Confluence Park is an

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

encompassing the confluence of Cherry Creek and 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 Sou ...

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

's Lower Downtown ( LoDo), a bustling district of 19th-century brick

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

s and storefronts that has been redeveloped since the late 1980s.

Current usage

The park includes

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

trails often filled with walkers, runners, and bikers. Some grassy areas, river overlooks, and park benches are also available. Two pedestrian bridges cross the

and Cherry Creek at Confluence Park. The eastern edge of the South Platte in Confluence Park has been transformed into a

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

run, immediately across from R.E.I.'s (Recreational Equipment Inc.) Colorado flagship store. The park is adjacent to a number of new up-scale

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of Terraced house, terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type o ...

apartment An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...

s, and loft developments, another park bordering the South Platte downstream,

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

tracks, and Denver's

skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, Freestyle scootering, scootering, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairw ...

. The

Platte Valley Trolley The Denver Trolley, formerly known as the Platte Valley Trolley, is a heritage streetcar line in Denver, Colorado, operated by the Denver Tramway Heritage Society. It began service on July 1, 1989. Route and operation The tram, trolley line ori ...

originates in Confluence Park, running along the west side of the South Platte River from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, and for all

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

home games.

History

Confluence Park marks the area where

William Greeneberry Russell William Greeneberry "Green" Russell (1818–1877) was an American gold prospector and miner. Early life Green Russell was born in South Carolina but moved with his family to Georgia as a small child. His father James Russell engaged in gold mini ...

's party began its local search for gold in May 1858. They found no gold at the confluence, but they turned up "good diggings" at the mouth of Little Dry Creek, about four miles south. The discovery was an immediate cause of the Colorado Gold Rush, and the encampment would become

. Part of the site previously hosted an Xcel Energy substation, which was relocated to allow for the expansion of the park.

References

Confluence Park Denver - Lovely Denver

External links

Denver Parks

Only in Colorado
Parks in Denver Urban public parks {{Denver