On September 2, 2026, two observers spent two hours and 48 minutes walking the former Park Hill Golf Course and filed an eBird checklist under Denver Audubon's name. They counted 20 species, including Cooper's Hawks, a Mississippi Kite, a Red-tailed Hawk, and American Kestrels. Their list reflects what this 155-acre property offers right now, as well as anything the city has published about it.
Park Hill Park turns one on October 28. The city's plans call for a field house, a destination playground, and a creek bed running through the middle. With the anniversary 16 days away, most of that is still on paper. What has filled the time is an open space with old cart paths, a single gate, and a growing list of birds.
One Gate, Old Paths, and Not Much Else
The property sits at 4141 E. 35th Ave., just east of Colorado Boulevard. It opened as a golf course in the 1930s and closed in 2018. A conservation easement in place since 1997 limited it to golf use for decades. Denver acquired it through a near acre-for-acre exchange, trading 145 acres of city-owned industrial land in Adams County for the course. The public opening celebration took place on October 28, 2025, according to The Colorado Sun.
The city's own page still says the park opened in "summer of 2025" and lists a dog park among its features. Neither matches the reporting. The opening came in late October, and the dog park has not been built.
Here is what a visitor finds today. As Denverite reported in July 2026, the public enters the fenced property through one gate, open sunrise to sunset, and walks on the cracking paths left from the golf-course years. A Denver Field Ornithologists trip listing from this year says there are no toilets.
The look of the place follows from how it was classified. Denver Parks and Recreation manages the property as open space. Under that approach, only the landscape within four feet of a walkway gets mowed, and the fencing stays up until the department has the resources to run a full park. The rest of the 155 acres is left to grow.
The Interim Phase Has Not Started Yet
The city laid out three stages for the property. First, short-term passive use. Second, an interim phase in which DPR "will build low-cost amenities" such as a dog park, disc golf, picnic tables, and a walking trail. Third, the long-term buildout.
The first stage is done. The second has not begun. Denverite reported that the parks department is more than a year behind its first timeline for those smaller amenities. Executive Director Jolon Clark had originally proposed a disc golf course or dog park for summer 2025. A department spokesperson explained the delay to Denverite: "We still need to find a design firm. So construction is far from starting at Park Hill."
The same story carried a longer view from Kevin Doyle, a neighborhood leader. He estimated that "maybe by 2030 we'll see a developed park." That is one resident's guess, not a city date. The city has not published a construction start or finish date.
So the version of Park Hill Park that exists now is likely to last a while. That makes the open space worth understanding for what it is.
What the Long Grass Is Turning Up
Birders have been keeping count. As of this fall, the park's eBird hotspot lists 115 species across all years, and 102 of them have been recorded in 2026 alone. October records on that list include Cooper's Hawk and American Kestrel, so the raptors from the September checklist are not just a summer story.
Organized walks have followed. Denver Field Ornithologists, co-sponsored by Denver Audubon, ran a bird-monitoring walk at the park on April 10, 2026, led by Linda Purcell. Purcell led a second walk on August 2, which supported Denver Audubon's Denver Bird Project. DFO's posted schedule through December 18 has no further Park Hill Park outing, so the next organized chance to learn the place comes from the city.
On Saturday, October 17, from 10 a.m. to noon, Denver Parks and Recreation is holding a Park Hill Bioblitz. It replaces a Trash Bash planned for this month, although attendees can still pick up trash. Volunteers will use the iNaturalist app to record the plants, animals, and insects they find. No experience is needed, children are welcome, and anyone under 13 needs adult supervision. The listing gives the venue only as "Park Hill," so check the meeting point on the registration page before you go.
Taken together, the bioblitz and the bird counts are an early record of what lives on the property before the design team arrives. When planning resumes, that record will exist alongside the survey data.
The Plan on Paper, and When It Moves Next
The long-term vision is the Park Hill Park Framework Plan, developed with the landscape architecture firm Sasaki. It draws on 7,765 completed surveys and 5,930 open-ended comments collected since April 2025. According to parkhillpark.org, the framework includes:
- A meandering creek bed through the middle of the site that manages stormwater
- A field house, a destination playground, and outdoor adventure areas near Colorado Boulevard and 40th Avenue
- Athletic fields and sports courts along Colorado Boulevard, plus an aquatic feature
- A cultural hub for community gatherings around the existing clubhouse
- A wide, multi-use loop connecting the whole site, with restrooms, picnic pavilions, and observation structures spread throughout
The project site is clear that this drawing is "a big picture vision" and that not everything in it has confirmed funding. Here is the sequence so far:
- October 28, 2025: The public opening celebration.
- November 4, 2025: Voters approve the Vibrant Denver bond. It includes a $70 million Park Hill Park Buildout line for basic infrastructure and likely amenities, with details to be worked out through design.
- January 22, 2026: The Final Framework Vision is presented at a community event.
- June 2026: DPR and the Vibrant Denver Bond Team release a Request for Qualifications for the detailed design phase.
- 2027: The design team returns to the community to refine the plan.
The project site lists no engagement events right now. The city's mailing list is the way to hear when that changes. Some work just outside the fence is on a separate track. The city's Park Hill Action Plan, dated February 2026, sets out actions for 2026 to 2030. They include traffic calming along East 35th Avenue with the NE Park Hill Coalition and wayfinding work led by a 303 ArtWay Steering Committee.
Before You Walk In
A few practical points for a fall visit, based on the current sources:
- Entry: One gate, open sunrise to sunset. eBird's hotspot page described the former clubhouse gate as the only access point as of November 2025.
- Parking: DFO's trip directions use the former golf-course lot on the north side of 35th, just east of Colorado Boulevard.
- Facilities: No toilets, according to DFO's August trip listing. Plan your stops before you arrive.
- Dogs and bikes: Denver's general park rules require dogs to be leashed and under physical control. Bikes are allowed on park roads and designated off-street trails, with a 15 mph limit.
- Coffee: Prodigy Coffeehouse's website lists a location at 3801 E. 40th Ave., near the corner of the property where the framework plan puts the future field house.
Binoculars are the most useful thing to bring. If you go to the bioblitz on the 17th, download iNaturalist and set up your account before you leave home.
At Nichols & Lee Team, we keep track of Park Hill Park's design schedule as it develops. If you'd like to talk through how the park's timeline fits your own plans for staying, selling, or settling nearby, we're glad to sit down with you. Schedule a Free Consultation whenever it suits you.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
