Largest all-abilities playground in El Paso County opens at Ascarate Park

Maria Cortes Gonzalez, El Paso Times
The Sunrise Rotary Music Garden at the largest all-abilities playground at Ascarate Park in the Lower Valley.
The Sunrise Rotary Music Garden at the largest all-abilities playground at Ascarate Park in the Lower Valley.

Ascarate Park is now home to the largest all-abilities playground in El Paso County. Two other all-abilities playgrounds — Gallegos Park in Canutillo and Risinger Park in Fabens — were in the same partnership.

The All-Abilities playground in Central El Paso is a project in partnership with the El Paso County Parks and Recreation Department, Moms on Board and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

The El Paso County Parks and Recreation Department opens its largest all-abilities playground at Ascarate Park in the Lower Valley.
The El Paso County Parks and Recreation Department opens its largest all-abilities playground at Ascarate Park in the Lower Valley.
The El Paso County Parks and Recreation Department opens its largest all-abilities playground at Ascarate Park in the Lower Valley.
The El Paso County Parks and Recreation Department opens its largest all-abilities playground at Ascarate Park in the Lower Valley.

The playground, near the baseball fields, will provide inclusive play opportunities for children of all agesand abilities, according to a city press release. It is designed to promote the healthy development of all children's physical, social, cognitive and sensory abilities.

Funding for the playground is part of a $1 million grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife, which was awarded to the County Parks and Recreation in early 2019.

The grant was awarded to build three all-inclusive playgrounds at Ascarate, Gallegos, and Risinger Park. In the partnership, there was a $1 million local match, which came from the county and Moms on Board in the form of cash and in-kind services. This brought the total investment to $2 million for the three playgrounds.

The Gallegos Park all-inclusive playground opened in November 2022, and the Risinger Park one opened in August 2023.

The El Paso County Parks and Recreation Department opens its largest all-abilities playground at Ascarate Park in the Lower Valley.
The El Paso County Parks and Recreation Department opens its largest all-abilities playground at Ascarate Park in the Lower Valley.
The El Paso County Parks and Recreation Department opens its largest all-abilities playground at Ascarate Park in the Lower Valley.
The El Paso County Parks and Recreation Department opens its largest all-abilities playground at Ascarate Park in the Lower Valley.

The playground's recent opening comes in commemoration of National Kids to Parks Day, a day of outdoor play that connects kids and families with their local, state, and national parks. The national event was celebrated May 18.

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María Cortés González may be reached at 915-546-6150; mcortes@elpasotimes.com; @EPTMaria on Twitter, eptmariacg on TikTok.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Largest all-abilities playground in El Paso County opens

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