I went to the Civic Center STARGAZE event with my mother-in-law, and we had the best time. It's such a neat way to see the city in a different light! Atmosphere: Super easy to get to. We parked on Bannock for $2/hour and it was a very short walk. It's family-friendly but also makes for a unique date night. The Food Truck: They have food on site separate cost and the ginger tea and empanada I had were the perfect waiting for my turn snacks. The Guides: This was my favorite part. The people running the telescopes are so friendly and informed. They aren't just reciting facts; they are genuinely passionate about what they do. They explained how Jupiter has 70+ moons and showed us four of them. I'll never forget the rotten egg moon the one that smells like sulfur! Price & Timing: It's only $5 per person. You get a 30 minute timeslot, which is plenty of time to rotate through all 8 or 9 telescopes and see the Moon's craters and the planets. Overall: If you're visiting or just live nearby, go check this out! It's cheap, fun, and you learn so much without having to drive far out of the city. Check their website for their next event locations! read more

Civic Center Park - Signs telling us where to go - Parks Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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The romanesque gem is actually laid out similar to Rome's forum. Civic Center Park is a great neoclassical style setting with a wonderful list of civic landmarks bounding it in. The majestic Denver Public Library, Denver Art Museum, State Capitol, Supreme Court, City Hall, city buildings as well as various monuments. Continued efforts to clean up its unsavory elements will be beneficial to the city's upright citizens and visitors. read more

This place is in the heart of Denver and had some awesome architecture that was unexpected. There were a few groups playing volleyball and one person doing some augmented or virtual reality gaming. The park has a lot of character and seeing the columns and statues was fun. read more

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Civic Center Park is great! From hearing public figures speak to music and cultural celebrations, I have been continuously impressed with how amazing Denver utilizes this space for the whole community to enjoy. read more

I like that they have so many different events in this park! It's centrally located to several neighborhoods and I always walk over. I walked to the Christkindlemarket last December and last night I walked over to the Dia de las Muertes event. It was really cool. I had not been to this celebration before! There were also lots of organizations that had tables with specially crafted altars based on their type of organization. The food trucks were great too! Pupusas!!! read more

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Over my fourteen years as a Coloradoan I've had my fair share of visits to Civic Center Park. Safe to say it's "A-OK" in my book. PROs: ++ Literally sooo many events are/have been held here! Brunch Fest, Tap Taco, and Civic Center Eats just to name a few! ++ Civic Center Park offers great views of the Capitol Building and the Denver Art Museum! ++ With over 25,000 square feet of flower beds there's always something blooming! CONs: -- Being located in the heart of Downtown Denver means that parking can be a nightmare if you're heading to Civic Center Park for an event. -- There's a large homeless population that spends their days here which can be a bit unsettling and makes for a lot of garbage unfortunately. Civic Center Park has a ton of potential and if you're there at the right time it can be truly lovely with a variety of events to partake in. read more

Civic Center Park - View of the Capital Building from Civic Center Park. - Parks Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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Civic Center Park is in the middle of Denver. It surrounds the Capital Building and other important places. Lots of grassy open space. Just one problem about it. Take a visit and you'll find out what. Homeless people are people too, so they deserve respect of course. It seems like there's a lot in Denver. There's certainly a lot in this park. It would be nice for them to have somewhere better to go. They shouldn't have to live outside. Besides the homeless, there's lots of other interesting things around here. The Denver Art Museum is one. Also there's lots of public art. There's all kinds of cool looking sculptures. It also has food trucks some days. It's usually in the summer. These are Tuesday's, Wednesday's, and Thursdays. read more

Civic Center Park - Park - Parks Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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Such a pretty park in the middle of the city. I took a stroll here at twilight and went for a run at night. They do a good job of decorating for Christmas. I love looking at it. read more

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This is a park near the State Capitol. Looks nice but I'm not sure there's a point to visiting. There aren't many benches. There were several maintenance vehicles in the park. Lots of signs that say "no standing", "no stopping", "grass area closed". Unless there's an event here--why come here? read more

