FLOOD10354 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Colorado River - Lake Brontosaurus State Recreation Area Lake Brontosaurus is located on the north bank, east of 7th Street. Excavated in the shape of a dinosaur during the cleanup of the mill tailings site, Lake Brontosaurus provides superb recreational opportunities, On the northeast corner of Lake Brontosaurus, the public Swim Beach offers sunbathing and swimming, The sandy shores service both Mesa County residents and tourists. Also on the northeast corner of Lake Brontosaurus, the public campground provides full service R V and tent camping. Entrance fee collection, changing rooms and showers are located in a single beach complex which serves both the swim beach and the islands. On Claw Peninsula, a landform created by the excavation for Lake Brontosaurus, fishing eddies and docks are provided. Informal fishing opportunities are available through the riverfront development. The head and front legs of Brontosaurus Lake create a peninsula that is reserved especially for boating. An activities center rents kayaks, canoes and paddle boats. Visitors register for float trips down the Colorado River at the Kayakanthus Boating Center. The activities center(also serves as a head- quarters for kayak training and racing events. Beginner boaters can easily reac;:h Eye Island, a small island created in the "head" of Lake Brontosaurus. A gazebo offers picnic shelter. Large boulders lowered by crane into the channel between the north bank of the Colorado River and Lewis Island form an e."(citing series of whitewater rapids for both practice and racing events. An informal grass amphitheater provides a comfortable view- ing area for the less adventurous on the banks of the Colorado River. The eastern section of Watson Island is reserved for the quiet contemplation of nature. A pedestrian trail weaves around the island. Signs along the trail identify plant and animal species and illustrate relevant information about local natural history. In conjunction with the Museum of Western Colo- rado, environmental education programs are held on Lewis Island. Picnic sites can be found throughout the Lake Brontosaurus State Park Facility. The beach offers 100 parking spaces. Seventy-five parking spaces are provided at the Kayankanthus Boating Center. No specific parking is designat~d for campers, since the camping is drive-up style. Riverside Park Riverside Park accomplishes important local economic development objectives while maintaining attractive green vistas from the Grand River Promontory. Except for the Vic- torian Welcome Gardens, landscaping is informal and requires little maintenance. As visitors approach on Highway 50, they see an unusual surprise: a dinosaur in a formal Victorian Garden. This dinosaur has "escaped" from Brontosaurus Playland. He invites tourists to meet the rest of the island creatures. Bright and colorful from the Grand Vista Promontory and Highway 50, 14 Gram Jones and Ron Fleming the Victorian Welcome Gardens celebrate Grand Junction's Victorian heritage. The geometric beds are planted with color- ful arrangements of annuals each spring. The Victorian flower beds create a highly structured "living painting" that offers an insightful contrast to the more informal "living tapestry" of common and rare native plants in the Western Rock Garden. The Time Pinnacle Overlook extends out like a rocky prow into the Colorado River. The pinnacle symbolizes the passage from the prehistoric time to the present. The Time Pinnacle also marks the "journey through time" from present day to Victorian Riverside Park, under the 5th Street Bridge to the Grand River Cultural Center, and finally to the prehistoric Playland of the Brontosaurus. Just west of the Time Pinnacle, a bridge crosses the Colorado River to the Grand River Promontory. Using the bridge, hikers and bicyclists follow a loop trail to all the riverfront amenities. This bridge also improves access to the riverfront features from residential neighborhoods on Orchard Mesa. Picnic areas and play fields are located throughout Riverside Park for local and visitor use. , Related Development A number of recommended elements are presented below. These features unify and enhance the waterfront area. Riverside Drive traverses the north bank of the Colorado River. It is a graciously curving road, accessing all north bank amenities. Riverside Drive is raised so that it functions as a dike, protecting the City of Grand Junction from flood waters. Attracted to the area, in part, because of the newly developed public amenities sites, research and development facilities along Riverside Drive augment the local tax base and provide employment. Heavy planting buffers views of the buildings from the Grand Vista Promontory. Streetscape improvements, especially street tree planting, along 5th, 7th and 9th Streets, enhance the passage from downtown to the riverfront. All new roads are lined \vith trees, The Grand River mixed-use trail forms a continuous loop