When Lauren Bowling and her husband moved into a newly developing neighborhood in Berthoud, Colorado, they envisioned a standard suburban upbringing for their three sons. However, for their middle child, 9-year-old Miles, standard neighborhood amenities presented an immediate obstacle. Miles, who lives with cerebral palsy and relies on a wheelchair, faced a reality familiar to millions of families across the United States: the local public spaces were entirely inaccessible. Unaffected cognitively and verbally, Miles did not want sympathy; he simply wanted to play side-by-side with his brothers and peers.
That fundamental desire sparked a five-year community-wide endeavor. This month, that vision culminated in the grand opening of the Berthoud Adaptive Park at 885 Tenderfoot Drive. Built with an astounding $1.6 million raised through grassroots fundraising, corporate matching, and civic grants, the red barn-themed park represents a watershed moment for inclusive recreation in northern Colorado. Hundreds of families flocked to the opening weekend, witnessing firsthand a facility engineered from the ground up to ensure that children of all physical and cognitive abilities are integrated rather than segregated.
The Genesis of an Inclusive Vision
The path from a simple neighborhood observation to a $1.6 million municipal attraction began in July 2021. Initially, Lauren Bowling approached neighborhood developers with a modest, singular request: could they install a single wheelchair-accessible harness swing in the local pocket park?
When the developers pointed out the steep $9,000 price tag for the specialized equipment, Bowling did not back down. She offered to raise the funds herself. Touched by her initiative, the developer made a pivotal pledge: match every dollar raised, dollar for dollar, and handle the installation free of charge.
Seizing the momentum, the Bowling family organized a neighborhood garage sale and set up their very first lemonade stand. What started as a casual afternoon endeavor yielded an unexpected $11,000. Realizing the profound community appetite for inclusion, the initiative expanded. Subsequent annual lemonade stands generated $13,000 in 2022, $17,000 in 2023, and another $13,000 in 2024. More than $50,000 of the park’s ultimate funding came directly from fresh-squeezed lemonade, propelled by Miles himself, who bravely took the stage at various community events to articulate why play equity matters.
As the fundraising tallies grew, the response from the development partners—initially Edwards Development and later Farmstead—evolved far beyond a single swing. Recognizing the broader regional deficit in accessible recreational spaces, the developers offered a much larger plot of land and introduced the Bowlings to Star Playgrounds, a specialized design firm known for inclusive architecture.
A Detailed Chronology of the Berthoud Adaptive Park Project
July 2021: The Bowling family hosts their first lemonade stand during a neighborhood garage sale, raising $11,000 toward an accessible harness swing after securing a matching-funds agreement with local developers.
July 2022: The second annual lemonade stand brings in $13,000. Developers recognize the massive community engagement and expand the scope from a single swing to a comprehensive park design, allocating a larger parcel of land.
July 2023: The third annual lemonade stand raises $17,000. Design plans finalized with Star Playgrounds incorporate state-of-the-art accessibility infrastructure, ramps, and sensory equipment.
July 2024: The fourth annual lemonade stand adds $13,000, bringing total funds raised exclusively through lemonade stands past the $50,000 mark, while corporate grants, private donations, and municipal contributions push the overall capital campaign to $1.6 million.
August 2025–Early 2026: Construction concludes on the red barn-themed facility, transforming the Tenderfoot Drive location into a regional hub for children of all abilities.
September 2026: The Berthoud Adaptive Park officially opens to the public, drawing hundreds of families and transforming the landscape of recreational equity in northern Colorado.
Engineering Inclusion: Inside the Berthoud Adaptive Park
For decades, traditional playgrounds have inadvertently marginalized children with physical disabilities. Standard design models typically feature deep wood-chip safety surfaces that swallow wheelchair wheels, high climbing structures accessible only by ladders, and motion-activated games that fail to register children sitting below standard sensor heights.
