Western Trails Neighborhood Park

Western Trails Neighborhood Park is a seven and one half acre site situated in the southwest area of Las Vegas. This is a traditional horse property area with the lots at a minimum of one acre. Western Trails Neighborhood Park is the first park built in the area by Clark County.

As part of the design, the landscape architect was directed to develop a western theme and include specific functional horse park amenities. Five acres of the site is devoted to typical neighborhood park amenities such as: restrooms, children’s playground area, picnic areas with barbeques, open lawn play area, pedestrian path, and plenty of shaded trees. Two and one half acres have been developed for horse enthusiasts including a large parking area for trucks and horse trailers, easy ingress and egress, watering troughs, and hitching posts.

These separate requests are seamlessly blended into a cohesive park that functions with two individual uses. The use of a western style fence to separate the neighborhood park and the horse areas was decided on early in the design process. The fence would then be carried around the perimeter of the park to bring continuity to the two areas.

Inspirations for this park came from the design team visits to western themed areas, resorts, and ghost towns. The western store front, wood post gateway entries, crumbling and eroding fort walls, barbeques, wood bridges, wood rail fences, rock walls, and wood boardwalks were all elements that were determined to be included and fused into the Western Trails Neighborhood Park.

The parks maintenance department objected to the extensive use of wood in the park design. It was then determined to change the wood elements into bare rusted metal. The rustic metal elements strongly echo the wood elements that would be present in an old western town and provide the ease of maintenance required by the parks maintenance department. All of the exposed rusted metal elements were processed with a mild acid wash to provide a uniform look and to speed up the rusting process that can be slow in a dry desert climate.

The main entry gateways consist of 12” diameter metal tubes that are shaped and positioned to reflect a typical town entry feature. The secondary entry gateways are 12” square metal tubes hat reflect the square sturdy timbers often used as the entry to an army outpost fort. The rails on the separating fence are 4” square metal tubes set on an angle between rough concrete posts.

The restroom building reflects the old western town appeal of a store front. With its raised board and batten walls, rusted signage, rusted shed roof covered boardwalk, knee braced posts, hitching posts, and buckboard wagon benches, it holds a charming impression of an old town. Even the roof of the building is rusted corrugated metal.

The windmill is the focal point of the park and welcomes visitors as they enter through the main gateway, just as the windmill was the focal point of any western town or ranch – water is the life blood of the community. The 65’ working windmill is the central feature in the park and can be seen from all park vantage points. The windmill manufacturer is from West Texas and constructs these windmills for farms and ranches across the country. It is constructed of Red Cedar posts and cross beams, this was the only wood allowed in park.

The covered wagon picnic shelters are in a semi-circle around a recessed fire pit. This ‘circles the wagons’ approach provides individual family picnic opportunities and larger group activities if desired. The recessed fire pit connects to a ‘red rock’ colored concrete wall with copies of Indian petroglyphs inscribed. The fire pit has several seating levels and also contains a circular drain gate connected to a drain pipe that extends to the dry river bed.

The thick slump stone walls surrounding the 70’ square playground mimic the adobe brick walls surrounding an old army fort. The walls are stepped to reflect the ruins of a crumbling site left to the wearing down of time. The playground element colors reflect the earth tones of the entire site without sacrificing the children’s excitement for playing and learning. The rubber safety surface also blends with the surroundings with its green, tan, and black mixture. The hunter green cover is reflective of cottonwood trees that may have surrounded an army fortification and provide a shady recluse from the hot western sun.

The horse trailer parking area has a recycled asphalt surface to allow vehicles to park and give the horse’s safe traction. The water troughs are stock material as opposed to a wood or metal trough that would have looked more authentic but would not function correctly. The water troughs are filled and drained automatically from one touch to an activator button located on a bollard.

Western Trails Neighborhood Park has come together as a functional themed park with the necessary elements to carry out the old west theme. The residents in the area, horse and non-horse alike, are thrilled with the park, its theme, design, and functionality.

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