Colorado Sunshine- Exploring your Local Parks by David Padilla

The Dos Rios playground in Grand Junction includes two climbing net structures. The one pictured is the climbable model of a Humpback Chub, one of four endangered fish found in the Colorado River. This structure provides a fort-like atmosphere complete with slides. The playground also includes smaller features to complete the design (photo courtesy: City of Grand Junction Parks and Rec).

No matter what the weather brings, playing outside is good for kids in so many ways. There is much scientific evidence that playing outside improves our health and general well being, and children of all ages love it. In Colorado, we really don't need to travel far to enjoy nature. We are usually only a few minutes’ drive from a lake or local park. These parks are truly our Colorado Sunshine, providing the golden opportunity to get outside with our families!
 
Every town, no matter how small, has a local park that provides engaging trails, sports fields, and more. Variety is the spice of PLAY! Consider rotating to a different park every so often. Each park can offers something different or unique such as forts, jungle gyms or slides, zip lines, fishing piers, story walks, pollinator gardens, nature trails to explore, bouldering rocks, or small creeks or fountains to wade in. Sometimes it is worth it to drive a little further to experience new features or different landscapes. Consider taking a milk crate full of toy dump trucks tractors, road graders, cars, and other toys and find a sandy area by a creek to play.  After checking out different parks, your kids may then have a favorite that you can treat them too more often! Some gems that you might want to visit are Canyon View, Eagle Rim, and Los Colonias parks in Grand Junction; Confluence Lake, Hotchkiss Fairgrounds, or Paonia River Park in Delta County; Olathe Community Park; Cerise or Riverbottom Park in Montrose; and Dennis Weaver Memorial Park, Fellin Park, and Cascade Falls Park in Ouray County.
 
Outdoor activities can include a picnic with family favorites such as Carne Asada seasoned with lime and salt eaten with homemade tortillas, hotdogs for the kids, and finger goods such as chips and vegetable trays. Having plenty of lemonade, iced tea, or Gatorade is important to stay hydrated in our dry climate. Just toss down a blanket on the soft grass, enjoy the breeze, the sound of the birds, and the fresh air. A good way to keep the older teenagers engaged outdoors is having a good game of kickball and having them pick their own teams, turn on some music, and let them enjoy. Other popular outdoor activities are fishing, sitting by the lake listening to the earth, listening to nature without talking, and catching some Colorado sunshine.
 
No matter what you’re into, take some time with your kiddos and enjoy the outdoors at one of our many local parks. Unstructured physical activity is so important especially these days with so many over scheduled youth. It improves the physical and mental health of your child, encourages creative play, bonding with peers and team building. It reduces the likelihood of obesity and weight-related health concerns, which are issues for families today. Most importantly, parks allow us to spend time with our families- all of them, our grandparents, uncles and aunts, baby cousins and friends- there is something for everyone at our local parks.
 
Get outside and build more family memories today by visiting your local park!
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County and city parks near you!
 
Mesa County:
The City of Grand Junction Parks and Recreation Department has a wonderful resource listing all 36 parks alphabetically in the Grand Junction area (www.gjcity.org/residents/parks-recreation/parks/).  Under ‘Parks” click on each park name and it will give you specifics about the size of the park and amenities available.
Fruita has a similar website (www.fruita.org/parksrec/parksites) that describes each of its 12 parks including a bike park with skill-building bike pump tracks.
 
On the east side of the Grand Valley, several five-star parks are available in Palisade. Enjoy walking or riding bicycles under the trees along the paved path at Riverbend Park, having a picnic near the play equipment at Veteran’s Memorial park, or romping in the green space at the Palisade Community Center park. Addresses can be found by googling Parks and Recs near Palisade, CO.
 
Montrose County:
The City of Montrose website (www.cityofmontrose.org/266/Parks-Trails-Sports-Facilities) lists 29 fabulous parks, open spaces, concrete and single-track trails, and a water sports park. By clicking on the ‘interactive map’ and ‘view larger map’ you can see each park with amenities.

Six parks in and near the town of Olathe are listed on their website (www.townofolathe.org/town-of-olathe-parks.html). A variety of facilities are available from Olathe Community Park at the south end of town to the Onion Park on Olathe’s north side.  The Olathe Town Park on 5th street has a spectacular new playground purchased through a Colorado Health Foundation grant.
 
Delta County
The City of Delta has 11 parks on their interactive map (https://cityofdelta.net/parksites). Clicking on the name of the park, either on the map or on the list provided, takes you to a detailed description of each fabulous park,

The North Fork area includes a listing of 18 parks near the towns of Crawford, Hotchkiss, and Paonia (www.northforkrecreation.com/parks.html). These descriptions include the Black Canyon National Monument and Crawford State Park, as well as the Delta County Fairgrounds adjacent to the Doctor Maloney Nature Park and its new disc golf course. Crossroads Park next to the North Fork Pool on Bulldog Street, has two new bike skill-building pump tracks, as well as single-track trails maintained by the North Fork chapter of the Colorado Mountain Bike Association (COPMOBA).
 
The Surface Creek area, including Orchard City (Cory, Austin, and Eckert) and Cedaredge, have some beautiful parks and recreation facilities. Information can be found on the internet about these facilities: Orchard City Town Park (www.orchardcityco.org/36/Orchard-City-Town-Park), Cedaredge Town Park (350-398 SW 2nd Ave, Cedaredge, CO 81413), and the Surface Creek Trail in Cedaredge (www.hikingproject.com/trail/7058563/surface-creek-trail).

Ouray County has 10 parks including an ice rink, sledding park, Cascade Falls Park and the Uncompahgre River Trail.  Find out the locations and amenities of each one by visiting city of Ouray parks.