A new and improved Daniels Park
Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, Douglas County Commissioner and Board Chair Lora Thomas, Castle Pines Mayor Tera Radloff, city officials and community members at the dedication of the newly-designed Daniels Park Road.
Article and photo by Daniel Williams; photo courtesy of Douglas County
As hikers, cyclists and tourists may have noticed this summer, much of Daniels Park, including the roadway between Daniels Park Road and Griggs Road, has been closed for improvements. According to Douglas County officials, the $3.6 million project includes “1.7 miles of realigned paved roadway, 3-miles of old-style buck fencing and 1.8-miles of new bison fencing.”
This latest phase of the Daniels Park Master Plan was dedicated on July 20 as Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, Douglas County Commissioner and Board Chair Lora Thomas, Castle Pines Mayor Tera Radloff, city officials and community members celebrated the newly-designed and now open Daniels Park Road.
At the dedication, Hancock said, “It’s important that we support efforts that improve and expand access to these phenomenal assets so that we can bring more recreation opportunities to more people.”
Daniels Park Master Plan
The master plan to improve Daniels Park began in 2008 as a cooperative agreement between Denver and Douglas County. Denver Parks and Recreation officials said at the time that the improvements were an effort to “discourage unnecessary vehicular traffic through the park and to reduce erosion, dust and sediment.” The improvements also focused on increased safety, while adding landscape and other beautification features to the park.
For this phase, the park will see four new paved parking lots and 50 parking spaces within the park that allow access to new viewing areas of the Front Range and bison herd. Two miles of new soft surface trails that complete the connection from the Castle Pines Parkway trailhead through Daniels Park to Douglas County’s East-West Regional Trail north of Griggs Road are also complete.
The bison herd
One reason people venture to Daniels Park is to view the bison herd. While some of the park remained closed as of July 21, when I took my fearless Chihuahuas Smokey and Bandit for a hike, we did find that the trail from the north end of Buffalo Ridge to the beginning of Daniels Park Road was open.
The terrain is rocky and fairly steep in places, but on this Saturday morning we had a nice mountain breeze and the great fortune of coming in close contact with the herd.
Oh the majesty of living in Castle Pines!
