Elizabeth with kids: the splash pad at Evans Park, story time, mini donuts and disc golf in the pines

Elizabeth’s parks belong to a park and recreation district rather than the Town, which is why the two big ones sit together on County Road 17 east of Main Street. Between them and the library, a family day is covered.

The family park: Evans Park

Evans Park is the one most families use: a splash pad, a skate park with metal ramps and a wooden half-pipe on about 3,000 square feet of concrete, two playgrounds, pickleball, a trout-stocked fishing pond and a third-of-a-mile loop around Dragonfly Pond. At its wooded north end, Prickly Pines is an 18-hole disc golf course through the trees, $5 a player, with enough pines to make the line interesting.

The big park: Casey Jones Park

Casey Jones Park is the district’s 103 acres on County Road 17: two lighted ball fields and a turf field, four pickleball courts added in 2024, a playground, a dog park, the historic rodeo arena and a 1.5-mile soft-surface trail.

The library

The Elizabeth Library on Beverly Street is the Pines & Plains branch and the busiest public room in town: children’s and teen areas, a weekly Story Time, a monthly Curiosity Club, book clubs and free art classes. Open until 8 Monday to Thursday, until 5 on Friday, Saturday 10 to 5; closed Sunday. The events page has the dates, including the district’s school-break day camps.

Donuts on Main Street

Small Town Mini Donuts, in the old hotel building at the north end of Main Street, fries mini donuts to order in cinnamon-sugar and a rotating set of signature styles. From 6 most mornings; closed Thursdays. The walk down the three blocks of 1880s storefronts afterwards is short enough for anyone.

Summer Fridays: the market

Running Creek Park, the Town’s newest, on East Kiowa Avenue behind Running Creek Elementary, has open lawn and a trail system connecting toward Evans Park. Its lawn holds the Friday Night Market for ten Fridays each summer.

A first hike

Two Bridges Trail at Bayou Gulch, fifteen minutes west on Bayou Gulch Road, is Douglas County open space over rolling prairie and meadow, with views of Pikes Peak. The loops run from 2.7 to 10.4 miles, so older children have a long circuit and small legs can walk out and turn back; the county’s map shows the junctions. Dogs on leash. Open an hour before sunrise to an hour after sunset.