Julio Enrique Monagas Park (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

: ''Parque Julio Enrique Monagas'', sometimes referred to as ''Parque nacional Julio Enrique Monagas'') is an

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

and

recreational area A recreation area is a type of protected area designated in some jurisdictions. By country Canada In the province of British Columbia, recreation areas are lands set aside for recreational use. These lands are also being evaluated to determine w ...

located in

Bayamón, Puerto Rico Bayamón (, ) is a Bayamón barrio-pueblo, city, Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico and suburb of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan located in the northern coastal valley, north of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, Aguas Buenas an ...

. The park is named after

Julio Enrique Monagas Julio Enrique Monagas (1900/1903 – 14 July 1984) was a Puerto Rican sports editor and administrator considered the father of Olympic Games, Olympic sports in Puerto Rico. Through his efforts, Puerto Rico was admitted into the Olympic Games in ...

, the first director of Puerto Rico's Public Recreation and Parks Commission and also considered the father of the

Olympic movement The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

in Puerto Rico. Before its establishment in 1993, the area was a military installation during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and many of the bunkers and ammunition warehouses are still preserved within the area. The park today contains several hiking trails, paths for

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

, playgrounds for children, gazebos for picnics, and areas for horse-riding. Climbing is also allowed in some of the

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

cliffs, locally known as

mogote A mogote () is a generally-isolated steep-sided residual hill in the tropics composed of either limestone, marble, or dolomite. Mogotes are surrounded by nearly flat alluvial plains. The hills typically have a rounded, tower-like form. Overvie ...

s. The park is managed by the ''Compañía de Parques Nacionales de Puerto Rico'', which serves as the department of parks and recreation of the territory, although everyday management is done by the ''Centro Ambiental Santa Ana'', established by

Frank H. Wadsworth Frank Howard Wadsworth (November 26, 1915 – January 5, 2022) was an American forester, conservationist and researcher. He made important scientific contributions to forestry, through his work in Puerto Rico where he lived from 1942. Life an ...

in 2006.

References

Parks in Puerto Rico Protected areas of Puerto Rico Bayamón, Puerto Rico 1993 establishments in Puerto Rico Protected areas established in 1993 {{BayamónPR-geo-stub