Civic Center Park - Parks Near Me - Denver, Colorado

PROS: this is a beautiful area that overlooks both the courthouse and state house. Both beautiful buildings. Good amount of grass to play on as well CONS: very few paths to walk or bike in while there's a street that cuts right in the middle of it which divide the two sides. OVERALL: I still like city park more than this, but I'll come here just to overlook the state and court houses read more

The park itself is absolutely beautiful, with blooming flowers and a 360 view of the city, capital building, art museum and court house. However, it is overrun by homelessness. There was trash everywhere and I had to watch my step near a monument as a used needle was left behind. Several unmarked police cars were also throughout the grounds. It really is a shame because it's a sight to see in the heart of downtown! read more

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The coolest thing is that there are FREE tours that start and end at this park. Yes, it can get a little "interesting" because it's a popular spot for the homeless. But the tour we went on was great! The fact that it's free is crazy awesome! You are encouraged to tip the guide, that seems fair. I tossed him a solid $15 for all of his time and knowledge, but anything anyone can give is an added bonus, as they don't get paid otherwise. Even if a couple bucks. Definitely check this out when in Denver, really no reason not to! read more

Let me start out by stating that the actual park itself is actually very nice and centrally located in downtown Denver. You have the stunning State Capitol building just across the street and there are plenty of museums and statues nearby and all about. Unfortunately, the greatest impression I took away from Civic Center Park is the stunning homeless problem they apparently have in Denver. Seriously, this place was teeming with homeless people! You couldn't even take pics without getting bunches of homeless people in the background, some throwing up a middle finger for an added touch. Not only that, they are very aggressive here in Denver. Some were following people aggressively while yelling and screaming threats and obscenities. Not the relaxing day at the park that one might be anticipating. I was even sexually propositioned while I was here by some scraggly little guy. Not cool. No bueno. No no no. It really is a shame too. Until this problem is addressed, it will continue to be a blight to this beautiful area. I can't imagine how much fun this place must be to wander through at night. No thanks. 2 stars. I have definitely experienced better. read more

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Neoclassical Delight The Civic Center Park is a pretty interesting spot in Denver. The Greek amphitheater, completed in 1918, rests on the south side. At the north end, you will find the Voorhies Memorial, completed just a year later. To the east and west, you will notice Colorado's State Capitol and the City and County Building. It's a Neoclassical treat for the eyes! There are a ton of cool events that take place in the park throughout the year. If it's happening in Denver, there's a good chance that it will be at this park! read more

Civic Center Park - Parks Near Me - Denver, Colorado

This is a review for Independence Day Eve at the Park. The first year I went to celebrate the fourth was in 2016. At that time, there was live music and the fireworks display must have gone on for at least 15 minutes. This year, they fell flat because the fireworks display lasted barely 10 minutes and there was no live music. The fireworks started at 9:38 PM (MT) which is unusual but maybe the had issues setting up. The music and fireworks are usually in sync but it was not this year. They hired people to pickup trash during the event which was great because this area is already a mess. It was still a good time anyway. read more

