Johnson Habitat Park
Johnson Habitat Park is one of the flagship parks along the South Platte River in Denver, thanks to the transformation of eight acres of un-programmed grassland into Denver’s premier environmental education and nature play park. Like many sites along the river, Johnson Habitat Park was originally mined for sand and gravel. Later, the empty gravel pits were filled with municipal trash and construction debris, then covered with dirt and seeded with grasses. Crews removed over 1,200 dump truck loads of dirt, trash and debris.
This massive excavation set the stage for a uniquely creative and dynamic park. The design includes a series of nature play and environmental education areas arrayed around a central open lawn: an urban camping area with 12’ high boulders, climbing nets, an outdoor classroom area, an interactive wiki-up zone and an amphitheater and fire pit along a jetty adjacent to the banks of the river. The Greenway Foundation’s South Platte River Environmental Education (SPREE) program is headquartered within JHP, so there are always lots of kids catching crawdads and learning about river ecology.




Project Location
Johnson Habitat Park in Our Blog
- Native November and Secrets of the Forest
- Bugs, bugs, and more BUGS!
- Colors of the River
- Food Web Frenzy
- Crafts, Crawdads & a Cookout
- Pollinating Pals
- Pitching Tents & Catching Crawdads
- Camp Week 7: Nature is Calling
- Summer Camp Week 5: Survival Skills Put to the Test
- Week 4: An Excellent Time Traveling Adventure
- Cole Neighborhood Campout Evening
- Volunteers help at our Fall South Platte Stewardship Days
- New Mural at SPREE HQ
- SPREE Family Camp Out
- S’more Engagement
- Clear Intentions
- 4th Annual SPREE Camp Out
- Spring Holiday Camps Get Kids Exploring The River
- Campers Enjoy Outdoor Adventures Week and SPREE Camp Out
- Johnson Habitat Park in Full Swing
- Johnson Habitat Park: Ribbon Cutting
- First GLC Volunteer Day: Johnson Habitat Park
- Johnson-Habitat Park Remodel