Awbrey Park

I found myself pedaling ferociously up River Road on an uncommonly hot and humid spring afternoon on a mission to discover Awbrey Park in Santa Clara. As cars, trucks and buses roared past me at speeds that surely exceeded the legal limit, I urged myself to push harder in order to expedite my journey. Once I reached the parking lot, I was relieved to unclip my pedals and catch my breath in the forgiving and breezy shade, finding it a refreshing contrast from the noisy, treacherous bike lane.

We would not typically imagine groves of towering evergreens alongside congested, four or five-lane city roads, nor would we associate harmonies of birdsong with steady traffic noise. Awbrey Park is situated where the coalescence of North Eugene hustle-bustle and typical Northwestern flora and fauna is inevitable, but functional and pleasant. Located alongside River Road at the corner of Spring Creek Drive, the park features a simple landscape including a lush, sprawling lawn in the shadows of lofty, ominous trees. Colorful play equipment fills the foreground near the parking lot on the east side of River Road where there are also well-maintained, handicap-accessible restrooms and newer-looking water fountains. A flat and recently swept sidewalk encapsulates the playgrounds, which feature swings and slides on a bark terrain.

Awbrey Park Eugene Oregon

I took a seat on one of the many benches that face the playground in order to take in the scene: a handful of children played, a man sat immersed in a novel and a couple sat in conversation away from us all at the base of a tree out on the lawn. Birds and squirrels were abundant, as they inhabit the trees in the park and the areas that serve as natural barriers between the park grounds and bordering backyards. There is also a horseshoe pit on the southeast corner of the park and a few picnic tables. While the park had only a few visitors at that hour and the expansive, oasis-like lawn was not being used, it seemed the perfect spot for playing catch, throwing a Frisbee, or kicking a soccer ball around. I imagined families and couples with picnic blankets and sun hats and dogs rolling contently on their backs, sunning their bellies. It would not surprise me to find a group of early morning joggers congregating here as a starting point when the dew is thick on the grass and the sun is still far too weak and distant to melt it.

“It wasn’t always like that,” commented Dave Skovbo when I described the park to him. Dave has lived in Junction City and Eugene for 60 years and knows the Santa Clara area well. “They cleaned it up about four years ago, and now it’s awesome. But when I was a kid in the sixties, and still when my son was a kid in the eighties, it was always full of homeless drug users and wasn’t really safe at night, or at all.” I figured the nearby residents that use the park appreciate the change of scenery; the last impression I got during my afternoon in Awbrey Park was that it was dangerous. After half an hour or so, I felt this peaceful place had sufficiently regenerated the stamina required for me to pedal back home through the exhaust of SUV’s and lugging buses. If you plan to go, I recommend bringing a good book, a yoga mat, or the dog and the kids.

Article and photos by Lauren L. Zavrel