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Established in 1919, Civic Center Park is the twelve acre civic center and cultural heart of Denver. It is a neoclassical wonderland at the southwest edge of downtown and the 16th Street Mall that is bordered by the Colorado State Capitol Building to the east, W. 14th Street to the south, the City and County Building to the west and Colfax Avenue to the north. Civic Center Park overlooks the State Capitol Building, McNicols Civic Center Building, the Denver Mint, Denver Art Museum, Denver Central Library, and the City and State Building. It is home to a Greek amphitheater, the Colonnade, the Seal Pond, statues, 25,000 square feet of flower beds, and the Voorhiles Memorial. Unfortunately it is home to the homeless, displaced mentally ill, and drug addicts. When I read the reviews and peruse web sites on Civic Center Park including Wikipedia, the undesirable population in the park unfortunately is emphasized over the marvelous architecture. Fortunately when we visited on a weekday afternoon when the Government was in business, the undesirable population was largely missing in action. This past summer when we spent a week in the City of Denver, it was inevitable that we were going to tour Civic Center Park. Our hotel was a block from the 16th Street Mall. The best way to describe 16th Street Mall is as a dumb bell with Confluence Park at the northernmost end being the left weight and Civic Center Park being the right dumb weight. After spending time in the left weight, three days into the vacation it was time to work out our touring with the right one. Before we visited Denver, the travel sites strongly suggested visiting the west-facing side of the Colorado State Capitol Building where there is a step that says "One Mile High." This alone was worth the visit to Civic Center Park. As soon as we progressed past the southernmost end of the 16th Street Mall and crossed Broadway, I felt as if I was transformed from Denver into Washington, D.C... It reminded me very much of the National Mall. When I read into it, I learned that the builders of the Denver Capitol Building based a good deal of the architecture on the United States Capitol Building. From the steps of the State Capitol Building, the expanse of parkland stretching west towards the City and County Building reminded me of the view of the National Mall stretching towards the Jefferson Monument. Then facing the State Capitol Building, Washington D.C., déjà vu hit me when I took in a strikingly similar obelisk to the Washington Monument in front of the State Capitol Building. The very first thing that I took care of was taking the obligatory photo of the "One Mile High step." From there we toured the park towards the City & County Building. Throughout the park, I took in fascinating statues. This included a bell that reminds me of the Liberty Bell. This also included "Here Was the End of the Famous Smoky Hill Trail" statue which is a tribute to the immigrant and stage road extending from the Missouri River to Denver. There is also Ten Commandments stone. My favorite is the two seals spraying water at the seal pond. I am happy to write that the undesirable elements that were largely MIA have not damaged the public art. And I am happy to write that I observed very little vandalism. My favorite part of the park is in the direct center where there is a charming flower garden. This is the ultimate spot to capture a photo of the State Capitol Building or just spend some time admiring the scenery. When we visited on a July weekday afternoon there was a promenade of food trucks near the central blooming flower garden. They included Freddy's Cuisine, Lena B Bar B Que, Sweet Cow Ice Cream, Street Frites, and Mythos Greek Street Food. Regardless that the central flower garden is my favorite part of the park, we spent the most time on a shaded bench near the City & County Building. We got free entertainment in the form of a camera man filming a roller skating man wearing a lizard costume. We also got protection from two Police Officers patrolling on horseback. When we visited Denver for a week, I felt that we left with a better picture of the southern part of the City by spending time in Civic Center Park. Who would ever think that I would be mentally transported to Washington D.C., by stepping a few hundred feet off the 16th Street Mall? I believe that by visiting Civic Center Park on a weekday when the business of government was operating and bringing throngs of workers into downtown alleviated the negative experience of seeing undesirables take over the 12 acre civic center and cultural heart of Denver. read more

This is a beautiful park! Very well maintained and so many things to see. We spent a good chunk of our morning walking around and exploring this park. The kids loved the open space to run around. read more

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Civic Center Park is a large and beautiful park in downtown Denver. Even though I was only in Denver for about a week during my vacation last week, it seems that there are plenty of events always going on in this park. My husband and I were over at the Denver Art Museum and decided to check out this event that was going on and seeing if we might find something for lunch where the food trucks were at (there is a restaurant at the museum on the 1st floor in case you rather eat there if visiting the museum). There were plenty of vendors, friendly people and so forth. Wished there were more trees though for shade. If only I had traveled with my dogs, I would not hesitate to bring them here. Definitely a cool freebie that is a must to check out if in Denver. Love how this park is in the middle of the historical attractions (The Capital, US Mint) and other must visits (The Denver Art Museum for example). As for the parking, there are some street parking (metered) and also some lots (not free). You can also try your hand at parking in the residential area and walking over (a few blocks away, but be mindful of the parking time limits). read more

Civic Center Park - View of Civic Center from The Capital Roof Top Dome - Parks Near Me - Denver, Colorado

This parties to be very scary at one time but they added about 50 surveillance cameras so going to the park at night and strolling through the park is a lot more enjoyable, Colorado's finest are watching out for you And I'm noticing they are scheduling a lot more events in the summer time so there's always something going on down there right beside the McNichol center read more

