Strawberry Hill Park is one of Bainbridge Island’s oldest and most cherished parks. With a rich history as strawberry farmland tended by Japanese American and Filipino American families, and later a Cold War-era Nike missile site, the park now hosts such wide-ranging community activities as tennis, skateboarding, girls’ softball, Pee Wee Football, a kindergym, and a dog park. 

The Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation secured two transformative land acquisitions through private donor gifts, growing the park for new activities and opportunities.

In 2022, the Foundation funded the $1 million purchase of the 10-acre Hayashida property, northwest of the park. This acquisition made possible the new Strawberry Hill Bike Park and an expanded dog park. Then, in 2024, a $1.1 million grant from the Foundation (again funded by a private donor) allowed the acquisition of a 9-acre Comcast property east of the park. The two acquisitions expanded the park to a total of 38 acres — more than double its original size. 

 The newly acquired Comcast property, a lightly wooded parcel along High School Road, now houses the Park District’s administrative offices in a repurposed building once slated for demolition. By saving and revitalizing the structure, the Park District created a functional, cost-effective hub for staff and services. 

The Parks & Trails Foundation’s role was essential — not only in funding the land purchases, but in acting quickly when opportunities arose.