Ella Chilek, 8, plays in the splash pad in Lindale on Monday, July 20, 2020.

Located at Blackberry Square in The Cannery District downtown, Darden Harvest Park provides over 20 acres of recreational opportunities for Lindale residents and other East Texans as well.

Paved trails lend themselves to nature hikes and birding. Large trees provide shaded cover for picnickers, and in the future disc golfers will have their chance to sink an ace (hole-in-one).

City of Lindale financial director David Craft says that the park is close to being finished. The children’s playground and splash pad areas opened this summer. The disc golf course is still in development, and more benches, trash cans and picnic tables will be placed at the park and along its hiking trails. For four-legged friends, Miranda Lambert’s Mutt Nation Dog Park provides space to roam off-leash.

“It seems like there’s always a big crowd out there at the park,” Craft said.

The splash pad operates daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. At night, the area is lit up with LED lights. Water from the splash pad is rerouted into the nearby pond, which then is recycled into the sprinkler system for the grass, unlike other East Texas splash pads which recirculate water.