When will the new 23-acre nature park in Citrus Heights open?

By Sara Beth Williams–
Construction of a sprawling 23-acre open space park with a nearly mile-long paved trail through a new housing development off Arcadia Drive in Citrus Heights is nearing completion.

Wayne Edmundson, interim district administrator with the Sunrise Recreation and Park District said in a July 10 email to The Sentinel that the open space park is expected to be completed in the fall of 2023. The park will offer two playgrounds, park benches, a drinking fountain, and two small picnic areas, Edmundson said, adding that “the vast majority of the park is to remain a natural setting.”

Both playgrounds will be centrally located near the middle of the park and will be accessible from multiple locations. Edmundson anticipates that the playgrounds should be completed by the end of August. The new park and paved nature trail will also include lighting throughout and was incorporated into the plans for the housing development. There will be no permanent restroom building at the new park.

The green space where the park is being constructed extends from Sunrise Boulevard, north of PetSmart, diagonally through the new housing toward Fair Oaks Boulevard, just before Greenback Lane. A creek also winds through the green space and housing communities. A 100-year flood plain associated with Arcade Creek prohibited development along the creek, which is in the middle of the new residential communities.

The Mitchell Village housing development is a 260-home project by KB Home, consisting of three communities. The park is accessible via multiple courts and streets within the housing development, and the trail will connect to the future Arcade-Cripple Creek trail, spanning 2.9 miles.