Washington Park

Planning a visit to Washington Park? Below you will find park details, amenities, and upcoming tournaments and sporting events hosted at this venue, plus everything you need to plan your visit. Plan your visit to Washington Park

Venue Overview

Washington Park is Denver Parks and Recreation's busiest running and cycling park, and for a lot of Denver runners it is simply where you go. The 2011 DPR Master Plan puts it at 165 acres. You will see 155 cited elsewhere, but 165 is the official figure. Denver parks are open 5am to 11pm, and there is no entrance fee.

One address point matters before you go further. 701 S Franklin St is officially the address of the Washington Park Recreation Center, not a separate address for the park itself. Plenty of listings treat it as the park address. It is not.

About the Grounds

Denver landscape architect Reinhard Schuetze master planned the park in 1899, and it was built out in phases through 1929. What you walk through today is largely that plan. Smith Lake and Grasmere Lake anchor the north and south ends. Between them sit the Great Meadow, the City Ditch, the Perennial Gardens, Mount Vernon Gardens and the Bowling Green.

Circulation is the part event organizers care about. There is a hard-surface Loop Road used by cyclists, runners and skaters, plus a separate soft-surface pedestrian loop for people who would rather not pound concrete. Aging asphalt paths are being replaced with concrete built to ADA standard. Here is the honest gap: Denver Parks and Recreation does not publish the loop mileage. We are not going to estimate it for you. If your race needs a certified distance, measure it yourself or work with a certifier.

A Registered Historic Landscape

Washington Park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Denver Park and Parkway System, one of 15 Denver parks in that listing. The Boathouse on Smith Lake, designed by Jules Jacques Benois Benedict and completed in 1913, was renovated in 2012 and remains the park's signature building. The Girl Scouts Fireplace and a gazebo round out the historic structures. Historic status shapes what can be changed and where, which is worth remembering when you sketch a course or a vendor village.

Facilities & Amenities

• Smith Lake and Grasmere Lake
• The Great Meadow and the City Ditch
• Perennial Gardens, Mount Vernon Gardens and the Bowling Green
• Tennis courts at the north and south ends
• Horseshoe pits and basketball courts
• Boathouse playground
• Four picnic areas, a gazebo and the Girl Scouts Fireplace
• The Boathouse, 1913, renovated 2012
• Hard-surface Loop Road plus a soft-surface pedestrian loop
• Washington Park Recreation Center at 701 S Franklin St

The recreation center holds a lap pool, a pickleball court, a gymnasium, a cardio room, a weight room, a multipurpose room and locker rooms. Hours are Monday through Thursday 6am to 9pm, Friday 6am to 8pm, Saturday 8am to 4pm and Sunday 11am to 4pm, with the pool closing 30 minutes before the building.

Court counts, restroom counts and food concessions are not published by DPR. A 2011 user survey did list the lack of food vendors as a complaint, which tells you something about what to plan for.

Parking & Access

Parking is free, both on-street and in-park. Space counts are not published. The 2011 master plan directs DPR to maintain or reduce the number of spaces and to prohibit on-street parking on the Loop Road, so this is not a park where parking capacity is going to grow. For a large event, plan for participants arriving on foot, by bike or by transit, and communicate that early.

Events & Programs

The Jingle Bell Run Colorado comes to Washington Park on Sunday, December 13, 2026, with 5K and 1K distances. Check-in opens at 8am and the race starts at 9:30am. The park's flat loop and mid-city location make it a natural fit for holiday charity runs and for training groups year round.

Planning Your Sporting Event Here

Think about the loop first. It is shared use, it is busy on any decent-weather morning, and the master plan pushes against adding parking, so assume constrained vehicle access and heavy background foot traffic. The soft-surface loop gives you a second corridor if you need to separate walkers from runners. No food concessions are published, so bring your own vendors.

Hosting a Sporting Event at Washington Park?

Runs and rides need a Public Event Permit. Private gatherings need a Special Occasion Permit. Athletic fields and courts are permitted separately. All permit questions go to park.permits@denvergov.org.

The recreation center can be reached at washingtonpark.recreation@denvergov.org or 720-865-3400. That is a role address for the recreation center, not an event coordinator and not venue staff. Denver Parks and Recreation does not publish named staff for this park, so route event requests through the permits address rather than expecting a personal contact.

Launch your sporting event here: coloradounderpar.com/submit-event