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

If the referendum is approved, the city will continue to engage residents and gather their input for the proposed plans for Hamlet Park, Mississippi Dunes Park, and the River Oaks Golf Course and Event Center.