LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Parklands of Floyds Fork in Louisville is adding even more acreage to explore.
The expansive park system in southeastern Louisville will add a 508-acre tract of land that sits next to Broad Run Park, one of The Parklands’ four parks, located at Bardstown Road south of Interstate-265. The Parklands will also add 156 acres in two additional acquisitions, for a total of 664 acres of new public parkland.
The Broad Run acquisition is the largest single land acquisition in the history of The Parklands.
“When we set out to create a connected system of parks two decades ago, our purpose was driven by Frederick Law Olmsted‘s approach to ensure growing communities set aside space and are intentional about providing opportunities to connect to nature through the creation of public parks, accessible to all,” said Dan Jones, founder and chair of The Parklands. “These new acquisitions allow us to further extend that vision and continue to better serve the people of our region.”
Prior to opening The Parklands, 21st Century Parks, Inc., a nonprofit organization, systematically assembled over 80 separate parcels of land along the meandering Kentucky stream, Floyds Fork, over several years to develop four parks — Beckley Creek Park, Pope Lick Park, Turkey Run Park and Broad Run Park — connected by the Louisville Loop walking and biking path, including the linear green space called The Strand.
The addition of this new parcel brings The Parklands’ total size to over 4,000 acres. The newly added property sits on the southern edge of the existing Broad Run Park and even stretches into Bullitt County.
While the land will remain closed to the public during planning and construction phases, Parklands planners are assessing the entire property to determine how to best incorporate the land into Broad Run Park and what natural recreation opportunities it will provide. The property features elevation changes over a rolling terrain and a mix of wooded spaces, grasslands and wildflowers.
“Because of the hills and valleys that make up this land, this portion of The Parklands will likely be used for hiking trails, and as a large natural preserve — helping Parklands visitors find moments of quiet and escape,” Jones said. The proposed name of this section will be The Parklands Preserve at Broad Run Park.
Broad Run Park opened with approximately 600 acres in 2016 and, at the time, was the fourth and final park of The Parklands. It encompasses hardwood forests, tree-lined trails and paths, lookout points, waterfalls and fields of wildflowers, along with amenities such as the Cliffside Center playground and sprayground and the tranquil Moss Gibbs Woodland Garden.
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