Two historic but neglected city parks, one in the heart of Denver and the other on the east end of Arvada, have received a multimillion-dollar silver lining from the National Park Service.

Better known for ranger hats and stewardship of wilderness treasures like Rocky Mountain National Park, NPS also has funding to revamp city parks with a great story to tell. Denver gets $8.4 million grant to revitalize and mobilize La Alma Lincoln Park at West 13th Street and Osage AvenueOne of the city’s oldest neighborhoods and the starting point of Spanish activism in the 1970s.

Meanwhile, Arvada has been awarded $7.3 million, which it will use to revitalize the eroded and weed-covered Gold Strike Park at the confluence of Ralston and Clear creeks, the site of the first gold discovery in Colorado.

Maki Boyle, Arvada’s senior landscape architect, said the NPS Outdoor Recreation Heritage Partnership award to Gold Strike at West 56th Avenue and Ralston Road is a boost “especially for the east side of town, where many recreational facilities are aging.” “It will include nature-based play elements and provide outdoor access for historically underserved and low-income communities. This project meets a long-standing need as the park has been underutilized for over 20 years.”

Denver is equally excited and hopes the money will fuel the revival of La Alma Lincoln Park as a modern recreation and exercise center in a neighborhood suffering from a shortage of open space. Neighbors want to use the park more than themselves, however, threatening or criminal activity has increased. Gordon Robertson, park planning and design manager for Denver Parks and Recreation, said the recreation center is a heavily wooded area with lots of places to hide behind and poor lighting.

“Our operations teams have been dealing with increased (negative) activity at this park lately, but we are absolutely excited about this new vision and this new design and construction project that will truly bring the park to life,” Robertson said.

Robertson said the new La Alma Lincoln Park design, including an expanded skate park and walking path, focused on input from thousands of surveyed residents.

“That’s the beauty of talking to so many people: Statistics don’t lie,” he said. “Really great ideas rose to the top and were well supported by the people who responded.”

In Denver, the design phase is starting now and construction could begin in 2026 with a grand opening in late 2027. Matching money will also arrive from dedicated park acquisition and development sales tax Denver residents approved in 2018, Robertson said.

Arvada’s Gold Strike overhaul has a final design and is ready for construction, Boyle said.

Lois Lindstrom of the Arvada Historical Society is credited with identifying the land that is now Gold Strike Park as the site of significant moments for the area, Boyle said.

Lindstrom wrote that Ralston attended a gold-finding party in Georgia and after much exploration along the way, we arrived exhausted at the place where the two streams meet, north of the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek, previously explored.

“Wet and tired, they pushed west along Clear Creek to a spot of quiet beauty with ‘good water, grass and timber,’” Lindstrom wrote in a 2003 column for Colorado Community Media. “The good water came from an unnamed mountain stream. Captain McNair called ‘goodbye’, meaning a day’s rest.

“Early on the morning of June 22, 1850, Lewis Ralston knelt down with his pan and scooped out $5 worth of gold from the shiny gravel; This was the first gold they had seen since leaving Georgia. ‘We called it Ralston Creek because a man of that name found gold there,’ Brown wrote in his diary.

Boyle said the renewed Gold Strike will also showcase the region’s long history.

“The revitalization of the park will not only highlight this historic event, but also honor the stories of the indigenous peoples who lived in the area and ensure the space reflects the broader cultural and historical narrative,” he said.