What if I told you that a major American city once paved over a creek and vast stretches of natural landscape—and then decided to restore it? What if that same city created a major greenbelt, nature preserve, bicycle trail, and restored a once-buried creek to something approaching its natural state?
Remarkably, Denver has done all of these things.
Today, the 13-mile Sand Creek Regional Greenway creates a remarkable nature and recreation corridor linking Aurora, Commerce City, and Denver. Along the way are the 123-acre Bluff Lake Nature Preserve – once an airport runway crash and buffer zone, miles of bicycle and pedestrian trails, and Sand Creek itself—now flowing freely, with native vegetation and even rapids restored along its course.
What makes this transformation even more remarkable is what occupied this land before. For 65 years, this previously paved area was Stapleton Airport, Denver’s principal airport and, at one point, the sixth-busiest airport in the United States. Where cyclists now ride through open space and restored habitat, airplanes once took off and landed. Where native plants now grow along Sand Creek, concrete and pavement once dominated the landscape. Where Bluff Lake used to serve as a buffer zone for the airport, it is now a key attraction to a thriving Environmental Learning Center that served 2,311 Denver and Aurora students in 2024.
Traces of that aviation past still remain. The wildly popular Stanley Marketplace in Aurora is a former airplane manufacturing plant. The old airport control tower is now a restaurant and bar. Some of the enormous concrete structures associated with the former airport are still standing, including sections of tunnel walls that once ran beneath the airport’s runways. In many cities, abandoned concrete walls like these might become magnets for graffiti and tagging.
Instead, Denver turned them into a canvas for talented artists.
Along a 1,740-foot stretch of these former airport structures is the Sand Creek Art Walk, a spectacular series of murals painted in vibrant colors and earthy tones. Created by multiple artists, the murals celebrate both the human and natural history of the Denver region. They are absolutely beautiful, captivating—and educational.
That history is especially significant given that the airport was named for Benjamin Stapleton, a former Denver mayor who was also a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Against that disturbing historical backdrop, it is noteworthy that Native Americans and people of color are prominently represented in the murals, alongside the region’s wildlife and natural landscapes.
Every time I visit Denver, I bicycle along the Art Walk. And every time, I fail to simply ride past it; I have to stop.
I dismount, take photographs, and look more closely. The murals are too enticing to pass by: giant frogs, bison, coyotes, jays, herons, snakes, prairie dogs, and other creatures that inhabit—or once inhabited—the region, alongside representations of the diverse peoples who have called this place home for centuries.
On one of my rides, I happened to meet muralist Patrick Maxcy while he was working on one of the paintings. His artist’s statement explains that the mural’s purpose is “to deepen the public’s appreciation for the often unnoticed but vital parts of the ecosystem.” I asked him about something else that had crossed my mind: What happens when someone tags or vandalizes these beautiful murals? He explained that the artists apply a protective coating that allows graffiti to be cleaned off without destroying the artwork. That was reassuring, and hopefully something other cities like my home town of Seattle could try.
Another muralist interviewed by the press made an observation that I found especially memorable: during the long days and weeks she spent painting her mural, she had seen nearly every animal depicted in it. She literally painted the ecosystems while experiencing them.
Of course, the transformation is far from complete. There is still much to be done along the Sand Creek corridor, including additional habitat restoration and continued work to improve the creek’s water quality and its surrounding landscape. To learn more about the origins of the Sand Creek Art Walk and the artists and artwork, visit Sand Creek Greenway’s Art Walk website.
This ongoing effort to reclaim, restore, and reimagine an urban landscape—to transform infrastructure once built for airplanes into places for people, wildlife, bicycles, and flowing water—is astonishing.
Yet the work is far from finished. Sand Creek still has a long way to go to become a cleaner, healthier tributary of the South Platte River which flows through Denver, and an even longer corridor of restored habitat extending eastward. Plans are underway to achieve both goals. Planning and financing this effort continues to be a major public/private venture led by the Sand Creek Regional Greenway Partnership which includes: The City and County of Denver, The City of Aurora, Commerce City, and The Mile High Flood District. For further information visit: https://www.sandcreekgreenway.org/
The Sand Creek Restoration project truly lives up to its vision: “An urban greenspace as dynamic as the communities it serves. It offers a powerful model for cities seeking to transform degraded industrial landscapes into places that are cleaner, healthier, more connected, and more alive.” It goes beyond a restoration project; it is a vision for the future of urban landscapes.
