Daniel S.
Yelp
Downtown Denver's Riverfront Gateway:
Downtown Denver is blessed to have a greenway beside the South Platte River. If the riverfront greenway was a necklace, Commons Park would be a pearl.
Commons Park is Downtown Denver's gateway Park to the South Platte River. It is rolling urban parkland that bookends the 16th Street Mall corridor to the South Platte River. It is a green space that separates the urban downtown from the serene river. It is also a green space that connects to nearby riverfront parks. It is a continuation of the South Platte River Trail and neighbor of Confluence Park.
The Commons Park that I visited in the summer of 2017 was a different and improved park from the one a few years ago. It was in the near past when transients, homeless teens, and heavy drug users appeared to took over the park. Especially in the park center on Stoner Hill. Thanks to the efforts of the Denver Police and the eyes of surveillance camera, the general public has reclaimed the park. That included my family and myself.
On our travels through Commons Park, we entered by ways of the 16th Street Pedestrian Mall. If you are unfamiliar with downtown Denver, the best way to describe 16th Street Mall - Downtown with Commons Park is visualizing a capital T turned upside down. The long vertical line is the 16th Street Pedestrian Mall where the perpendicular horizontal line is the South Platte River greenway. The intersection of the two lines is Commons Park.
It is neat that the 16th Street Pedestrian Mall entrance is over the Millennium Bridge. From the southernmost end of the mall, the mast pole hanging above Millennium Bridge is a visible landmark. Reaching the far end of the mall, it is a feeling of accomplishment progressing beyond the pedestrian mall onto the bridge. It is a bridge that connects the paved Denver to the green Denver. When I stood on the Millennium Bridge, I set sight on my first elevated view of Commons Park and in essence the South Platte River. After descending the bridge on the park side we momentarily walked through an upscale neighborhood known as Riverside. I have to mention that many of the Riverside reviews describe Commons Park. With that said, if you want additional information on Commons Park, please check out the Riverside business listing.
The interior of the park is a series of walkways that lead into the South Platte River Trail. In the center of the park is the unsigned Stoner Hill. I don't want to know the story behind that name if it is what I am thinking. What I do want to know is the nice things about the park. There are plenty. First off, it is clean and relatively graffiti free. The grass is healthy and well kept. That hill called stoner hill is covered with golf course green grass and what appears to be young trees. Throughout the park I saw the symbol of revitalization in the new Confluence high rise. In the proceeding paragraph, I will incorporate the nice things about Commons Park through a recollection of my personal experiences there.
We passed over spending time on the hill. Instead we walked on the paved pathways that circumvented the hill while reaching the northernmost reaches of the park and following the South Platte River. Ultimately we'd walk the paved pathway onto the contiguous South Platte River Trail. On our downtown bound journeys we'd walk along the westernmost trail to connect to the Millennium Bridge. From my observation the park is both a green urban space and riverfront preserve. Nearer the river, the paved walkways meander through a shady area known as the Grove. This provided us a nice shady place to take a breather. However, this did not provide views of the close by river. The natural vegetation stymied the views of the river. I'd walk down a couple of short unpaved paths that brought me to the river. The river is the nicest part of the park. It deserves its own paragraph.
The short paths reached a serene South Platte River. Just a few hundred feet from Confluence Park the rapids seem to be a hundred miles away. If it wasn't for the construction across the river, and the powerlines above, I'd feel like I was visiting Denver when Sargent Larimer was alive. There were more spectacular views of the South Platte River. A short distance downriver, the Highland Bridge (no motor traffic) extends the parks walking path system over the river. The views are nothing short of spectacular. By the way, because Highland Bridge is directly south of the Millennium Bridge there is an attractive view across the park toward it.
Along the necklace that is the South Platte River greenway, Commons Park a pearl. When we spent time in Commons Park it was a pearl that shined brightly.
