What do you want to see in Quarry Park?
Quarry Park is located 2221 N. Phillips Ranch Road in Granite Shoals. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
Granite Shoals residents have until July 18 to voice their opinions on how best to improve Quarry Park, the city’s largest piece of public property at 136 acres. A community survey issued by the city is open until the deadline.
The park, 2221 N. Phillips Ranch Road, surrounds Granite Shoals City Hall and already boasts many amenities: tennis, pickleball, and basketball courts; turf soccer fields; bird-watching stations and over a mile of hiking trails; shaded event spaces; vast parking; and enough outdoor space to host a rodeo, carnival, or music festival.
City leaders want to know how they can make the park even better. Granite Shoals is known as the “City of Parks,” having 19 public green spaces, and Quarry Park is often referred to as “the gem” of the city.
“We certainly want to preserve all the amazing things that (Quarry Park) has to offer as well as adding additional things if we’re missing the mark anywhere,” City Manager Sarah Novo told DailyTrib.com. “We have a lot of space to work with here, so there is a lot of opportunity and potential for above and beyond what it is currently doing for the community.”
The online survey, available here, went live on June 26 and can be accessed until July 18. For more information, contact CityManager@graniteshoals.org or tom.brown@mrbgroup.com.
The questionnaire asks residents for feedback on public recreation and development at Quarry Park. They can offer their own recommendations or choose from a list of pitched improvements, such as expanding existing facilities or adding new ones like a disc golf course, a splash pad, baseball fields, football fields, an amphitheater/music venue, nature observation areas, and more.
While there are no funds set aside for the yet-to-be-determined park projects, identifying which direction to go will allow the city to pursue funding opportunities, such as grants, and start budgeting for the changes.
“Part of the design and part of the grant application is determining what the community wants to see here,” Novo said. “We’ve seen that it has become a true gathering place, and we want to represent the community’s desires as things are moving forward.”
The city recently cleared more land at the park to make it usable and is installing a paved, 4-foot-wide walking path that extends along North Phillips Ranch Road from the heart of the city to RR 1431, giving foot traffic a safe route to the park.
“(The path) will be pedestrian safe and accessible, getting people from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ and keeping them off of the main road,” Novo said.
Quarry Park has also recently become a hot venue, hosting Granitefest in March, the 2025 High School BBQ State Championship in April, the Howdy-Roo chili cook-off in May, and the Highland Lakes Battle of the Badges barbecue cook-off June 20.