ST. GEORGE — Last week city officials and area residents celebrated the opening of St. George’s newest park built in the Ledges community along state Route 18.
A ribbon-cutting was held for the new Fish Rock Park at 1423 W. Red Racer Drive the morning of July 20. It is the first park built in the Ledges area and city officials say they believe it will be a great addition to the community.
“It’s going to be a wonderful asset to this community,” St. George City Councilwoman Natalie Larsen said. “A lot of work has gone into this project.”
The park features a picnic and playground area, four pickleball courts, restroom facilities and a 2-acre parcel of grass.
The grassy space and park overall are designed to be used as a gathering place in a community where homes are designed with small lawns and set around a golf course that lacks large public areas where people can gather and children can play, said Shane Moore, the city’s leisure services director.
During a time when the city seeks to be water-wise and promote water conservation efforts in landscaping, construction and other areas, Moore said the 2 acres of sod used for the new park is considered “functional,” meaning it will actually be used.
The rest of the landscaping in the park is done with xeriscaping and watered through a drip system, Moore said.
The city has already engaged in a campaign of removing non-functional grass – grass that serves no other purpose than to help make a property look fancy – from city-owned properties. For every piece of new sod the city plants, the same amount of non-functional sod must be removed, Moore said.
So far the city has removed over 2 acres of sod, with another 15 acres planned for removal in the near future.
The new park cost an estimated $1.3 million to build and gets its name from a red streak that stretches across the white sandstone hills nearby, which locals say resembles a fish. Some long-term area residents have also referred to it as “Jonah’s whale” due to a white spot in the middle of the red streak that reminds them of the Biblical story.
Photo Gallery
At the ribbon-cutting for the new Fish Rock Park in the Ledges community, St. George, Utah, July 20, 2022 | Photo courtesy of the city of St. George, St. George News
At the ribbon-cutting for the new Fish Rock Park in the Ledges community, St. George, Utah, July 20, 2022 | Photo courtesy of the city of St. George, St. George News
At the ribbon-cutting for the new Fish Rock Park in the Ledges community, St. George, Utah, July 20, 2022 | Photo courtesy of the city of St. George, St. George News
The “fish” on the sandstone hillside that gives the new Fish Rock Park its name, St. George, Utah, July 20, 2022 | Photo courtesy of the city of St. George, St. George News
At the ribbon-cutting for the new Fish Rock Park in the Ledges community, St. George, Utah, July 20, 2022 | Photo courtesy of the city of St. George, St. George News
At the ribbon-cutting for the new Fish Rock Park in the Ledges community, St. George, Utah, July 20, 2022 | Photo courtesy of the city of St. George, St. George News
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