The Linear Park in Watford City opened May 7. (Photo submitted)
This year, the Watford City Parks and Recreation and the Rough Rider Center have been working hard to provide fun summertime activities and new equipment for the whole community to enjoy!
As of May 7, the Watford City Parks and Recreation just completed setting up a brand-new outdoor fitness area. The 1.9-mile Linear Park Loop now has an outdoor fitness area that includes 20 pieces of exercise equipment catered to older kids and adults.
Robin Arndt Watford City Park District supervisor, said, "We were very excited to offer this fitness area to the community. When we were setting the equipment up, you could just see that everyone was just so excited to see it go up."
Since the installment of the equipment, many people have been out enjoying it. Arndt explained that there had been many more people using that path compared to the last couple of years due to many people being home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It has just been exciting to see more and more people enjoying these trails because after all, that is what we built them for," chuckled Arndt.
The Watford City Parks and Recreation group will also be installing a vault toilet this year. "Many people have expressed that one of the major needs for the park would be restrooms, so we decided that this would make a good addition to the park," stated Arndt.
The Watford City Parks and Recreation ask that each individual take responsibility and practice safety guidelines outlined by the CDC as this fitness equipment will not be sanitized.
On top of having a new outdoor fitness area, the Rough Rider Center has been working hard to prepare for summertime activities. They have been planning on having swimming lessons, recreational programs, and a KidStop Summer Camp.
"Tiffany Preszler, Rough Rider Center aquatics manager, has two sessions of swimming lessons planned for this summer. Session 1 will start on June 15 and end on June 25; this will be for levels one-six. Session two will start on July 20 and end on July 30; this will be for levels one-six. There will also be an evening session during session two for levels one and two. These sessions will run Monday-Thursday" stated Joshua Nollmeyer, Rough Rider Center recreation manager.
The Wild West Water Park and the Rough Rider Aquatics Center hours of operation are to be decided upon as new information, and CDC guidelines are being evaluated. Additional details on pool operations can be found at http://www.watfordcityparks.com and http://www.roughridercenter.com.
Watford City Recreation is also moving forward with providing recreational programs for the community. "With new guidelines being evaluated daily, we do foresee being able to provide programs this summer. These programs may have to be modified to fit guidelines, but it is exciting to plan and determine what we can do to provide opportunities for our community," said Nollmeyer.
"Baseball and Softball encompass a lot of what we provide during the summer, and we will be offering these opportunities this summer in whatever way we can. We envision providing our Cal Ripken Minors and Major programs (for those ages 9-12), Fast Pitch Softball (ages 9-15), and Adult Softball programs hopefully soon as they will be part of our first wave of programs we open up. We are monitoring and waiting on the Babe Ruth organization to update their plans this summer; this will then impact our baseball programs for those between the ages of 13-18. We are also planning on providing baseball programs for younger kids, such as BlastBall (age 3), Tball (4-6), and Rookie (Coach Pitch) for kids 7-8. Details on how these programs will specifically look will all be based on guidelines, but again we are excited to be providing them in whatever capacity we can for the kids," explained Nollmeyer.
In addition to these programs the Rough Rider Center will be offering a KidStop Summer Camp. Starting June 1, kids entering kindergarten-6th grade will be able to participate in KidStop Summer Camp opportunities which includes fitness and recreation, STEM learning, and arts and crafts. For more information on the program you can contact KidStop Coordinator Amanda Jones at [email protected]
The Rough Rider Center is evaluating information and guidelines daily and is planning on opening June 1 - how the Rough Rider Center operates will be directed by CDC guidelines.
Nollmeyer said, "In all of these areas, we have appreciated the flexibility and understanding people have shown as we navigate the reopening process and all the risk factors and guidelines we must consider. We thank everyone for working with us!"
Reader Comments(0)