Within Craig Ranch Park’s 170 acres exist many wonders: a skatepark, sports plaza, dog park, community gardens, ballfields, tennis courts and plenty of open space. North Las Vegas’ only regional park also features two very awesome playgrounds, plus several ancillary play areas that captivate imaginations and inspire creative recreation.
From Putting Greens to Green Spaces
Before Craig Ranch Park opened to the public in 2013, it was known as Craig Ranch Golf Course. Built in 1962, the 132-acre parcel operated as a public golf course for almost 50 years, its last four under the purview of the city of North Las Vegas. “In March 2005, the golf course was purchased by the city of North Las Vegas using Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act (SNPLMA) monies,” explains Mary Ellen Donner, director of neighborhood and leisure services with the city of North Las Vegas. “Using these federal funds to purchase the golf course required the city to purpose the land as a park. Master planning began in 2006…the golf course closed in May 2009 and Craig Ranch Regional Park opened to the public in October 2013.”
Situated as it is in the arid Las Vegas Valley, the golf course’s design took advantage of the surrounding landscape with a discernable “ranch/desert” theme. In preparation for park construction, planners elected to treat the carefully curated grounds like a prepared canvas and worked to integrate an additional 2.5 acres of undeveloped land acquired in addition to the course. Stands of mature trees, healthy plantings, water features and outbuildings all would be preserved and their design echoed in new elements for the park. “They really wanted to keep that [ranch] style and theme,” says Brett Miller, parks maintenance supervisor for the city of North Las Vegas. “There’s also a natural theme in conjunction with that, which allowed us to plan the playgrounds to reflect the environment.”
Play for the People
Although North Las Vegas is home to almost 220,000 residents, before Craig Ranch Regional Park’s opening, there was a serious lack of public parkland. A 2004 update to the city’s Parks and Recreational Facilities Master Plan identified a “sizeable regional parkland level-of-service deficit of nearly 500 acres.” In the face of data like that, North Las Vegas leaders knew increasing the amount of open public space had to be a top priority. Following the acquisition of the former golf course, public hearings, design charrettes and events intended to get resident’s input about what they’d like to see in their new park began immediately. After almost four years of surveys, consultations and votes, construction of Craig Ranch Regional Park began in 2009.
Between summer of that year and the park’s opening in October 2013, crews were hard at work implementing the vision of those hundreds of North Las Vegas residents who participated in the planning phases. Of course, that included construction of the Pioneer and Adventure Playgrounds, as well as several ancillary sites like pee-wee parks, the rock river, gecko sandbox, rock mountain, giant flower bed and more. Amenities were clustered in two areas: a large, centrally located destination play area and a smaller community play area located near one of the park’s two entrances. Both spaces were designed to accommodate children of all abilities up to and including age 12.
Purposeful Play
Not only do the imaginative play areas of Craig Ranch Regional Park provide a magical place for children to laugh, run and pretend, they’re also designed to be great educational tools. Nature play elements including a stream and discovery area along the edge of one of the park’s ponds provides learning and interpretive opportunities. The interactive — and enormous — rattlesnake slide includes speakers that emit snake sounds as children pick their way through the reptile’s frame. Similarly, the treehouse features speakers playing fun forest sounds, as well as natural elements like hollow logs that can be explored.
Teamwork and healthy physical development are also encouraged at Craig Ranch Regional Park’s playgrounds. The hillside play space features an interactive game where one child must use a crank-and-pulley system to move a platform of her friends from one landing to another as they cross a river of sand. At the hexagonal spacenets and swaying bridges, children must come up with creative strategies to negotiate complex rope structures and webs, helping to develop strong bones and muscles. This area also includes a large fiberglass spider, which could be imagined as the architect of the surrounding nets.
Speaking of imagination, Craig Ranch Regional Park also features the peaceful and striking giant flower bed, where huge red, orange and yellow flowers stretch high into the sky. In the dappled shade provided by these gargantuan plants, children will find friendly little bug toys and mini spicas, which rotate as they’re climbed upon.
It’s not surprising that Craig Ranch Regional Park has been a major hit with area residents, especially young ones. “It’s great,” Miller says. “Lots of folks are using the park now, enjoying the playgrounds and all the open spaces.”
Samantha Bartram is the Associate Editor of Parks & Recreation magazine.