Family Park planning draws strong input, ideas for improvements

Family Park has a lot of fans — with ideas.

The city’s initial request for public input on future expansion for the west-side park drew about 1,200 responses.

“We got a lot of feedback. It’s a really popular park,” said Mike Patten, park development specialist. “It’s that natural area you would expect to see out of town available inside of town, so a lot of people like it and use it. It’s kind of a state park, national park feel located in our own city.”

The feedback will help guide a master plan for Family Park, which is at 300 N. Ellis Road.

A meeting to collect additional input was “one of the highest-attended public meetings I’ve been a part of,” Patten added.

So what did they have to say?

“People are looking for it to stay a natural space,” Patten said. “They don’t want it super programmed with a lot of different formal activities.”

Family Park opened in 2010, one-half mile north of 12th Street. The 245-acre park includes two stocked fishing ponds, a boat ramp for nonmotorized craft, walking trails, access to the city’s bike trail and an off-leash dog park on 3 acres.

In 2018, the Unzelman family donated 154 acres to the park, which broadened the boundary of Family Park and will allow for expansion and future development of the park.

Common requests from the public included bike trail connections, off-leash dog areas and general play activities.

Right now, “it’s always busy,” Patten said. “I would say the three main uses are fishing with the big lake — it’s an urban fishery — it’s an off-leash dog park and just hiking and walking through the nature trails.”

According to South Dakota Game Fish & Parks, “it’s the most fishing per acre of water they have in South Dakota,” city park development specialist Tory Miedema said.

“There’s huge usage there.”

Others told the city they wanted more access to Skunk Creek for fishing.

“And they’re looking for more places for canoe and kayak launching,” Miedema said. “A lot of people jump on Skunk Creek and head to the confluence (with the Big Sioux River) and go around the city.”

The city plans to hold another public meeting in November to bring different ideas and concepts of the park as well as review what was learned from the public input.

For now, no improvements have been budgeted in the city’s five-year plan. That’s expected to follow development of the master plan this winter.