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| - The parks revolution has reached the Las Vegas Valley. It is a revolution of peace and recreation. Throughout the Las Vegas Valley new parks are marching into vacant spaces. When the National Park closures were drawing attention, the City of North Las Vegas was finishing up the final touches on the Craig Ranch Regional Park. This past Friday, Craig Ranch Regional Park, which the media named the Crown Jewel of North Las Vegas, opened its gates.
Always up for peace and recreation, yesterday I drove from Henderson to explore this 170 acre park. Being the outdoor enthusiast that I am, my brother and I spent five hours exploring it.
Before discussing Craig Ranch Regional Park I have something to say. I am so glad that the park revolution resulted in 170 acres of green space instead of one more strip mall on heavily retailed Craig Road.
It is from a heavily retailed Craig Road, where you turn into Craig Ranch Regional Park, in the southwest area of this square shaped park (Lone Mountain Road is the north entrance). The first attraction you see before entering the park, is the highly acclaimed skateboard park. Although I am not a skateboarder, this is a well-done facility that is known as one of the best in Nevada. Headed straight, which is north toward Lone mountain Road, there are the parking lots, active recreation facilities, and doggy facilities. The active recreation facilities feature basketball courts, a sand volley ball court, youth baseball fields, a dog run and dog park.
After entering the park, and making a right, you see grass and concrete reaching toward a major state-of-the-art playground and two ponds. Up close there is a major difference between what I call the south and north pond. The south pond looks like a victim of fertilizer run-off from the golf course days. The close-by north pond is clean and could have fish. Ducks are nonexistent. And it is a good thing considering that a common activity here are kids throwing rocks into the pond. If kids are not up to throwing rocks in the pond, nearby is a state-of-the-art playground. If I were to be a kid again, it is here and not Toys R Us that I'd like to be. Growing up, I never played on playground equipment like this. There is a splash area. There are statues that look like a snake, a rabbit, and numerous desert animals. There is a slide carved from a grassy hill. There is a tunnel. There are a couple of themed playgrounds. Knowing that pictures say a thousand words, I included a few that showcase the playground.
If you were to walk north or east of the playground, the immediate sight is picnic tables. This is one of the areas with a higher concentration of mature trees. Pine trees are common here. There is a want for more tree canopies and shade in this park. Walking further in either direction, the developed areas give way to acres of grass that are interspersed with shrubs and picnic tables. It is my understanding that the park planners will facilitate development a pond in the northeast section, an amphitheater, and soccer fields will be built.
The enemy of the parks revolution are vandals. I observed zero security personal. With all the energy and money placed in building the park, the threat of graffiti and crime is a concern. The park had been open two days, and I laid my eyes on two graffiti sights. Somebody tagged the rocks on top of the slide and inside the men's room near the Cottage picnic area. If state-of-the-art playgrounds could be built, the exact holds for surveillance systems.
I am so enthusiastic about the parks revolution marching through the Las Vegas Valley, that is creating well-acclaimed parks such as Craig Ranch Regional Park. When it comes to my days off after a rough week of work, I am willing to give peace a chance.
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