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New York City has Central Park, London has Hyde Park and now Beaver Creek can call Creekside Park a central focal point of its community. This newly redesigned space welcomes anyone who wants to play, gather and explore the outdoors with it’s unique setting along the creek.  

Creekside Park isn’t new — it had a gazebo and playground equipment previously — but the new remodel, which was just revealed in June, adds a modern and welcoming feel to all who experience it.

“The opening of Creekside Park is a major milestone for Beaver Creek and the Beaver Creek Resort Company,” said Clint Huber, director of economic development for the Beaver Creek Resort Company. “Throughout the whole park, you’ll find meandering paths, creekside coves and reflection areas designed to help you explore, relax and enjoy this beautiful alpine environment in a way you only can here in Beaver Creek.”

The stakeholders in the project and community members came together on June 20 to see what enhancements had been made. There were several exclamations of wonder and delight as eventgoers saw the new look and features.

Phrases like “wow, I wish I was a kid again” and “this is so cool” could be heard from all ages as people meandered down the walking path to view playground equipment that was not only functionally fun, but also aesthetically interesting.

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The playground equipment is what’s called “nest” style, meaning the features have been designed to incorporate social interaction, inclusive play, sensory and motor development. The whole setup promotes imagination and creativity.

In a nod toward the world-class Birds of Prey World Cup Alpine ski races held each winter at Beaver Creek, the playground area is called Birds of Play and features custom-designed play pods inspired by birds of prey habitats. Look for the Forest Play Pod, Cliffside Play Pod, Wetlands Play Pod and the Nest Play Pod featuring big, twisting slides and a lookout platform.

In addition to the playground, there is a new performance pavilion at Creekside Park. On the night of the park’s reveal, Greg Schochet & Little America played a little country, bluegrass and Western swing music while the crowd mingled and enjoyed drinks and views of the ski runs in the distance.

“This has been coming together for a long time and we knew it was going to be beautiful but I didn’t realize how unbelievable it was going to look filled with all of you people looking up the mountain, seeing Strawberry Park and Chair 6,” said Jim Clancy, executive director of the Beaver Creek Resort Company. Clancy went on to thank the many partners involved in the process to upgrade Creekside Park, which included Vail Resorts and the Beaver Creek Property Owners Association, which contributed the benches and picnic tables throughout the park.

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“We are incredibly fortunate to be part of such a great community that is always looking for opportunities to work together to make Beaver Creek better every single day,” Clancy said.

Clancy then introduced Bobby Murphy, president of the Beaver Creek Resort Company’s board of directors and the chief operating officer of Beaver Creek Mountain.

“Our vision to be the world’s best luxury family resort, our legendary attention to detail and our desire to be perpetual hosts aligns with projects like this,” Murphy said. “This is a great example of creating rarefied experiences for people of all ages. And yes, this is a park for kids. But it’s a park for adults as well.”

There are a few scheduled events and activities set for this summer at Creekside Park:

• Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays: Yoga | 9 a.m.
• Tuesdays and Thursdays: Mindfulness, Movement & Stretching | 9 a.m.
• Thursdays and Sundays: Guided Nature Walk | 10:30 a.m.
• Birds of Prey Raptor Education and Demonstration shows: July 25 and 28, Aug. 6 and 16
• Live Music at Creekside Park Pavilion: July 20, Aug. 10, Sept. 14