The Plan
Preserve. Play. Prosper.
Over the past three years, Cottage Grove residents have played an important role in developing this proposed plan. Their participation in the city’s Reimagine Recreation process provided essential input and feedback to identify and prioritize enhancements and improvements to its park system and recreation activities.
Guided by feedback from residents, the City of Cottage Grove developed a $36 million plan to provide residents with a broader array of recreational opportunities and enhanced connections to nature at three destinations: Hamlet Park, Mississippi Dunes Park, and River Oaks Golf Course and Event Center.
This November, Cottage Grove residents will consider a half-percent local sales tax to finance the Preserve. Play. Prosper. plan with a separate ballot question for each of the three projects. If approved, the sales tax would generate up to $36 million dollars for the three projects over a 25-year period.
Below are conceptual drawings for Hamlet Park, Mississippi Dunes Park, and River Oaks Golf and Event Center that provide details on the proposed plan, as well as reference examples and ideas generated by our project team. All images are conceptual renderings to provide residents with the potential design direction for these spaces.
Hamlet Park
The city is proposing upgrades to the existing park building structure and playground equipment to provide new activities, cultural amenities, and outdoor spaces accessible to people of all ages.
Additionally, there is a vision to expand park offerings to build a dynamic recreational area that can continue to serve as a central gathering hub for the community.
If approved by voters, the proposed plan would:
Install new play equipment
Build a new four-season recreation building
Install a splash pad
Build a skateboard park
Provide an amphitheater
Create an art walk/sculpture garden area with benches and an informational kiosk
Add a synthetic turf sports field with lighting
Finish the south baseball park complex
Mississippi Dunes Park
The city has a unique opportunity to create our community’s first significant public park on the Mississippi River.
Establishing a new, 33.3-acre, nature-based park would provide new recreational and educational activities, an enhanced connection to nature, direct access to the river, and opportunities to celebrate history, culture, and natural resources.
If approved by voters, the proposed plan would:
Restore the natural habitat and shoreline along the river
Create a space for outdoor classroom settings
Build an interpretative center
Add facilities for nature activities, picnicking, fishing, and recreational river access through a small-boat/kayak/canoe launch
Construct new walking and hiking trails
Build a nature-themed large playground
Provide community gathering spaces
River Oaks Golf Course and Event Center
The proposed plan would expand family-friendly recreational offerings and transform River Oaks Golf Course and Event Center into a year-round multi-use recreation destination. If approved by voters, the proposed plan would:
Install indoor multi-sports simulators
Add pickleball/event court
Create a new winter mountain biking course
Upgrade the building and enhance the patio dining area
Create a Himalayan putting green, a nine-hole putting course built for all skill levels that features slopes, curves, and elevation changes as players make their way to the next hole