Keynote Speaker at World Water Monitoring Day (4050743364)

Confluence Park is an

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Pe ...

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 Midwest and the American Southwest/ Mountain West. ...

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 United ...

'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 outskirts of cities, ...

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

Current usage

The park includes

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most ...

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 watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each ...

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 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 of city residence ...

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

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often k ...

tracks, and Denver's

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

. The Platte Valley Trolley 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 franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

home games.

History

Confluence Park marks the area where

William Greeneberry Russell William Greeneberry "Green" Russell (1818–1877) was an American 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 mining duri ...

'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