“Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction.” – E. O. Wilson
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lakeport's lovely Library Park is a world unto itself, sitting on three sprawling acres at 222 Park St.
While sitting on one of the many park benches, Clear Lake appears to effortlessly expand its shores with a view of Mount Konocti in the distance.
It's not hard to imagine what stories that sacred mountain could tell, if only it could.
Mount Konocti, a dormant volcano, erupted 300,000 to 600,000 years ago. This unique land formation played a special part in Lake County's Indian mythologies.
A stroll in Library Park reveals towering weeping willows. These provide cooling shade along the shores.
The park is home to a variety of flowering trees, including elegant dogwood trees.
Here at Library Park you will find a place to launch your kayak, you may take a swim, hold a barbecue, and the children may enjoy the playground structures.
Entertainment, in the form of music performances is frequently held in the park's handsome gazebo.
Many intriguing discoveries can be made in this little corner of our county.
The park's namesake is derived from the historic Carnegie Library building that graces the entrance on Park Street.
It opened its doors on Feb. 18, 1918. When space became limited in the Carnegie Library, Lakeport gained a new county library in 1986.
Since Lake County's Carnegie Library met the numerous criteria for historic value, it was listed on the National Parks Service's National Register of Historic Places.
In Library Park one can be privy to the voluminous heaving of cloud cover one minute, witness a pair of grebes rushing in another instant, then, without warning you may be privy to the loud language and comings and goings of the nesting black-crowned night herons in the park's trees.
Follow Library Park's Facebook page for updates about activities.
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.