Between the Santa Ana River Trail and the back of Angel Stadium, just south of the Big A and off Orangewood Avenue and the 57 Freeway, sits a strip of land Anaheim bought for $200,000. The city bought it from the Orange County Flood Control District in 2023, after part of the river trail was moved. On October 7, 2026, crews broke ground there on River Park, a 3.4-acre, $4.5 million park that will become Anaheim's 69th city park.
Most coverage presents it as the first step of OC River Walk, a two-mile plan for the river with year-round water, plazas, and walking bridges. That's accurate. Look at what's actually being built and paid for, though, and the story is more specific. River Park is the only part of River Walk with construction money behind it. And because car parking depends on decisions about the stadium site that nobody has made, the park is designed for people who come by the trail or walk over from ARTIC.
What Fits on 3.4 Acres
The city's fall 2026 fact sheet lists what goes in, and the list is longer than you'd expect for a park this size:
- A 6,160-square-foot playground with slides, swings, climbing structures, spinners, a zip line, bridges, built-in shade, and musical panels, all designed to be accessible for all ages and abilities
- Walking trails and footbridges, plus exercise equipment and picnic tables
- A poem by Anaheim Poet Laureate Camille Hernandez, printed along a walking path
- A canoe sculpture representing the canoes the Gabrielino-Tongva people used on the Santa Ana River, and panels about native plants and wildlife
- A concrete word sculpture spelling out "Play," and a welcome sign at the entrance
- The first sundial in any Anaheim city park
The city says the Big A will be the park's backdrop. River Park will also be the sixth park in the Platinum Triangle, the area of apartments around the stadium, Honda Center, and the ARTIC transit hub. The builder is Urban Habitat, a landscape contractor based in Palm Desert. The city projects the park will open in 2027.
A Park You Reach Without a Car
River Park won't have its own parking lot when it opens. The city says the way in is on foot or by bike from the Santa Ana River Trail, or on foot from the ARTIC transit center nearby.
Voice of OC reported that city staff mentioned obstacles to building parking without spelling them out. Instead, the city is counting on future development of the stadium site to provide it. At a city council meeting in late August, Public Works Director Rudy Emami said, "The parking will eventually come in future discussions with the Angels and the development of that site, we'll all interact and connect too."
He also explained why the city is building the park first: "The fact that we're bringing the park first really enhances and enforces any future development that's going to be planned for that property to really take advantage and face and incorporate that park into it."
Taken together, those two comments explain the design. The park faces the river trail because the trail is the one approach the city fully controls today. Getting there by car depends on whatever eventually happens on the stadium land, and that question opened up again in September when the Angels' sale was announced. Voice of OC reported Mayor Ashleigh Aitken saying it was "premature to discuss any future development." The city has also said parking could come later as part of OC River Walk. Neither path has a timeline yet.
Where the Money Is, and Where It Isn't
River Park is paid for differently from almost everything else around the stadium. In August, the city council voted unanimously to award the construction contract, and Voice of OC reported that the city's current budget sets aside nearly $5.5 million for the park. According to the city staff report, the $4,456,954.97 contract with Urban Habitat is paid entirely from grants. Those grants come from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, the state's Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program, the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, and the State Coastal Conservancy. Two of those amounts are on the record. The city had a $1.9 million Land and Water Conservation Fund grant by November 2024, and in March 2025 the California Natural Resources Agency announced a $750,000 award for River Park.
The larger plan is different. Here is where each piece stands as of November 2026:
| Project | Status | Money behind it | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| River Park | Under construction | $4.46 million contract, paid entirely from grants | Opening projected in 2027 |
| OC River Walk planning | Studies and design | $6.2 million from the State Coastal Conservancy, for planning only | Studies expected through 2030 |
| OC River Walk construction | Proposed | Estimated at $200 million-plus, with no money secured | No construction date |
| Orangewood Avenue bridge widening | Under construction | City project | Through 2030 |
| SR-57 northbound lane | Under construction since early 2026 | OCTA project | Mid-2028 |
The Coastal Conservancy money arrived in two parts. The board approved $5 million in February 2022 and another $1.2 million in November 2024. Both were for plans, designs, permits, environmental review, and public outreach, not for construction. The Orange County Register reported in June 2025 that the $200 million figure is an estimate of what River Walk would cost to build today, with no near-term construction plan. The biggest costs are the dams, the riverbanks, and a pedestrian bridge.
The $6.2 million spent on planning alone is more than the cost of the whole park now under construction, because dams and riverbank changes need far more engineering than a playground does.
What "Year-Round Water" Would Mean
The planning money goes to the River Walk feature that would change the trail the most. Most of the year, the Santa Ana River next to the stadium is a wide, mostly dry channel. According to the OC River Walk project site, the plan stretches two miles from Ball Road to Orangewood Avenue. It calls for longer trails, pedestrian and bike bridges, changes to the riverbanks, plazas, public art, and two inflatable dams.
The dams are the key piece. In dry months they would hold water back to form a standing pool, and before storms they would deflate so floodwater can pass. The Orange County Water District has proposed filling the pool with water released from Prado Dam in winter and purified recycled water from its Groundwater Replenishment System in summer. As that water soaks into the riverbed, it would help refill the groundwater basin. The fact sheet says the Coastal Conservancy's $5 million is specifically for studying those dams.
Until then, the view from River Park's picnic tables will be the river channel as it is today, with the Big A behind you.
The Construction Around the Trail
River Park is one of three projects underway near the same stretch of trail, and the other two will take longer. The Orangewood Avenue bridge over the Santa Ana River is being widened, with the bike trail rebuilt and new lighting, fencing, and paving. The fact sheet expects that work to run from 2026 through 2030. OCTA's SR-57 project, which adds a northbound lane between Orangewood and Katella, started in early 2026 and is expected to finish in mid-2028.
That means the park should open while both of the larger projects are still going. Closures on roads and ramps change week to week. OCTA keeps current closures and detours on a live map on its SR-57 construction page, and that's the place to check before you drive to the trail near Orangewood.
To the north, OCVibe, the $5 billion, 92-acre project around Honda Center, is already under construction. Once it opens, River Park will be the city's first finished link between the river trail and that growing district. Whether the rest of River Walk follows depends on regional, state, and federal funding that doesn't exist yet.
If you live in or near the Platinum Triangle, projects like River Park, OCVibe, and the stadium land can affect how you think about your home, your commute, and your long-term plans. Power Close Realty is glad to talk through what's funded and what's still on paper, and what that could mean for your situation. Schedule a Consultation when you're ready.
