Elings Park (formerly Las Positas Friendship Park) is a non-profit park located in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

east of Las Positas Road and south of

U.S. Highway 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

. It is the largest privately funded park in America. The

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

consists of sports fields, hiking and biking trails, playgrounds, wedding/special event venues, and landscaped walkways. The park is a hub for mountain biking, youth sports,

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'po ...

, and other outdoor activities. Elings Park International Raceway is the only dedicated radio control ( R/C) off-road course in Santa Barbara and Elings Park BMX Raceway is the only dedicated BMX track in Santa Barbara as well. The north side of the park is built on top of the old, now-closed Santa Barbara City dump. The park's grand opening was in 1985, and it has changed names several times: at first it was "Las Positas Park"; in 1991 it became "Las Positas Friendship Park"; and in 1999, in honor of more than two million dollars given by Virgil Elings and his family, the park was renamed "Elings Park."History of Elings Park
/ref>

References

External links

Official WebsiteParagliding at Elings Park
Parks in Santa Barbara, California Municipal parks in California {{SantaBarbaraCountyCA-geo-stub