Panorama Park

At TPL, we believe in putting community first. We do this by investing in residents’ visions and goals for their outdoor spaces. That mission has come to life at Panorama Park in Colorado Springs, where we’ve collaboratively worked to advanced equitable access to nature’s healing power.

To better understand southeast Colorado Springs, we worked hand-in-hand with community members every step of the way. Through a robust community engagement process, residents imagined the park of their dreams: universally accessible with multiuse areas and community art that reflects the spirit of the neighborhood.

Along with our partners at RISE Southeast and the City of Colorado Springs, we also helped address historical and longstanding inequities in the area, including higher temperatures due to the urban heat island effect, a lack of access to safe outdoor spaces, and inadequate room to play and exercise—all of which have contributed to life expectancies that are 10 to 12 years shorter than in other areas of Colorado Springs.

The design and development of the new park embody TPL’s Community Outreach with Resident Experts (CORE) approach, which consists of a multidimensional partnership among TPL, local residents, city government, and leading nonprofit community partners dedicated to improving access to nature. CORE brings together youth and rising resident leaders from various backgrounds to help communities envision and create the great outdoor spaces they need to thrive.

This 13.5-acre park was once dangerously overgrown and had only a dilapidated playground to offer; a lack of restrooms added to the unwelcoming and inaccessible impression. Now, a reimagined, vibrant Panorama Park features a universally accessible playground that goes beyond Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements to offer play equipment specifically designed with autistic children in mind.

It also includes an events area, bike park, splashpad, skate spot, hammock zone, on-site bathrooms, a climbing boulder, sports fields, a fitness station, and community art. And, true to its name, it affords panoramic views of iconic Pikes Peak and its surrounding mountain range. Smart climate elements such as drought-hardy plants and turf, shade structures, and water-retention areas were included in the new design, as well.

Panorama Park’s holistic designs provide a safe and inclusive park for the neighborhood’s 70,000 residents who previously lacked access to a high-quality park, including 3,350 people who live within a 10-minute walk. Now the community has a space to play, gather, and connect with one another.