If I could give this review 0 stars I would, the fireworks we saw on July 3rd 2022 were terrible you really call those fireworks, first it was supposed to start at 9:30 which it did not, second the fireworks only lasted 5 minutes those fireworks were like $1 fire works they were so bad the finale show was terrible as well the whole show was horrendous so Next time do better or don't do it at all. read more

What can I say this is where it all happens- The Taste of Colorado to this weekends Cinco de mayo festival- And one of Denver's biggest, Chun's People's Fair Let's not forget this years 420 rally which people still showed even though the snow rescheduled to what would have been one of the biggest 420 rally's of the world- read more

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This park is perfect to stroll through on a nice spring day. You will get to see rallies, demonstrations and all the other shenanigans you would expect near a state capital. I really like that there are wonderful views no matter if you are facing north, south, east or west! All of the legislative buildings look beautiful in the background! The free bus ride through downtown will get you right to this park where you can hang out with friends and enjoy your day. You can also shimmy on over to the capital building and see a cool piece of the state's history. If you get there are the right time, you can get a dome tour! read more

This park let the worst rapper DJ I have ever had the displeasure of hearing assault my senses for 8 hours straight as I stayed in a hotel one block north. It was as if someone outside your home bedroom window was on the street 20 feet away blasting subwoofers. read more

It is a park that really tries. I mean, it really does... The only time I hang out in it is when there is a fair or celebration going on inside of it. All the fairs all seem the same, except The Taste of Colorado... Otherwise, I think they all mesh. If you go to the park any other time when there is no fair then you will see a nice collection of homeless people. I do give the park credit for trying though... Remember, they do have some nice gardens and monuments. I have always thought that the Greek Theater area would be such a cool place to throw a party or a wedding... I mean the steps, the half circle, the grass... The only thing you would have to be prepared for is your headcount... I mean if you were homeless and you saw a buffet, would you go say congratulations to the bride and groom before you stood in line? I didn't think so.. So, you would have to expect the unexpected. It might work if you had everyone bring their own meal... Wait, then nobody would come to the wedding... Anyway, off subject. I read once about some ideas the city had on getting more residents to utilize the historical park by making some kind of bridge, but I have yet to see any construction... It is definitely a park underutilized by the city, and that is most likely because it is surrounded on all sides by some of Denver's busiest streets. * Star one is for that color green... Denver doesn't see much of it in the form of ground grass or trees that often ** Elephant Ears star two is for the fairs that go on at Civic Center, in which I only attend for the fatty and sugary foods... and the psychic ***Fantasy maker star three is for helping me imagine awesome parties where even the homeless get down and boogie to the YMCA read more

Civic Center Park - Parks Near Me - Denver, Colorado

We were in Denver on holiday, and saw on the news that they were having their 8th Annual 4th of July Eve Celebration with a free concert and firework show and decided we needed to experience that. They said people had set up their blankets on the grass early that morning to reserve their spot. We got there an hour before it started, found parking a few blocks away, got food from the food trucks, and still found a great place in the grass to set and enjoy the show, right as the concert was starting. The food trucks were probably some of the best in city. The Biscuit Bus is amazing if you ever have a chance to try them. I chose the Dalia. It was a huge biscuit with a home made sausage patty, apple butter, fried egg, and a pour over of maple syrup. Omgosh it was really good. My mate got had the DBC Club which had fried chicken, lettuce, bacon, cheese, tomato, and chipotle ranch, and it looked amazing too. This is a great event for families however the firework show didn't start until 10pm, and that's a little late for my little guy. We ended up leaving at 9:45 and seeing the fireworks from the car. I wish Albuquerque would do something like this, it was a blast. We might be going to Denver for this event next year. Everyone was super friendly and we felt safe. read more

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This park was nice & clean for the 3rd of July, Independence Eve Firework show & concert. The concert promptly started at 5:30. Ended around 6:30 and there was nothing else until after 9pm...Not good and I won't be back for the show again. read more

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Interesting experience. After leaving the State Capitol, I ran into an ICE protest. There are areas that the homeless are in and areas that are open for picnics. Busy park. read more