The Berthoud Adaptive Park deliberately dismantles these historical barriers. According to Star Playgrounds CEO Erin Starr and co-owner Mark Ashland, the foundational requirements of true playground accessibility extend far beyond a token ramp. The facility at Tenderfoot Drive incorporates several critical engineering and design principles:
Continuous Ramping and Transfer Systems: Play structures feature wide, gradual ramps that allow wheelchairs to ascend to the highest points of the playground. Slides are equipped with dedicated transfer seats, enabling children to transition easily from mobility devices.
Innovative Sensory and Motion Integration: Unlike traditional motion sensors that often overlook wheelchair users, the park utilizes camera-activated games designed to detect play in all its forms. Furthermore, the facility includes wheelchair-accessible swings, harness-secured swings, a custom merry-go-round, and a specialized zipline system.
Universal Surfacing and Environmental Comfort: The entire park utilizes seamless, unitary rubber surfacing that replaces treacherous gravel or wood chips, ensuring effortless mobility for wheelchairs, walkers, and strollers. Extensive shaded areas with picnic tables protect children with heat sensitivities, while continuous perimeter fencing provides crucial safety for children prone to wandering or sensory overload.
Community Integration over Segregation: Perhaps most importantly, the park avoids the trap of creating a separate, cordoned-off area for disabled children. Every single structure is designed so that children of varying physical and cognitive profiles can play simultaneously in the exact same physical space.
Broader Impacts and Regional Paradigm Shifts
The opening of the Berthoud Adaptive Park addresses a severe geographical deficit in northern Colorado’s public infrastructure. When Lauren Bowling first began her advocacy work, families living in Berthoud who required accessible playground equipment faced a grueling 45-minute commute to reach facilities in Fort Collins, Greeley, or Westminster.
The successful completion of the Tenderfoot Drive project has catalyzed a broader regional reassessment of public space utilization. During the five-year span of the Berthoud Adaptive Park campaign, municipal leaders and developers took notice. The town of Berthoud renovated its historic Town Park to incorporate ADA-accessible features, while the neighboring city of Loveland opened Willow Bend Park in 2025, featuring multiple accessible amenities.
For parents like Brad Steward of Longmont, whose 13-year-old son Leo lives with cerebral palsy and dystonia, the impact of these infrastructure updates cannot be overstated. Visiting the Berthoud Adaptive Park marked the first time Leo had ever experienced that altitude on a playground structure.
"I never thought I’d get emotional at a playground opening, but this is truly life-changing," Steward remarked during the opening weekend. "Everyone should be included, regardless of abilities."
Official Responses and Civic Legacy
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, local officials underscored the profound societal lessons taught by the Bowling family’s grassroots campaign. Berthoud Mayor William Karspeck praised the family for demonstrating the transformative power of civic engagement.
"Because of you, children who may have once had to watch from the sidelines now have a place designed for them to join their friends, laugh, explore, and play together," Mayor Karspeck told the gathered crowd.
Reflecting on the five-year, one-month, and nineteen-day journey from initial concept to grand opening, Lauren Bowling deflected personal praise back onto the community that rallied behind her. "I am just a mom who asked a question, and 1,001 people said, ‘Yes, how can we help?’" she noted.
The legacy of the project extends well beyond its physical boundaries. The park features a permanent lemonade stand and DJ booth, ensuring that the "Smiles Lemonade Stand" tradition will continue annually. Future proceeds are slated to benefit organizations like Freedom Service Dogs, honoring Miles’s own service dog, Ravioli.
For Miles himself, now 9 years old, the transition from a back-yard dreamer to a community trailblazer has been profound. Demonstrating the wheelchair-accessible platform swing to his friends—where he can independently enter, exit, and propel himself via a rope pulley system—he summarized the triumph succinctly.
"It is the best thing ever," Miles said. By pushing his community to reimagine the boundaries of public space, Miles and his family have ensured that thousands of children across northern Colorado will no longer have to watch life from the sidelines.
