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Children play and celebrate with costumed characters at the opening of Quail Orchard Park on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023.

Courtesy Provo City

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A rendering showing the footprint of Quail Orchard Park in Provo.

Courtesy Provo City

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Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi, center, celebrates the opening of Quail Orchard Park with Scott Henderson, director of the city's Parks and Recreation department, left, and Doug Robins, assistant director.

Courtesy Provo City

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On Sept. 28, Quail Orchard Park at 522 E. 3900 North in Provo had its grand opening and ribbon-cutting.

Quail Orchard is Provo’s 57th park. The $5.5 million site was funded through development impact fees, Recreation, Arts and Parks Tax revenue and a special contribution from the city’s general fund.

Doug Robins, Provo City Parks and Recreation assistant director, said a design committee consisting of neighborhood residents worked for more than a year with landscape architecture consultant BlueLine Design on all aspects of park design. “This team effort resulted in a plan that sets new standards for neighborhood park design in Provo,” he said.

“Living close to the park, I was able to participate on the park committee along with many other residents. I was impressed with how seriously our input and suggestions were taken and how much influence we had on the result,” said Provo City Council Chair Katrice MacKay. “It is genuinely a park that was designed by and reflects the residents of the Timpview/Edgemont area. It was so impressive to see the positive results from the collaboration of residents and city staff.”

Quail Orchard Park is one of a number of parks that have opened recently or plan to open, including the 100-acre Regional Sports Park.

“Each time we open a park, the community gets better. We celebrate and cherish our neighborhood parks because there is a lot of citizen and staff work that goes into their creation,” said Scott Henderson, Provo City Parks and Recreation director. “Quail Orchard Park becomes part of our impressive parks and trails system designed to promote the active and healthy lifestyle for children and adults — which is part of the Provo citizen fiber.”

Quail Orchard Park features include:

• Six acres of land with varied topography and contour, including flat hills and curves to add interest.
• New contemporary style pavilions.
• Adventure-style playgrounds with a bridge connecting the upper playgrounds to an island playground feature in the lower basin. The playgrounds also feature soft surfacing, shade sails, age-specific play areas for children 2-5 years old, and other equipment suitable for ages 5-12 years.
• New family-style restrooms integrated with the group pavilion, with low-water-use fixtures.
• Walking paths around the perimeter and through the park, with wide, gentle curves and seating benches that accommodate increased capacity, and with low-energy-use lamps and bollard lighting for improved nighttime visibility.
• A meandering stream that naturally flows through the center of the park, cascading into the basin below.
• Four pickleball courts, with a sound wall and adjacent parking stalls.
• A large-group pavilion, a smaller pavilion and other picnic areas scattered throughout the site.

Several years ago, Provo acquired 8 acres of land between Canyon Road and Timpview Drive for a future park and road expansion. The land was acquired at a favorable time following a low point in real estate values. Two acres of this land was destined for the 3900 North Street development, and the remaining 6 acres was dedicated for a neighborhood park.

“This open space restores a level of service standard to northeast Provo, following the conversion of park land adjacent to Timpview High School to meet needed expansion there,” Robins said.

A highlight of the site is the additional functions of a stormwater detention basin on the west side of the park that collects runoff from surrounding neighborhoods in the case of a major storm event, allowing stormwater a chance to settle and avoid flooding private property and businesses or impacting residents downstream, according to Robins.

Additional aquifer storage and recovery infrastructure also has been installed at the park, providing long-term water storage for the future.

“The grand opening of Quail Orchard Park is another success story showing why Provo Parks and Recreation was named best in the nation with the prestigious 2021 National Gold Medal Awards for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management,” said Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi. “We are setting the nation’s standard on community health and it is gratifying to see the positive impact this health focus has had on our community.”