A new natural area in Greeley is moving forward. The Greeley City Council officially approved the name 鈥淎rroyos del Sol,鈥� at their Tuesday meeting.
The 978-acre property is just off Colorado Hwy. 257 and north of U.S Hwy. 34 Bus., along the Poudre River. The land includes prairies and large bluffs that rise 100 feet over the water. It will be used both for conservation and recreation and will support 91 animal species and more than 168 natural plants.
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While the name Arroyos del Sol translates from Spanish into 鈥渟un stream,鈥� arroyos are also steep-sided gullies that form from flowing water. These formations will be easily visible with the large bluffs that surround the river.
Greeley鈥檚 Parks and Recreation Advisory Board ultimately settled on the name but used social media, in-person events and a website, 鈥淪peak Up Greeley,鈥� to allow community input on the name. The city says 86 names were submitted before finalizing Arroyos del Sol.
Besides ecological significance, the area is packed with history. According to a presentation for Greeley City Council, the land was home to indigenous people for thousands of years before the arrival of European settlers. From there it was used as a homestead and then for agricultural purposes with sheep. That ended after the 2008 Windsor EF3 heavily damaged the area. Oil and gas are also part of the area鈥檚 history, although most of the wells are abandoned.
The City of Greeley acquired the natural area in 2022 with the partnership of Trust for Public Land and included funding from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) and the Land and Water Conservation Fund, along with money from the nearby Town of Windsor. Arroyos del Sol will be permanently protected as a natural space due to a conservation easement.
When it opens, it will double the amount of natural conservation space located within the city of Greeley. For now, the project is still in the early planning stages. The site鈥檚 development plan will be released early next year.
