Bridge a hot spot on hot summer days

Whether it's swimming beneath or jumping from — a strictly illegal act — the Jordan Bridge, the site has been the summertime destination for generations of Snohomish County residents.

On hot summer days, the pedestrian-only bridge over the South Fork of the Stillaguamish River is lined with kids, and the riverbank is covered with bodies. Others drift down the river on inner tubes and rafts; smaller youngsters in life jackets bob in the water as their parents keep watch.

"The current doesn't go very fast, and it's always fresh," said Diane Garris of Everett, who visited Jordan Bridge County Park one recent afternoon with her children, Gabe, 10 and Pandora, 3.

"Oh, it's beautiful out here," she said. "I fell in love with the place."

Charyl Hakso was among a group of four families — with 20 children among them — who spent a recent day at the Jordan Bridge.

The park has better water and smaller crowds than the shoreline at Lake Stevens, Hakso said.

"It's actually harder at the [Lake Stevens] beach to keep track of the kids because there are so many of them," she said.

The park, about an acre, was acquired by the county in 1994. The first bridge at the site was built in the early 1900s. The bridge was condemned in 1972, rebuilt a few years later and closed again in the 1990s for more repair. The bridge was later rebuilt.

For many local teens, jumping from the bridge into the river has become almost a rite of passage, albeit an illegal one. A sign near the bridge that warns that jumping or diving is not allowed may be the most-ignored admonishment in the county.

Just ask the teens who were lined up on the bridge one recent afternoon. They were the first to tell a visitor that the drop from bridge to river is 49 feet.

"Yeah, we measured it," said Ryan Reed, 17.

"This is my third year," he said. "It's exciting. It gives you a rush."

The jumpers warned that it's safe to jump only on the downstream side of the bridge because there are rocks on the upstream side. They estimated that water is 12 feet deep and said they sometimes hit bottom when they land.

All the kids on one recent hot day were jumping feet first and wearing sneakers.

A park ranger occasionally comes along, one of the kids said, and there's a $500 fine if they're caught, but as soon as the ranger leaves, they go back to jumping.

As far as anyone knows, there's never been a death from the jumping, said Marc Krandel, the county's parks-planning manager.

"I think it makes everybody nervous, with kids jumping off," he said.

Shawn Erickson lives across the bridge from Jordan Road in a neighborhood called Jordan River Trails.

"I love the river and being close to it," she said. "But I have a problem with people parking."

That may be one of the reasons the park, run by Snohomish County, has kept its ol'-swimmin'-hole feel. There are only about two dozen parking spaces and they're all on the east side of the river, with signs warning against trying to park in the Jordan Trails area or along narrow, twisting Jordan Road.

Krandel said there's a shortage of water-access areas in Snohomish County, so the park tends to be used beyond its capacity in hot weather, overwhelming the limited parking and leading to complaints from neighbors.

"I don't think it was ever anticipated that it would be as popular as it is," he said.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com