At the north end of the lake right now you can see steel framing at Mill Spur Yard, which went up under a crane this summer. Demolition crews are working on the buildings next to the Police Station. Across the water, the Davies Beach dock has had its old decking stripped off. Starting Monday, October 5, the picnic shelter and restrooms at North Cove Park will be fenced off too.
This October, downtown Lake Stevens is hosting two harvest events in a park where the public facilities are being rebuilt. Because the work and the events overlap, you need to know which dates fall inside a closure as well as which dates have an event.
October, Laid Out by Date
- Thursday, October 1, at noon. Registration closes for the City's fall community garage sale.
- Saturday and Sunday, October 3 and 4, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The citywide garage sale runs.
- Monday, October 5. The North Cove Park picnic shelter and restrooms close.
- Saturday, October 10, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Harvest Market runs at North Cove Park and The Mill.
- Around the third week of October. The Davies Beach dock is due to reopen if resurfacing stays on its 30-day schedule.
- Friday, October 30. The shelter and restroom closure ends.
- Saturday, October 31, 4 to 7 p.m. HarvestFest takes over North Cove Park.
The Harvest Market falls inside the restroom closure, and HarvestFest falls the day after it ends. The rest of this post works through what that means.
Four Rebuilds Running at Once
The restroom closure is one of several projects going on at the same time. Each has its own fencing, its own schedule and its own notices.
- North Cove Park shelter bathrooms. The City posted this closure today, September 30. The picnic shelter and restrooms are closed October 5 through 30 so crews can build the new shelter bathroom.
- Mill Spur Yard. This is the new building going up next to North Cove Park. It will hold the Lake Stevens Historical Museum and two commercial suites.
- Davies Beach Dock. Resurfacing was scheduled to start September 21. Crews are replacing the old decking with wood and pultruded fiberglass, which lets light through to the water.
- Civic Campus. The City has hired Faber Construction for targeted demolition. This is the first stage of a unified campus built around the buildings next to the Police Station. The City announced the start of work on September 3.
There is one practical detail for the dock. The City says the Davies Beach boat launch stays open during the work, but some parking spaces there are reserved for the construction company. If you launch a boat on a fall weekend, expect fewer parking spots than usual. The City's notice is titled "Through October 2026." It hasn't posted a reopening update yet, so check the project page before you plan to stand on the dock.
October 10 Falls Inside the Closure
The Harvest Market is the one-day fall market run by the Greater Lake Stevens Chamber of Commerce. 2026 is the Chamber's first year running the Farmers Market in Lake Stevens. The City invited it to submit a proposal, and the Chamber now runs the market in partnership with the City. The regular Tuesday season ran June 2 through August 25, 3 to 7 p.m. The Harvest Market moves to a Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
If you saved the date this spring, check it. The Herald's April story on the market's new management gave the fall market as October 11. The Chamber's season page and the City's September notice both now say Saturday, October 10.
The market uses North Cove Park and The Mill, the City's event space at 1806 Main St. The Chamber says every market date has a children's play area with cornhole boards and a bouncy house. The vendor map online lists October 10 as a market date but doesn't show which vendors are coming that day. Check the map closer to the date before you go looking for a particular vendor.
The market falls in the middle of the restroom closure, so this is the City's plan for that period:
"To support the North Cove Park shelter bathroom construction project, the picnic shelter and restrooms are closed October 5 - 30, 2026. A portable restroom will be located in the parking lot adjacent to the playground."
For families with young kids at the bouncy house, the backup restroom will be in the parking lot next to the playground, not at the shelter. The covered shelter is closed too, so there's no shelter to fall back on if it rains on October 10.
October 31 Falls the Day After
The City's free HarvestFest returns to North Cove Park on Saturday, October 31, from 4 to 7 p.m. The flyer lists costumes, crafts, big rigs, games, food trucks and candy. The first hour, 4 to 5 p.m., is set aside as sensory-friendly. For a household with a child who finds crowds and noise hard, that first hour is the best time to go.
The closure notice says the shelter and restrooms close through October 30, and HarvestFest is the next day. If crews finish on schedule, HarvestFest would be the first big event at North Cove with the new shelter bathroom open. The City hasn't confirmed that the work will finish on time. If the schedule slips, the portable restroom from the market weekend may still be there on Halloween.
The two events are often mixed up, and the City has said so directly. Its HarvestFest announcement notes that the event is separate from the Chamber's Harvest Market on October 10. The organizers are different, and so are the hours and the activities. The one thing they share is the park. The City's online calendar entry for HarvestFest also says "October 31, 2025" in its description. The September 9 notice gives 2026, and the date and times are the same in both.
The Building That Probably Won't Be Open Yet
Mill Spur Yard is the project to watch, and it's also the one whose timing is easiest to misread.
On May 14 the City announced that Snohomish Pie Company would open its third location at Mill Spur Yard, with construction expected to finish in fall 2026. The City's June 11 update said the museum was getting steel framing, with wood framing to follow. It said construction should be "completed late this fall."
The latest progress report is from July 10. It said the slab had been poured, the framing was up and the site grading was refined. Still ahead were the exterior shell, siding, roofing, and the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems. Snohomish Pie Company's own locations page still lists only Snohomish and Mountlake Terrace. No source we found gives an opening date, a ribbon cutting or the name of the second commercial tenant.
So the most solid fact about Mill Spur Yard for October is that it will be a fenced site next to both harvest events. "Late fall" could still mean November or December. Look for a City update before you plan a pie run on Main Street.
In the meantime, the Lake Stevens Historical Society sells books, posters and calendars on Thursdays from 1 to 4 p.m. at its temporary storage facility, 12301 North Lake Shore Drive. Those are listed as hours for buying merchandise. None of the sources we found give public visiting hours for the museum.
Where to Eat Within Walking Distance
The pie shop isn't open yet, so these are the businesses near North Cove you can visit now.
| Business | Address | Good fit for |
|---|---|---|
| Biscuit & Bean | 1811 Main St | Coffee and breakfast before the market opens at 11 |
| Buzz Inn Steakhouse | 1801 Main St | A sit-down meal across from The Mill |
| Wander Cookies Bake Shop | 12420 20th St NE | A dessert stop; open Tuesday through Sunday |
| Creekside Alehouse & Grill | 12401 20th St NE | Burgers, a beer garden, and a posted event calendar |
Biscuit & Bean and Buzz Inn are both on the same block of Main Street as The Mill. On October 10, you can get breakfast at Biscuit & Bean and walk over when the market opens at 11. Creekside Alehouse & Grill lists karaoke, live music, pool, darts and its Beer Garden on its site, and it posts its October lineup there. HarvestFest ends at 7 p.m. on Halloween, so it's worth checking Creekside's calendar for that night before you head home. The Subway at 1807 Main St is also open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. if you need a quick meal before the sensory-friendly hour.
At The Erickson Group, we follow these downtown projects closely because Mill Spur Yard, the Civic Campus and the rebuilt Davies Beach dock will change how the north end of the lake looks and works. If you live near North Cove and want to know how these projects could affect your home's value, ask us for a free home valuation from Greg Erickson. We'll show you how your property compares now that downtown Lake Stevens is being rebuilt.
