The park straddles thoroughfare Juanita Drive and features a number of amenities, including a pier, a playground, bathhouses, and athletic facilities.

[4][5] Between 1876 and 1877 the site was homesteaded by 33rd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment Union veteran Dorr Forbes of Allegany County, New York and his wife Eliza.

This, as well as the bay's naturally long shelf, which creates a shallow expanse of water out to 500 feet (150 m), made the site a fit for recreation.

[7] However, attendance fell following the Second World War, and after pollution issues temporarily closed the park in 1953, the Forbes family would ultimately sell the resort's land to King County in 1956.

[7] The park's use fell sharply in the 1990s as a result of the county's lack of upkeep, which led to waterfowl feces and invasive Eurasian watermilfoil polluting and clogging the swimming area.