Downtown Denver Rail Park Opens Saturday

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• January 14 2009
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Downtown Denver’s Ruby Hill Rail Yard, a collaboration between Denver Parks & Rec and Winter Park Resort is ready to kick off its third season this Saturday. The park is designed to expose disadvantaged and urban youth to the sport of snowboarding and offers free demo gear from Christy Sports. The park is free, lit at night, and the demo shop will be open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Friday from 3:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 12:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.  In an age of declining snowboarding participation numbers, projects like this are great to see.

Here are the details on the opening:

Ruby Hill Rail Yard opens this Saturday, weather permitting, from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. with kick-off festivities. Organizers are anticipating over 5,000 people to attend and participate on opening day. Product demonstrations will be provided by Never Summer, Burton and Winter Park athletes along with live music and guest appearances by KTCL 93.3. Wahoo’s Fish Tacos will be on-site with free food and giveaways, and festivities will include free snowboard lessons for local youth interested in trying a new sport or fine tuning their already learned techniques.

For the third consecutive year, the park will feature six rails of varying configurations and skill levels. Ruby Hill Rail Yard, located at South Platte Rive Drive and West Florida Avenue, will remain open weather permitting through the first week of March.

“We are the only city in the nation to provide such a service,” said Timothy Hutchens, supervisor of outdoor recreation for the City of Denver. “When reviewing the program from last year, we felt that we could improve the offering by providing an on-site equipment shop. Christy Sports has really stepped up to the plate and is not only providing free equipment but also staffing the gear shop to ensure the equipment is properly fitted for safety and comfort.”