Confluence Park, Denver

I arrived back in Denver yesterday afternoon. This morning I had a breakfast appointment down at Union Station. I had no plans after that so I walked the short distance down to the South Platte river and walked around Commons Park and Confluence Park. I enjoyed the sunshine, read my book, had a coffee and people watched. This area was just starting to be developed in the late 80s and still in the early stages when I moved away from Denver in the early 90s.  It's been so interesting to see the development over the years when I've come back to visit. This area was a bit of an urban blight previously. Now there are beautiful parks, swanky apartments, coffee shops and restaurants.

Technically, Confluence Park is not in this picture - it’s just to the left of this frame. But it’s so called because right here is the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek. It’s an important spot historically because a gold mining settlement started here which grew into the city of Denver, although gold was not found until they moved a couple of miles south.

The brick building (1901) used to be the Denver Tramway Power Company Plant building which served as the power source for entire Denver electric trolley system. The plant closed in 1950, was used as a warehouse and then as the Forney Transport museum from 1969. In 2000 it opened as the (outdoor company) REI Denver flagship store. It’s an amazing visit in itself!  The bridge is Speer Blvd.

It’s not unusual to see kayaks navigating the rapids here, though today it wasn’t too busy. I did see one person go through it on a paddle-board and was amazed at how long he stayed upright! (See Extra photo)  On weekends this place is busy with families playing in the water with their kids and dogs and having picnics in the parks and on the waterfront. There are bikes and scooters galore.

It was soon time to head back to my hotel and get ready for work. I walked along the  Cherry Creek trail - a tiny section of it.  The trail follows the creek 12 miles to Cherry Creek Reservoir and on to Castlewood Canyon State Park (49 miles). See Extra photo. One of these days I really need to rent a bike and see how far I can go!