Category: crushed rock

Exploring Tacoma’s Prairie Line Trail

August 28, 2026
Eve Hart
by Eve Hart

Tacoma’s Prairie Line Trail is finally complete after more than a decade of planning and construction. The mile-long trail brings together Tacoma’s past and present through established landmarks and art installations. It’s a short and easy walk that people of all ages and abilities can enjoy.

Read on to learn what the Prairie Line Trail has to offer and how it came to be.

Scenes along the Prairie Line Trail

The Prairie Line Trail starts out at the intersection of Hood Street and South 25th Street in Tacoma, then ends at the 15th Street ramp near the Thea Foss Waterway Public Esplanade. The walking path varies from pavement to brick and crosses under skybridges, past historical brick buildings, and through the middle of the University of Washington-Tacoma (UW-Tacoma) campus. Art installations recognize many moments in Tacoma’s history, from the persecution of Chinese and Japanese immigrants to the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad.

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Bringing Back Benston Hall

March 30, 2026
Eve Hart
by Eve Hart

Visit Benston Hall on a Wednesday, and you’ll find a senior group meeting for lunch in the kitchen.

On a Saturday, you might walk into an outdoor farmer’s market.

On other days of the week, step aerobics, tai chi, line dancing, or swing dancing might be in full swing in the main hall.

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Washington Rock Assists in Flood Relief

December 30, 2025
Washington Rock
by Washington Rock

Orting, WA—After record floods in December, Washington Rock Quarries answered the call to make and ship material to critical areas in the Puget Sound region.

Washington Rock’s team members worked long hours and even volunteered to come in on their holiday weekends to supply materials. Read on to learn about the flood relief and repairs our materials were sent to.

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How to Buy Gravel: 15 Things You Need to Know

September 30, 2024
Eve Hart
by Eve Hart

Never bought gravel before? If you’re overwhelmed, you’re not alone. We covered some of the basics about buying gravel so that you can be more confident in selecting and ordering gravel for your project.

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How Do I Make a Gravel Surface Wheelchair-Accessible?

July 25, 2022
by Eve Hart

Daniel Burnstein of Brooklyn, New York had a unique dilemma: his client wanted to be able to use the backyard with a wheelchair. Concrete work and pavers can be expensive, and Daniel liked the rustic charm of gravel.

His question: Can gravel surfaces be wheelchair accessible? The answer is yes—if they meet certain standards.

Washington Rock, with the help of landscape architect Clayton Beaudoin, researched the topic and came up with guidelines for making gravel surfaces wheelchair accessible.

Our goal is to make these guidelines as easy as possible to follow, so we created a simple guide below. Then we included additional resources, such as a Glossary of Terms and Research Notes.

Check out the companion piece to this article, “Designing for Diana: How We Made Gravel Wheelchair-Accessible in Brooklyn,” to read about how we used our guidelines to help Daniel create a gravel-accessible backyard. The project is summarized in the video below.

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The Not-So-Secret Garden: Old Goat Farm

June 15, 2021
Eve Hart
by Eve Hart

Washington Rock Quarries regularly blogs about causes and businesses that use our rock, sand, or soil products. In 2021, we published this story about Old Goat Farm, owned and operated by Gary Waller and Greg Graves. Greg passed away in late 2022, and Greg recently sold Old Goat Farm and began a new adventure in Eatonville, WA. We kept the Old Goat Farm story in the original format and hope you can continue to find inspiration in it.

Tucked away in the woods of Graham is a sprawling garden from the pages of a storybook. Swaths of flowers border a lawn that flows in different directions. Each garden bed is flush with hundreds of plants: fluffy peonies here, yellow clusters of ranunculus there, colonies of hosta winding like a forest stream. The colors and forms are endless.

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A Horse Farm Turned Wedding Destination: The Hidden Farm

April 27, 2021
Eve Hart
by Eve Hart

This article explores how The Hidden Farm uses ¼” Minus trail gravel to create cement-like paths and flooring for weddings and then easily transitions it into a horse arena footing in the winter.

The sections “The Secret Ingredient: Trail Gravel” and “Megan’s Gravel Recipe for Paddocks” contain specific information about how gravel products are used. Don’t forget to watch our video about The Hidden Farm located at the end of the article. We hope you enjoy the beautiful story of The Hidden Farm.

Just beyond the shorelines of Lake Tapps, The Hidden Farm sits on a hill surrounded by acres of pastureland. The valley below is dotted with grazing horses and cattle, and in the distance are the snow-frosted foothills of Mt. Rainier.

The viewpoint at the rim of the hill is bordered by a granite rockery. Behind the rockery stretches a smooth, green lawn, flanked on one side by horse stables and on the other side, a horse arena and a classic red barn.

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