The Greenway Foundation

Revitalizing Rivers. Reconnecting Communities.

Johnson Habitat Park

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.

SPREE Summer Camp kids explore river ecology with The Greenway Foundation
SPREE LIT Camper scoops up a sample from the South Platte River
Kids wade through the South Platte River with nets during SPREE Summer Camp
SPREE Summer Camp Staff explores the South Platte River ecosystem with children.

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Johnson Habitat Park in Our Blog