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Civic Center Park is a great park that is nestled in the heart of Downtown Denver. Ive been to this park many times for many different events. This park connects you to many historic and popular buildings and attractions such as the state capitol building, the Denver art museum, The Denver Public Library, city county building and much more. This park has many beautiful displays of flowers, trees and fountains. Any trip to Downtown Denver should be accompanied by a visit to civic center park. read more

My Dad was visiting and we went to the Civic Center for the July 3rd fireworks on Sunday night. Huge crowds, I have never seen the place so crowded. I have also been here for the Taste of Colorado and the People's Fair. I understand the previous reviews about the homeless and possible drugs. Can y'all remember that this is in downtown and some of that is understood. This park is amazing with the amount of space offered and the number of events it holds day to day. It can host the Taste of Colorado, the Peoples Fair...the Fourth of July fireworks. How many other big cities do you know that have a park this size at the end of a free mall ride that hosts this many events. This is a very nice park. I will definitely come back to experience more Denver events as they come up. read more

Civic Center Park - Fireworks night - Parks Near Me - Denver, Colorado

Love this park! It's a GREAT place to catch Pokémon! LOL. And there are tons of Pokéstops that are almost always barraged with lures. Loooove it! Another awesome aspect is that throughout the spring and summer months, there is ALWAYS something going on here. My favorite being the weekly Denver Eats food truck affair. A nice, clean park to visit directly in the heart of downtown! read more

Normally, I would say the park is a 2 stars type of place (on a good day), mostly based on the less than savory folks who hang out here. However since the city, in its infinite wisdom, decided to let the food trucks park it every Tues & Thurs in the summer time the park is looking up. In addition, they have been planting sod and generally sprucing up the joint. Sure, at the wrong time of day it is a less than savory place, however it has its moments. The fountain is beautiful and the grounds are starting to look better. Here is hoping a little commerce will help it out! read more

I absolutely love this park. It's got an amazing location, some beautiful architectural pieces, and is host to some amazing events. Everything that i have attended that has been organized there is very fun. But this park has a terrible problem with homeless people. Not only are there a lot of them there, but they're always asleep and overdosing. Every time I've been to the park when there isn't an event an ambulance has be called because someone is frothing at the mouth and unconscious. I wish they were provided better shelters and opportunities so they don't have to sleep in this park. read more

I haven't spent too much time in the park. I have just used it as a pass thru when walking around the city. Activity depends on the hour and day, of course. It does seem like a pretty nice place to chill during those on times though. During a quieter time, I took some time to walk around and take pictures. Also a great place to take photos of the Capitol. read more

I love this park. It's big. It's beautiful. It's close to my house. And they are doing so many cool things here. Things like Civic Center Eats and bike-in movies on a regular basis, not to mention that so many of our annual festival take place in and around the park, too. I love all the pretty, pretty flowers and the lovely expansions of green, green grass everywhere. I enjoy the fact that it's sandwich between two very stately buildings. This isn't like Wash Park - that's a suburb-in-a-city park where you can play volleyball, ride bikes around the outside, and cook a BBQ. This is an urban center that has grass and feels the heartbeat of the insides of a city. So you should come here to enjoy the activities they put on, the sun, or the benches by the flowers. Make it a day and head over to the beautiful library or check out the DAM even. And as for safety, I wouldn't hang out here alone after midnight, but I'm a firm believer nothing good happens after midnight anyway so use your common sense no matter where you are when it's later at night. read more

Denver native here. There are a few instructive tips about this park that would probably help people. 1) Unless there's a special event going on, avoid this park and Lincoln Park across the street like the plague - and Lincoln Park in the summer is even worse. 2) Denver City Council does not allow the Denver Police to enforce loitering laws, so people can linger at will all over the place and they do so all around downtown Denver, especially at Civic Center/Lincoln Park and sprawled on the lawns of churches all around downtown. The city is very loose with vagrancy and due to this, the entire Civic Center/State Capitol area has been an embarrassing eyesore for as long as I can remember. 3) Be aware of your surroundings and do not take out money or a wallet out of your pocket. 4) Do not give to a panhandler or you may get robbed. 5) Be aware for discarded hypodermic needles in the grass. 6) It has nice views of the skyscrapers and plenty of nice cute begging squirrels to feed, but consider the above before indulging in these things. 7) Please do not bring children on a field trip here. It's gross. 8) Park your car in a safe, lit location and make sure all doors are locked, windows rolled up, and no valuables visible inside. read more

