The City of Grand Junction invites the community to a ribbon cutting ceremony for the River Park at Las Colonias on Thursday, May 27. The ceremony will start at 4:00 p.m. at the Mariposa shelter just south of the Butterfly Pond. After the ceremony, community members are encouraged to participate in the River Park Parade and enjoy local food trucks, along with Gelato Junction. The City, in partnership with Grand Junction Stand Up Paddle, will supply several river float tubes for participants to use. We encourage those who have a flotation device (float tube, paddle board, kayak) to bring it to the celebration. River casual attire is encouraged.
“The River Park is a game changer for local and accessible outdoor recreation in Grand Junction”, said Parks & Recreation Director Ken Sherbenou. “It has opened river-based recreation to most everyone, which adds to the quality of life in Grand Junction”.
Sandbags that prevent flow into the River Park channel were removed on May 20th and the River Park is currently open for use. The sandbags are in place when river flows fall below 810 cubic feet per second (cfs). When the river flows are greater than 810 cfs, the sandbags are removed and water flows from the main channel of the river into the River Park channel. When using the River Park, users are reminded that no lifeguards are on duty and lifejackets are strongly recommended.
The River Park was a $1.2 million project funded by a Great Outdoor Colorado grant, a Colorado Water Conservation Board grant, the City of Grand Junction, the Colorado Basin Roundtable, Downtown Grand Junction, One Riverfront, and made possible through partnership with many organizations including Colorado Mesa University, the U. S. Department of Energy and Bonsai.
Contact: Greg LeBlanc, Sr. Assistant to the City Manager | 970-244 1557 or gregoryl@gjcity.org