Welcome to the Reservoir

Cherry Creek High School opened in 1955. Cherry Creek State Park opened in 1959. Since then, the two areas have lived alongside each other, just across Dayton and Union Avenue from each others’ territories.

Students spend a day full of hustle and bustle on campus, and often, in moments of quiet, they can look out a window and see a grand body of rippling blue water across the way.

And sometimes the temptation for a beach day or a good hike has to be given into. Creek students will cross the line, and hang out on a sandy beach with friends during their off periods, or find some solace in a walk through the woods. And for the students that do this, the park is extremely beneficial.

“It’s honestly the best place nearby,” junior Sofae Berzon said. “We don’t get to go on vacations or do crazy stuff every summer but being able to go boating with my friends is really great.”

But through their time next to each other, how has CCSP interact with Creek and the world around it? What wildlife calls the park home, while students frolic through it? How does the park help conservation efforts, but also how is its environment harmed by students?

What is CCSP?

Spread across 4,000 acres, CCSP houses one massive lake, with a few streams and ponds, surrounded by what feel like multiple different environments – beaches, forests, and prairies.

And while thousands of animals call it home, people love the park as well. They can rent boats and paddleboards and spend time on the water, ride bikes on a vast array of trails, and more.

“There’s a lot more here than you would initially expect,” CCSP Education Interpretive Assistant Maddy Martin said.