The South Suburban Park and Recreation District is a park and recreation district containing 41 square-miles on the southern edge of the

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

metro area. Established in 1959, the park serves around 155,000 people in six communities and three counties: Bow Mar, Columbine Valley, Littleton, Sheridan,

Centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

west of 1-25, Lone Tree west of 1-25, and unincorporated portions of Douglas County, Jefferson County and Arapahoe County. There are over 100 parks in the district, including 61 playgrounds and athletic fields. The district includes several community recreation centers, swimming pools, ice arenas, almost 50 tennis courts and an indoor tennis center, a BMX track, a

miniature golf Miniature golf, also known as minigolf, mini-putt, crazy golf, or putt-putt, is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest number of points. It is played ...

course and

batting cages A batting cage (or tunnel) is an enclosed area for baseball or softball players to practice the skill of batting. The optimal material for batting cages is netting, and they are typically rectangular in shape. Chain-link fence is not required but ...

. There are several public golf courses and a

disc golf Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...

course. There are over 3,000 acres of parkland and greenways and nearly 100 miles of trails. Carson Nature Center in Littleton is located in South Platte Park, which includes 880 acres of open space along the

South Platte River The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwestern United States, Midwest and the American Sout ...

and Mary Carter Greenway Trail. Fishing is allowed in the five lakes and visitors can kayak through gentle water or rapids in the river. There is a regional trail for biking and running, and miles of natural surface trails. The Carson Nature Center museum includes live animals, exhibits about

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...

ecosystems and their inhabitants, the South Platte Flood of 1965 which resulted in the construction of the

Chatfield Reservoir Chatfield Dam and Reservoir is a dam and artificial lake located on the South Platte River, south of Littleton, Colorado. The dam and reservoir were built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers as a response to the disastrous flood of 1965. ...

, and wildlife in the park. The district manages and maintains the portion of the

High Line Canal The High Line Canal (HLC) is a man-made waterway, used for irrigation and recreation, that serves the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area. It begins at a diversion dam on the South Platte River, some above the mouth of Waterton Canyon. From its headg ...

Trail within its borders.

References

External links

* {{coord missing, Colorado Protected areas of Douglas County, Colorado Protected areas of Jefferson County, Colorado Protected areas of Arapahoe County, Colorado 1959 establishments in Colorado Park districts in the United States Parks in Colorado

See also

References

External links