled
1948 Flood
In Okanogan County history, this flood was the most devastating in terms of property loss. It destroyed all bridges going up the Methow Valley, and destroyed many homes, apple warehouses, lumber yards and orchards in the area. The China Ditch, being used at that time for irrigating several hundred acres of orchard in the area, was also ruined by the flood. The headgate and several miles of ditch were obliterated. Thereafter, orchardists had to pump water directly out of the Methow and Columbia Rivers for irrigation.
Pateros became the service center for folks who were isolated up the Methow with all the road and bridge washouts. Many families were evacuated from their homes along the Methow River as well as in the town of Pateros. It took more than a month to restore electricity and allow for travel by road.
This flood, caused by fast melting snow, heavy rains and a late spring, took place in late May and early June of 1948. Water levels remained at major flood levels for 26 days. Fifteen lives were lost. Though the flood affected communities up and down the Columbia River, the hardest hit in this area was right here at the Methow valley. During the flood this marker would have been under several feet of water. Construction of flood control dams, both in Canada and the U.S., beginning in 1964, has greatly reduced the potential for flooding on the Columbia.