OLD WEST, NEW PARK

Youngest Mountain's Edge residents celebrate a new place to play

jim miller/viewChildren from Wright Elementary School play on the new playground equipment in Exploration Peak Park, April 26. The park features an Old West theme, complete with a stagecoach and old town facade. County Commissioner Susan Brager and Focus Property Group Chief Executive Officer John Ritter ring the bell to signal the opening of Exploration Peak Park. Jim miller/VIEW Advertisement

Ever feel like running away or wish you could go back to the wild days of the Old West? Well, now you can -- sort of.

Exploration Peak Park, the first park to open in Mountain's Edge, was designed to look like an old western town, much like what you would expect to see if you lived in Nevada during its early days. There's the smell of sawdust in the air, a stagecoach positioned front and center waiting for passengers, and even an old town facade in front of the playground equipment.

Plenty of picnic tables surround the park, and many more are scattered throughout. A water park hosts neighborhood children on a break from school, and the mock archaeological dig invites young ones to play and get dirty to their heart's content.

A unique feature to the grounds is Exploration Peak, which has hiking trails of varying difficulties. Also the focal point for the master planned community's front entrance, Exploration Peak is a 2,846-foot mountain that residents can use for family outings, without even having to leave their neighborhood.

The park's grand opening celebration featured fourth-graders from the first elementary school in Mountain's Edge, Wright Elementary School. The students sang Nevada's state song, "Home Means Nevada," while standing on the upper level of the old western town in the park.

"It's one of the better things about living in a master planned community," resident Greg Habal said about the park. He and his daughter, Michaela, 3, were out taking a stroll around the grounds on an early weekday morning.

"She wants to come here everyday. We come here at least three times a week. It really is a nice park," Habal said.

"This park was a three-year endeavor," said John Ritter, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Focus Property Group, the developer of Mountain's Edge. "This is now the city's first mountain park.

"It is probably one of the most unique parks in the city," he continued. "It certainly is one of the most expensive parks in the city."

According to Clark County Commissioner Susan Brager, Focus Property Group has committed to maintaining the grounds. "This is an incredibly dynamic part of Mountain's Edge," she said.

As the morning went on, female students from Wright Elementary did cartwheels in the grass while little boys flung water at each other.

In the far reaches of the park, volleyball nets were waiting to be used and a large spread of grass provided plenty of room for residents to practice sports, have a picnic or just relax.

"We just found out that it opened yesterday," said Tracy Jelinek, a nearby resident. "This is the nicest park I've seen in town. Everything you would want in a park is here."

Jelinek was at the water park portion with her 7-year-old twins, Jack and Bethany.

"It's wonderful! The water's really cold, but it's still awesome!" Bethany said.

Looking around at the surrounding desert landscape and mountains, Jelinek said, "This park looks like it was meant to be here."