On Sunday, September 20, a young Cooper's hawk caught a blue jay on the former Park Hill Golf Course and settled in to eat it. At least a dozen black-billed magpies spent the next 40 minutes mobbing it, according to a birder's eBird checklist from that afternoon. The next day another checklist noted that the park's pond was completely dry.
That is Park Hill Park in late September 2026: 155 acres of fenced, lightly mowed, mostly unbuilt ground at 4141 E. 35th Avenue, run by Denver Parks & Recreation. By size, it is already the fourth-largest park in Denver. It is also a park in the middle of changing. No new park construction had been completed as of August, and no construction start date has been set. This stage will end, and the neighbors who use the park now are the ones who will be asked what it should become.
One Gate, One Lot, and the Old Cart Paths
The park opened to the public on October 28, 2025. Getting in still works the same way it did on opening day.
- Entrance: The only documented public way in is the gate at the former clubhouse.
- Parking: The lot sits at the old clubhouse on the north side of E. 35th Avenue, just east of Colorado Boulevard.
- Hours: Sunrise to sunset. The site has little or no lighting, so it closes after dark.
- Transit: RTD's 40th & Colorado Station at 4220 Garfield St. serves the A Line and bus routes 24, 37, 40, 49 and ART. It has 18 bike racks.
- Dogs and bikes: Denver's citywide park rules apply. Dogs must stay leashed and under physical control. Bikes are allowed only on park roads and designated off-street trails, at no more than 15 mph.
- Restrooms: None are listed.
The city's site map marks a "Long Tour" and a "Short Tour" with start and end points, plus the former clubhouse and the existing stormwater detention pond. The map does not give a length for either route. Two birders who walked the park in September logged 1.24 and 1.27 miles, which is a fair guess for an easy lap. Most of the walk follows surviving golf-cart paths. Denverite described them as crumbling this summer, so wear shoes that can handle broken pavement and the occasional stretch of grass.
Who Else Is Out There in September
The open ground that makes the park feel unfinished is also what draws raptors. A Denver Audubon checklist from September 2 recorded 20 species. They included three Cooper's hawks, a red-tailed hawk, three American kestrels, a Mississippi kite and 20 barn swallows. On September 21, other visitors logged a northern flicker, a Say's phoebe, a Savannah sparrow, chipping sparrows and ten magpies.
Birders have treated the site as a regular stop since soon after it opened. Denver Field Ornithologists and Denver Audubon ran recurring bird-monitoring walks there in 2026, including trips on April 10, June 19, July 6 and August 2. Groups met at the 35th Avenue lot. One trip description points to a large stormwater wetland and pond area in the north and east parts of the park. That is worth walking toward even in a dry month.
The old clubhouse is the other landmark. It fell into disrepair before the park opened, and its renovation into a gathering space is part of the long-range plan. On opening day, the Colorado Sun described rolling old greens, overgrown rough and long views framed by late-season cottonwoods. That description still holds, and October is when those cottonwoods turn.
Why the Grass Looks the Way It Does
As Denverite reported, the dry, brown look is a maintenance problem the city inherited. Denver Parks & Recreation spokesperson Stephanie Figueroa told Denverite in July that the irrigation system works only in part. She said most of the system that controls it was heavily damaged by years of vandalism and neglect before the city took over the site.
Denverite also reported that neighbors pushed on this over the summer. Kevin Doyle is a retired firefighter and neighborhood leader whose house backs onto the park. He asked the city to mow and water the property more, and the city said it would mow more thoroughly. The department planned larger-scale mowing through the end of summer and kept up selective tree watering, trash pickup and weekly safety work. Large-scale irrigation repairs are part of the future capital project and have no set timeline.
For regular walkers, this means the park will look much the same through fall and into next year. Whatever green returns will depend on the weather.
The Plan on Paper and the Park Today
The city's long-range vision came out of a Sasaki-led framework that was presented in final form in January 2026. Public input behind it was extensive: 7,765 completed surveys and 5,930 written comments starting in April 2025, three open houses and 23 pop-up events. The framework is a vision, and the city says funding is not confirmed for everything it shows.
| Feature | In the framework | Available now |
|---|---|---|
| Walking loop | Wide multi-use loop and path system | Old golf-cart paths, long and short tours |
| Water | Meandering creek bed, flow-through wetland, stormwater systems | Existing detention pond, dry as of September 21 |
| Old clubhouse | Renovated gathering and programming hub | Standing, unrenovated |
| Views | Mesa Hill viewpoint over Denver and the Rockies | Open views across former fairways |
| Play and sports | Fields, courts, field house, playgrounds, adventure areas | None built |
| Dogs | Future dog park | Leashed walking only |
When the city announced the acquisition in January 2025, it described a dog park, disc golf, picnic tables and walking trails as low-cost interim amenities. As of July 2026, the interim dog park and disc golf area had not been installed.
What Changed in September
The biggest recent news landed on September 4. The city awarded Park Hill Park's architecture and engineering design contract to Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. The request for qualifications, issued June 30 by the Denver Bond Office and the Department of Transportation & Infrastructure, sets out the work. It covers construction documents for site preparation, drainage and channel work, lighting, small pedestrian bridges, shade structures, native plantings, a new irrigation pump station, playgrounds and a water play area.
The money comes from the Vibrant Denver bond, which voters approved in November 2025. It set aside $70 million for Park Hill Park. Across the whole $950 million bond, the city plans to build 58 projects between 2026 and 2031. That window is not a completion date for this park. Denver Park Trust, the department's philanthropic partner, lists the park's completion date as "TBD."
Neighbors' expectations vary. Doyle told Denverite the bond money will go mostly toward basic infrastructure. "Maybe by 2030 we'll see a developed park," he said. In August he told Denver7 he thinks the finished result will probably be the best park in Denver. Neighbor Deronn Turner, who was "cautiously optimistic" last November, told the station she is now waiting to see follow-through.
What matters most for residents is the next step. Denver Parks & Recreation told Denver7 it will hold more community feedback sessions in the first quarter of 2027 as part of the design process. With the September design award, the firm is now in place. So the sessions a few months from now are where choices about the loop path, the clubhouse and the creek start to become construction drawings. The people with the most useful opinions will be the ones who have walked the site in its current state.
How to Show Up This Fall
- Park Hill Trash Bash, Saturday, October 17, 10 a.m. to noon. This monthly trash pickup is run as a Denver Park Enhancement Project and rated easy. Bring gloves, a refillable water bottle, sunscreen, a hat and closed-toe shoes. Pets can't come, and children must be supervised. The September 26 session was canceled, so October is the next one.
- The project mailing list. Parkhillpark.org currently lists no planning events. You can send questions through the site and sign up for notices, which is the simplest way to hear about the 2027 sessions.
- A late-afternoon lap. The park is open only from sunrise to sunset, and daylight gets shorter each week from here. A walk in mid-October around 4 p.m. gives you the turning cottonwoods, hawks working the rough and long light across the old fairways.
The one-year anniversary is October 28. Parkhillpark.org lists no events for it, so the next scheduled chance to be on site with other neighbors is the October 17 cleanup.
Whether you're a longtime Park Hill resident or thinking about which east Denver streets suit your routine, Mandy Stehle follows how places like Park Hill Park change the neighborhoods around them, and she'll talk through what that means for you. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
