Dignitaries and local government officials cut the ribbon on a new park in Salt Lake County today. Lodestone Regional Park sits right on the border of West Valley City and the Kearns Township, east of the Mountain View Corridor off of 6200 South.
The $5 million park was funded through a parks bond approved by Salt Lake County voters in 2012, says Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams.
“It’s with those precious resources made possible by the people of Salt Lake County that we’ve been able to move forward various parks,” McAdams says. “Lodestone Park is one of those great amenities that’s been made available with those precious resources.”
McAdams says the park’s large playground was designed to reflect the mining history of southern Salt Lake County, complete with a giant mining truck tire donated by Kennecott. The new park also has a pavilion area, an exercise trail, a multipurpose athletic field, tennis courts, and basketball courts which were donated by the Utah Jazz and Larry H. Miller Charities.
Undeveloped land borders Lodestone Park to the east and west. Mayor McAdams says that land is set aside for future park development, which he predicts will be needed in the future, as the population along the Wasatch Front continues to grow.
“When we can afford [to develop] it, and when there’s a demand for it, we have the space available,” McAdams says. “Right now we’re going to use it as part of that walking trail and preserve the space for future park development.”
Other projects funded by the $47 million parks bond from 2012 are Wheadon Park in Draper, which opened this June, and Wardle Fields Park in Bluffdale, which is set to open next spring. The bond also paid for a land purchase for a future park in Magna and trail completion along the Parleys and Jordan River Parkway Trails.