With the long-range forecast predicting cooler temperatures, the Dickson Parks and Recreation Department has scheduled the end of the first season at the Henslee Park Splash Pad for Monday, Oct. 16.
Forecast overnight lows for the first part of October are in the 50s while highs will only reach the 70s, meaning fewer people will be enjoying the water features and the department will begin preparing the Splash Pad for the winter months.
“We’ve tried to hold on before turning the water features off for the season as long as the temperatures remain favorable to allow as many people as possible to get in some last moments of wet fun,” said David Travis, director of the city’s Public Works Department. “In looking at the forecast, we’ve decided to set Oct. 16 for closing the Splash Pad, which is the Monday after the end of fall break for the school system, giving everyone a final chance to enjoy the fun until next year.”
Opened June 17 at the site of the former Dickson Country Club, the Henslee Park Splash Pad and Playground is a $3 million recreational facility that is one of the largest of its type in Tennessee. The 4,000-square-foot Splash Pad includes 20 water features while the 25,000-square-foot playground includes 26 features, many of them designed to be all-inclusive. The park includes bathrooms, a pavilion with picnic tables and extensive greenspace for picnicking and enjoying the sun.
“Since opening, we’ve seen thousands of people from all across Middle Tennessee and even many other states enjoying the Henslee Park Splash Pad and Playground,” said Parks Superintendent Cherie Wilson. “It was so popular from the very first day that we’ve added more parking, an area for food trucks and more picnic tables. It has hosted dozens of birthday, other parties and playdates and we look forward to next spring when it reopens.”
The Henslee Park Playground will remain open its regular hours of sunrise to 10 pm seven days a week along with the rest of Henslee Park, including the four miles of walking trails, disc golf course and dog park.
With fenced areas for small and large breeds, the Henslee Park Dog Park soon will be getting play features in addition to the benches and water stations already installed. The dog park is the only place in Henslee Park that dogs are allowed off leash. Dogs are not allowed in the Splash Pad and Playground area and must be on leash in the rest of the park.
“The first season of the Splash Pad has proven very successful and popular,” said Dickson Mayor Don L. Weiss Jr. “It has brought a new recreational experience to our city and we continue to research more improvements and opportunities we can bring to the people of Dickson.”
Like the closing date selection, the decision on when to open the Henslee Park Splash Pad for the season in 2024 will be based on when the weather is consistently warm enough next spring.
The Parks and Recreation Department continues to finalize designs for Phase I of improvements at J. Dan Buckner Park that will include a new basketball court, playground, pavilion and tennis courts that are double-striped as pickleball courts in the area along Weaver Drive on the eastern edge of the park.
The planning stage for Phase II will begin soon and could include reconfiguring the baseball and softball fields to add more playing surfaces as well as batting cages. Buckner Park also includes soccer fields, a multi-purpose field used for youth football, a disc golf course, playgrounds, walking trail and arboretum, fishing lake and is home to several youth sports leagues.
The Tennsco Corp. is beginning work on adding three tennis courts and constructing a new playground at the Lester D. Speyer Recreational Complex on Tennsco Drive that is leased and operated by the city.
The city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board also has proposed adding a themed playground downtown in the area behind the Dickson Fire Department Station #1 on Church Street.
For more information on the City of Dickson’s Parks and Recreation Department facilities and activities, call (615) 446-1721, visit cityofdickson.com or the Parks and Recreation Department page on Facebook. In addition to Henslee Park, the Lester D. Speyer Recreational Complex and J. Dan Buckner Park, the department operates Holland Park, Luther Lake, Lakeview Park, Tom Waychoff Memorial Park, City Lake, the Dickson Housing Authority Community Center, the Dickson Skate Park and the stage on the campus of the War Memorial Building.
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