Wildwood Community Park is a 17-acre park nestled at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains forming the gateway to upper Bidwell Park, which comprises 1100 of the park’s total 3,670 acres, making it one of the largest municipally owned parks in the nation and the focal point of the park. The design process goal was to immerse the concept into the historical Bidwell Park including local agencies, friends of the park, art commission, general community input, park user groups and the design team. The process included on-site vision meetings along with hiking trips through the adjacent Bidwell Park. This interaction with the people and the park produced great ideas and concepts to incorporate into the design. The park then took a slight twist when a local recreation specialist’s daughter passed away and one of the playgrounds became a memorial. Hundreds of high school students then rallied in support and the play area evolved.
