The entrance to Tailwinds Park in southeast Fort Collins, 5830 South Timberline Road, welcomes visitors.
By Luke Purvis
The Rampsondents
A long-term goal in the Fort Collins Parks and Recreation Plan is to create a place where the community can grow together.
The new Tailwinds Park sits just north of Bacon Elementary School, with Mail Creek Ditch on its north and east sides, South Timberline Road to the west, and the school to the south. Its location helped shape the park’s design.
“Tailwinds Park is a school-side park,” said Jennifer Torrey, supervisor for Parks and Planning with the city of Fort Collins. “It’s smaller and has standard amenities, but the location and who it serves really guided our design decisions.”
The park is part of the city’s larger Parks and Recreation Master Plan. They identify where parks should be built based on population and distance.
“We have a parks and rec plan that identifies neighborhood and community locations for parks based on distances and populations,” Torrey explained.
The proximity to Bacon Elementary made Tailwinds an ideal place for designing a park that benefits the school community.
“Unusually, this site has a ditch,” Torrey said. “That drove the design to include a fence around the playground, which provides an extra layer of safety for the children.”
Since the park borders the school, city staff worked closely with Bacon Elementary’s administration, teachers, and students. They held open houses at the school to hear directly from the community and learn how the park could best fit their needs.
“They have an early childhood development center, which is a little unusual, and a center-based autism program,” Torrey said. “Because of that, they have a higher rate of younger children than most schools, and we wanted to make sure the park was friendly for all kids, including those with intellectual differences.”
That feedback influenced everything.Tailwinds Park features an inclusive playground including passive and active recreation spaces, walking paths, a pollinator meadow, a rectangular field, picnic areas, a half-basketball court, and a performance climbing boulder.
The Tailwinds Park Teen Hangout area.
One of the park’s notable additions is a small rock amphitheater that can seat around 60 people.
“The school plans to use the park to host fifth-grade graduations and small events,” Torrey said. “That amphitheater space gives them a natural, outdoor spot for ceremonies or community gatherings.”
The park is also designed for accessibility and safety. Its trails and pathways connect to nearby schools and neighborhoods, giving kids a safer way to travel.
“We provided openings and trails so kids can bike there instead of riding on the street,” Torrey said. “We also worked with PSD (Poudre School District) since the park connects right to their schoolyard fence.”
Like most city parks, Tailwind went through a multi-year process. It began with securing land and water rights, then continued to planning and construction.
“Typically, it takes about three years from start to finish,” Torrey said. “The land was acquired some time ago and our first step was to obtain water. Just like all developers, we usher our projects through the basic development review, which involves feedback from several departments.”
After design and environmental review, proposals go to the Planning and Zoning Board for approval. This process can take about a year to a year and a half. Once approved, the city prepares detailed construction documents and opens the project to competitive bidding, awarding the contract to the highest-qualified bidder.
“Once construction starts, it usually takes about six to eight months,” Torrey said. “Overall, it’s about a three-year process. For Tailwinds, we finished in a shorter timeframe.
“It’s about creating spaces where everyone feels comfortable,” Torrey said. “That’s what makes a park successful.”
The new park at 5830 S. Timberline Road is now open, inviting families to enjoy Fort Collins’ newest community space.
Luke Purvis is a CSU Journalism and Media Communication student. He hopes to gain as much knowledge as possible so that he can come prepared when he graduates.