The Greenway is the perfect place for walking, bird watching, fishing, running, biking, skating, picnicking, and enjoying healthy outdoor activities in solitude or with friends and family. It is wheelchair accessible, with fishing piers designed for the disabled at Rotary Lake.

The Greenway is fondly known as "The Jewel of Yakima" and is a favorite place enjoyed and supported by thousands of residents and visitors every year. There is no place else like it in the Yakima Valley!

[Sumach Park] came into being by people using it and not the other way around...it had no formal boundaries except the river and the patrons' imagination. (from A History of the Yakima Greenway by Frank Frederick)

In the early part of the 20th century, a large park stretched along the banks of the Yakima River east of downtown Yakima. Named for the sumac trees that grew along the river, Sumach (spelled with an 'h') Park was a popular spot. "It had everything, horseshoe pits, baseball diamonds, foot racing, swimming holes, bandstands, grandstands and even a ferris wheel, though it was north of the park and privately owned." (George Martin quoted in A History of the Yakima Greenway)

The Yakima Metro District was formed in 1946-47 as an entity to acquire, own, operate, and maintain parks, playgrounds, and other recreational facilities. A park board was elected which functioned as Yakima's parks department until 1969. This board was in favor of cleaning up the Yakima River within its jurisdiction, while other local citizens advocated a gap-to-gap approach to solving the river's problems. However, lacking financial support, the board did not take any action on improving the river area.

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