If I may rant for a moment... homeless is not a bad word, despite nearly every negative review of this park harping on the issue of homelessness. Yes, there are homeless people in Civic Center Park. Yes, there are sometimes crazy people as well. Many of them are not homeless, and the vast majority of the homeless are perfectly fine, good people screwed by the system like so many millions of others. Civic Center park is a fine place to hang out, and is a lovely park. It is also real. If you're looking for disney land, this isn't the place for you. read more

First off, as a first time visitor to a major city, you would want to experience things that are unique to that place. That was my train of thought in planning my trip to Denver. In this train of thought, I thought it only fitting to begin my tour of Downtown Denver (DTD) at Civic Center Park. This is a good-sized park, complete with, nice patches of greens, well tended flowers, commemorative statues, and other patriotic symbols. I actually thought I saw a "Liberty Bell"-like sculpture that made me questions where I was. The buildings are beautiful, stately, regal, and definitely shutter-bug heaven...I must have taken about 50 myself. I felt very at ease in the parks interior, I saw families with small children playing with the squirrels (don't know how safe that is but, it was cute), a newly-wed couple taking there wedding pictures throughout, their wedding party in toe. It was peaceful. And then, you make your way towards the outskirts of the park and you kind of start to fear for your life. The overwhelming smell of pot was inescapable. The populations homeless and street vendors trying to sell me or give me something made my heart pound, in a bad way. But I don't want people to get the wrong impression of this place. Denver and by extension the park, is like any other big city... Just keep to yourself, walk with a group, and stick to the interior of the park and you will be just fine. Hey, if a bride can find beauty enough to take her wedding photos there, then it can't be all that bad, right? read more

I'm going to try and do this the best way that I can. The good: This park is architecturally amazing. It is a period piece, no doubt, but it really has some pretty amazing little details and it is amazing how much time and effort that the original builders really put into the layout and construction of the park. Denver really is lucky to have a public space like this. You can count on the people's fair and the Taste of Colorado and so many of Colorado's great moments have happened on the west steps of the State Capital that face this park. The bad: No matter what anyone wants to say, you don't have a right to camp in public parks without a permit. Just because you are addicted to drugs and/or mentally ill that doesn't give you a right. That said, the homeless here suck. We have some aggressive homeless in Denver. Do everyone a favor, don't give them any money, ever. They ruin the park. My vote is to buy each of them a bus ticket to Phoenix. The ugly: Parking. This is an urban jewel, don't drive down here. I have a tiny little car and I still choose to ride my bike or taxi cab it down here. I will say this, to those of you with giant extended cab pickups, it is super entertaining trying to watch you slide into parking spots intended for normal cars, not your miniature semi-trucks. Overall, a really great public space where some pretty rad events happen every year. Just full of crappy homeless people, but you can pretend that they are really train riding hobos, so then they are at least entertaining instead of sad and smelly. read more

Its a very nice park. Lots of big trees for shade. Nice Grassy area. The City is always improving the flower beds. Love it when the food trucks are here or the movies. Or when they bring in the Iron Man Competitions. Theirs usually something going on including Symphony in the park. The Problem is the Homeless people who just hang out and also the ones who sell drugs. I see the Police and the State Police Patrolling the park but they don't do much more than that. Its annoying to see them and smell them sleeping under a tree. Come on Denver Get it together. read more

Great park, beautiful gardens, fantastic location! I love how clean the park always is and it's proximity to the DAM. Sure, it's not a quiet park that you can have to yourself at any point in the day; it captures the bustling atmosphere of one of Denver's most densely populated neighborhoods! People are always coming and going, it's surrounded by busy streets, and it's definitely got some homeless residents. But the city maintains the park well and I've never had an issue with any of the people who frequent it. We came here most recently for Taste of Colorado 2013 and, aside from some serious confusion about when the event actually started, the whole thing was absolutely fabulous! There is no better park for hosting events like this because of the park's shape and layout. I hope we can come to many more in the future. read more