Not all gifts come in a box or fit under the tree.

New and improved trails, new playgrounds, future parks plus plans for new trails are just a few examples.

Oak Meadows neighborhood park in southwest Colorado Springs has a sweet new playground with accessible play equipment and an ADA-compliant parking lot. On the city’s north side, Grey Hawk neighborhood park will be finished next year with natural features your kids will love plus a perimeter trail that honors the topography.

El Paso County Parks has added a loop trail to Pineries Open Space in Black Forest that is considerably shorter than the original 9-mile loop. New bathrooms in Fox Run Regional Park and seating for pickleball spectators are lovely additions to both parks.

The northern half of the Legacy Loop is greatly improved with better trail connectivity, street access and road crossings. For a wilder experience, check out the new Cub Trail in Bear Creek Canon Park connecting to Bear Creek Regional Park.

2025 will bring new trail construction in Blodgett Open Space. The new Fishers Canyon Master Plan will reflect the community’s vision for balancing preservation with new trails in this 343-acre open space. Constructing trails and trailheads will come later.

Also early in 2025, the Economic Benefits of Parks update will be released. As you might recall, the last study in 2016 revealed several startling facts. We were declared to be “ultra-users” because of the times so many of us use our parks and trails. In fact, few cities come close to our activity level, and that was before the pandemic! The study also revealed millions of dollars in community benefits to health, tourism, property values, water and air quality and our total tax bill.

The city’s last Parks Master Plan is 10-plus years old. In 2025, the community will come together to produce a new plan reflecting today’s priorities, needs and opportunities.

Some projects take longer to complete. Improvements to the county’s Paint Mines, a third county nature center, constructing Coleman Park, master planning Corral Bluffs and Jimmy Camp Creek Park: These are projects that deserve to be prioritized to accommodate the region’s growth. Like kids counting the minutes before it’s time to open presents, it’s hard not to become impatient when it can take so long to finish trails, build parks and access open space.

We might look to those who built this town, planted trees and created canals to carry water. Projects that took years to accomplish. They had the foresight to construct pathways and conserve land for parks almost from the moment this region was settled.

No doubt those early residents would look at our inventory of parks and trails and be amazed and proud. The next generation of “ultra-users” are likely to look back at what we accomplished and feel the same

Davies is executive director of the Trails and Open Space Coalition.