Otto Kopf of Central Park has been watching the construction of the improved and restored playground at Central Park with growing excitement. His mom, Kelli Kopf, says Otto hoped to be the first down one of the slides. He also loves the climbing structure and says the new park “is a lot more fun” than the original design.

Even as storm clouds billowed overhead, a group of intrepid parents and their eager children gathered on the afternoon of May 18 to skip, run, and tumble across Central Park’s newly improved and renovated playground at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Xenia Street.

Though the day’s grand opening ceremony was canceled by Denver Parks & Recreation due to lightning, families in attendance seemed happy to focus on play. Children blissfully climbed towers, splashed beneath water pumps, and swooshed down slides. Central Park mom Kelli Kopf says her son Otto has been watching the construction of the playground with mounting excitement. “He wanted to be the first down the slide,” she says. Otto adds, “I like the roller slide because it’s fast.”

Zipline fan Jack rushes by in a whirlwind of momentum. The zipline is among several new features at the renovated playground at Central Park. On the park’s opening day, children lined up again and again to ride the zipline.

Chelsea Sealy says her kids have been counting the days to the opening. “I really appreciate the extra seating and shade,” she says. “They made it such a kid-friendly place.”

The redesigned playground integrates the most resilient structures from the previous setup with colorful new play equipment for the new design. Updated features include the roller slide, zip line, play tower, and a sandpit with mechanical diggers. The playground also added new picnic tables, soft playground surfacing, a modernized irrigation system, and for hot days, water pumps and spray misters. Additionally, artificial climbing rocks, racer bouncers, and swings from the original playground were incorporated into the refreshed site. Kristin Beard, the project manager of the Central Park playground restoration for Denver Parks & Recreation, says it was important for her team to create a regional park with “inclusive elements for everyone to enjoy.”

Central Park resident Asher Allshouse tries out a new water pump. Water streams into a gully that wiggles through the park and creates a play river.

She continues, “The new improvements respond to the growing Denver and Central Park neighborhood populations, material lifecycles, and impacts that park users have had on the site.” The original Central Park playground opened in 2007, when the Central Park community numbered 7,500 residents (compared to approximately 30,000 today). By 2018, when Denver Parks & Recreation began collecting information for the Central Park restoration project, the playground was showing its age, due in part to the impact of Colorado winters and, of course, thousands of hours of joyful use. Personally, Beard says, she was excited to “restore this well-loved playground to a space for the community to enjoy.” The new playground includes a dedicated area for children ages two through five, as well as a space tailored to older children and “improved accessibility and inclusive features throughout,” she says.

In 2019, Denver Parks & Recreation partnered with Russell + Mills Studios, a landscape architecture and design firm with offices in Denver and Fort Collins, to solicit input on the project from Central Park residents. Beard recalls, “The ideas and concepts were derived from feedback we received from the community from surveys, public meetings, and pop-up events.” Russell + Mills Studios displayed illustrations of potential playground concepts at the Central Park Recreation Center and at a 2019 community event at the Runway 35 field while asking residents to vote for their favorite design plans and play structures.

The improved Central Park playground boasts a large play structure with slides and a sandpit. Denver Parks & Recreation project manager Kristin Beard says her team created elements for a variety of ages and interests.

Construction began in the spring of 2022 with the removal of old equipment. The $2 million renovation and improvement plan, which was paid for primarily by Capital Funds and the DPR Legacy Fund, was slightly hampered by shipping delays related to the Covid-19 pandemic, but Beard and her team were able to juggle vendor deliveries to make the spring 2023 deadline. Beard says she hopes the renovated playground “encourages creative play through connective elements that provide a sense of exploration and promote ways of playing while living a healthy lifestyle.”

Greenway Park and Northfield Pumptrack Updates

Denver Parks and Recreation completed conceptual plans to restore the Greenway Park playground, off the Westerly Creek Trail in Central Park. This project was developed at the same time as the Central Park playground plans were finalized, but funding has not yet been secured for the Greenway project. Beard notes that the Greenway Park playground has “existing play elements that are well-suited for the site and in good condition, while other items need redesigns and new concepts.”

Owen Fausel (above) and his sister Ella (not shown) enjoy the twists and turns of the new High Plains Park pumptrack in their North End neighborhood. Bikes of all types, skateboards, and rollerblades are welcome.

The community of Central Park also welcomed a new park of a different style in Northfield during the spring. High Plains Park now boasts 15,000 square feet devoted to a nature play area for kids and an exhilarating pumptrack for bikers that was designed by the Velosolutions pumptrack company. The looped track with an asphalt surface is spiked with winding curves, a wall ride, and a deep bowl for maximum air and technical tricks. Brody Driesbach, who lives in Northfield, says the park is a “good place to hang out,” and Quinn Varner, also of Northfield, says the track is “great for exercise and really fun.” The teens have also spotted skateboarders and “an awesome rollerblader” on the track, Dreisbach says. Bikes of all types may ride on this pumptrack located at 57th Avenue and Elmira Court.

The Central Park playground is located at 8801 MLK Jr. Blvd. The High Plains Park is located at the intersection of E. 57th Ave. and N. Elmira Ct.

Front Porch photos by Christie Gosch