Gold Strike Park

A community-guided design effort leads to creating a creekfront gateway destination and the next great park amenity for Arvada.

Gold Strike Park sits on the eastern gateway to the City of Arvada at the confluence of Clear Creek and Ralston Creek. From the first occupation of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Ute, and Lakota nations to the discovery of gold, which began the Colorado Gold Rush, the site has much to teach visitors of all walks of life and holds special significance to the city.

Wenk led the design and public engagement for the schematic design after having completed the concept design for the park as part of the Arvada Clear Creek Corridor Master Plan. The final design for the 7.6-acre park features a large nature playground with access to water and a low-flow crossing at Ralston Creek, a bouldering element with additional access to Ralston Creek further south, a communal flexible event lawn with an adjacent educational pavilion, plumbed restrooms, and two mid-sized parking lots as well as a bus drop-off for school events. To the west and across a centralized pedestrian bridge lie native plant and interpretive gardens with a shaded picnic area and a 25,000 square foot flexible space that might include a bike park, dog park, or community garden.

To support the tremendous design effort, the City and consultant team completed a robust public engagement that incorporated feedback from the public at large, Arvada Parks Advisory Committee, Arvada Historical Society, Mile High Flood District, Jefferson and Adams Counties, the City of Wheat Ridge, Highland Hills Recreation, as well as the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes.

Visit ArvadaCO.gov/GoldStrikePark to explore the schematic design plan.

Wenk is currently working with the City of Arvada to develop the construction documents for Gold Strike Park, with the project anticipated to break ground late 2025. As part of the final design process, the project team has been collaborating with the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes to help us tell their story. The experience has been rewarding and educational for our project team as we strive to create a park for all while making connections to the site’s Indigenous history.

Project Team Schematic Design:
Wenk – (Lead Consultant) Landscape Architect
NHN Consulting – Public Engagement
ICON Engineering – Civil and Water Resources Engineering
Birch Ecology – Ecologist
Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds – Nature Play

Project Team Final Design:
Wenk – (Lead Consultant) Landscape Architect
ICON Engineering – Civil and Water Resources Engineering
Martin/Martin – Civil and Structural Engineering
American Ramp Company – Bike Recreation
Birch Ecology – Ecologist
Reese Hackman – MEP, Lighting Design
RockSol Consulting – Geotech
HydroSystems-KDI – Irrigation
Flatirons Surveyors – Land Survey