Just a stone’s throw from rushing traffic on South Santa Fe Drive, near where Big Dry Creek meets the South Platte River, is a tiny park with a big idea behind it.
Officials May 21 on the Creekside Experience open-space nature discovery area in. It joins a along the South Platte, fruits of the efforts of the municipalities and partner agencies that make up the. The 5.6-acre parcel is co-owned by the city of Littleton and the . It is accessible via a driveway off soutbound Santa Fe, just north of the Belleview Avenue, or via the Big Dry Creek Trail.
What sets the Creekside Experience apart from most parks is its focus on natural play. It has a wooden overlook structure but no traditional playground equipment. Visitors can explore its soft-surface trail loop, scramble over boulders and logs or get messy playing in loose soil or a sandy area along the creek bank.
“Whatap special about that place is people are kind of meant to discover it on their own,” said Emily Patterson, the Colorado director of parks planning, design and construction for t, another partner in Creekside’s development. “Our hope is that families will almost come upon it accidentally and just have a fun time discovering the features.”
Many of Creekside’s elements are made to be shaped and shifted, like the dirt patch or a series of logs with troughs cut in them that can channel water.
“The idea of movable parts and being able to manipulate things in the environment is really key to the idea of natural play,” Patterson said. “In this day and age, there aren’t a lot of opportunities to play and create in the outdoors.”
Among the dignitaries at the grand opening was , vice president of research and collections and chief curator at the , and host of the internationally televised PBS Kids show “.” Sampson authored the book “How to Raise a Wild Child,” aimed at helping parents foster a love of the natural world in their children.
Sampson said that the “indoor migration” of America’s children — who, he said, spend 90 percent less time outside than their parents did — is a crisis that is having dramatic negative physical and psychological effects. He said places like the Creekside Experience, located in a residential area and easily accessible to neighborhood kids, can combat that.
“I was very excited to see it finally open” Sampson said. “It turns out that getting kids out into nature is essential for raising a healthy child, and therefore places like the Creekside Experience that offer nearby nature — nature close to home — are powerful in engendering experiences that create bonds between kids and nature.”
The Creekside property for more than 60 years was home to a private residence and auto salvage yard, recognizable for the line of painted buses that walled it off from surrounding properties, according to Trust for Public Land project manager Hillary Merritt. She said the group began organizing funding from Arapahoe County and in 2008 to buy the property and others along the South Platte.
Brett Collins, director of planning and development for South Suburban Parks and Recreation, said the total cost of the land was just under $1,840,000. The project’s total cost was $2,398,500. He said the small parking lot there also serves as a trailhead for the Big Dry Creek and trails.
Littleton resident Mary Toornman recently walked a shelter dog from the through the park. She said the area was deserted before the park was built and now she regularly sees people there.
“They’ve really done a good job with it. I’m really impressed by all the different stations with different rocks and play areas,” she said. “I think now that school is out, it would be a nice place to have a picnic.”