The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe has been awarded a $1 million grant to construct two pocket parks on the reservation, one on the north end and one on the south end near a newly developing housing district. The project aims to address a pressing need for safe and accessible outdoor recreation in a community that currently has no parks.
Raylene House, director of the Ute Mountain Recreation Center, said when the gym was built in the 1960s, there was initially a smaller play set.
“Those were like old-school monkey bars where everything was metal. But no, they got rid of those,” House said, adding that the parks have been long-awaited.
The grant submission has been in the works for some time. Provided by Great Outdoors Colorado, the grant is one of $25.5 million in funding the lottery-funded program is awarding to recreational and park restoration projects across the state. Dolores, Mancos, Mesa Verde and Montezuma County also received regional awards for conservation, shared-use pathways and trail restoration.
The parks in Towaoc are expected to help reduce obesity and high rates of chronic disease. House said the community is aware of the grant, and it brings a sense of hope. For a while, she explained, ideas were proposed but the funding mechanism was never there.
“There’s a lot of positive feedback. It’s something they've been waiting for or wishing for,” she said. “It gives them hope.”
Additionally, the proposed plans include not just amenities for kids and young teens but also adults and elders. About 31% of the population gave input during the planning process, GOCO said, and the proposals include spaces that put cultural relevance at the forefront.
Both parks are being designed to be ADA-accessible, and their layouts aim to engage residents of all ages. Both parks will feature designs using the four colors of the Native medicine wheel – white, black, red and yellow. The medicine wheel is an important symbol of Native culture, featuring four colors, House commented, just as there are four cardinal directions and four seasons.
“The parks were designed to culturally and traditionally involve all generations,” House said. “We’ll have benches where elders can sit and tell stories, playground equipment for younger kids, and a basketball court for older youth.”
A roughly 1.1-acre North Pocket Park will be built on North Star Lane, on the site of the former casino daycare center. The location was chosen because it sits in a neighborhood central to where many children live and is equipped with existing infrastructure, such as fences and a road. The existing building has already been removed, and the site has been surveyed. Construction is expected to begin in fall 2026, with work paused during winter months because of weather.
Proposed for the park are a small, fenced-in dog park, a slide and swing set, a basketball hoop, and a shaded pavilion equipped for grilling and cooking demonstrations.
The South Pocket Park will be even larger and located near the old rodeo grounds off 201 Ute Trail Road, serving a growing housing area that would be a long walk from the north end of town.
“It’s a big neighborhood down there, a new development, and so those kids would have a place to play as well,” House said.
Plans for the south park include a basketball court, a volleyball court, picnic areas and a boulder rock climbing area.
Each of the parks will also include playground equipment, shaded benches and gathering areas, walking paths, double-gated entrances, restrooms and parking.
House said the parks are especially important in a community where outdoor recreation options have been limited for generations.
“It will promote healthy living on the physical side with obesity and allow the kids more outside and physical time than time inside,” she said. “Just getting them outdoors and reconnecting with nature, I think that’s one of the biggest things.”
Community response has been overwhelmingly positive.
“For a long time, funding was the barrier,” House said. “Now that the grant is secured, people feel hopeful because they can finally see it executed.”
More grants are in the works, House said, who, as the recreation center’s director, will also oversee the operational side of the parks, especially if people want to rent the space for birthday parties.
The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe also received a $112,800 grant to restore access to historical sites in the Pool Canyon and Casa Colorado areas. The grant was announced this month along with the pocket parks.
