West Boise finished two park projects this year, and both point the same way. Charles F. McDevitt Youth Sports Complex on Eagle Road and Spaulding Ranch on Cole Road each spent their construction money on new places to play and on paths that tie them into the streets around them. Spaulding also got a produce wash station and restrooms. In each case the paths and connections make up a large share of what was built.
October is when both parks open to a crowd. Spaulding Ranch's pumpkin patch is on October 10. McDevitt's ribbon cutting and neighborhood party are on October 17. Between those dates, crews are scheduled to start work on a new pathway along the Tuttle Lateral that will extend the network again.
The Empty Ground on Eagle Road Now Has a Loop Around It
McDevitt has served as a 40-acre youth sports park for years. It has a stocked fishing pond, a skate park, a playground and sports fields that little league groups from across the Treasure Valley use. About 10 of those acres were unused. When the project broke ground in August 2025, Centennial Neighborhood Association president Kathy Graham told KIVI that neighbors had been looking at the dirt lot for years and had long wanted a place to gather. She also pointed out how heavy the traffic on Eagle Road is.
The project cost about $1.2 million, paid from impact fees generated by nearby development. That paid for the following:
- A concrete loop path around the park's edge
- An asphalt pump track with skate features
- Single-track bike trails
- A nature playground
- A basketball court
- A fenced off-leash dog area, which KTVB describes as a mix of grass and gravel inside a split-rail and wire fence
- New trees and native and perennial plantings
The order of construction tells you where the walking piece fits. The first phase, finished in April 2026, covered accessible parking, the dog park, the basketball court, the trails and the nature playground. The second phase started in May. It added a 10-foot-wide multi-use pathway with lighting along Eagle Road, the corridor Graham had pointed to. The pump track was done in June, and the city marked every project complete in September. In late June, CBS2 reported that the playground, pump track, trails, court and dog area were already open while the Eagle Road path and lights were still under construction. If you used the new features this summer, you used them before the walking route along the busiest edge of the park was finished.
October 17, Hour by Hour
The city's event listing says parking is first come, first served. It recommends walking, biking or scooting to what it calls a neighborhood-focused celebration. The event is free and takes place at 5101 N. Eagle Rd. The city runs the morning, and the Centennial Neighborhood Association hosts the afternoon.
| Time | What's happening |
|---|---|
| 11 a.m. to noon | Ribbon cutting led by Mayor Lauren McLean, with the McDevitt family, city staff and project partners. A temporary interpretive sign is unveiled. Slow River Coffee serves coffee, Italian sodas and fresh donuts, and a DJ plays family-friendly music. |
| Noon to 4 p.m. | Party in the Park, with discounted food from The Rusty Dog and Scotty's Hot Dogs |
| 1 to 3 p.m. | Bounce house |
| 2 p.m. | Dog costume contest with prizes |
| 2:30 p.m. | Pump track and skate park demonstrations by Boise Bicycle Project and Boise Skateboard Association |
The city's Energize Our Neighborhoods Block Party Trailer will also be there with lawn games. The 2:30 p.m. demonstrations are a good time to see how the asphalt pump track rides, especially if you've only walked past it on the new loop. The city also asks visitors to stay off newly seeded areas while the plantings take hold, so plan for some roped-off ground.
Spaulding Ranch Now Opens Onto Its Neighbors
On Cole Road, the same idea plays out on an old farm. Almon and Mary Spaulding homesteaded here in 1896. The farm once covered 100 acres. The city bought the remaining 20 acres in 2016, and the site had been named a local historic district in 1996. It has a historic home, a barn and an orchard. The city calls Spaulding its 102nd developed park.
The $1.5 million round of work the city announced on August 27 included new accessible pathways, permanent restrooms and a produce wash station of more than 1,600 square feet. The paths connect the ranch to North Cole Road, to Capital High School and to the West Bench neighborhoods around it. According to the city, more than 2,800 people in 1,140 households live within a 10-minute walk of the ranch. Mayor McLean described the result at the announcement:
"The new pathways weave seamlessly around the growing fields, and I love seeing kids safely biking to and from school through this unique park."
The fields those paths run past are working farmland. University of Idaho Extension runs its Harvest Heroes program at the ranch, a season-long farm incubator for veterans and their families. The Idaho Press reported that this year's group of 24 veterans meets for classes at least three times a week. Their crops include potatoes, onions, tomatoes and flowers, and the team hopes to sell produce eventually at the West Bench Farmers Market. Global Gardens works with the city's urban agriculture team to plant cover crops and irrigate the fields. Global Gardens and Global Lounge founded the West Bench Farmers Market, which held its second season at the ranch this year. It ran Thursdays from 5 to 9 p.m., June through September. That season ended this month.
October 10 Brings the Harvest, October 5 Brings the Next Path
The Spaulding Ranch Neighborhood Pumpkin Patch runs Saturday, October 10, from 10 to 11 a.m. at 3805 N. Cole Rd. It's free. Bring a wagon. The limit is one pumpkin per person while supplies last. There's free face painting and activities from neighborhood partners. Boise Parks and Recreation staff will also be there to talk about current projects and future plans for the ranch. The event lasts one hour, so the early part of the morning matters if you want a good pumpkin.
Five days before that, the Milwaukee Park Pathway is scheduled to begin construction on Monday, October 5. The new path will follow the Tuttle Lateral through the Spaulding Ranch site and along the north side of Milwaukee Park, connecting Cole Road to Milwaukee Street near Capital High. The city says it will serve 2,900 nearby neighbors and 600 students. Within a mile of the route are three schools, four parks and seven bus stops.
That puts the ranch's new access in context. The 2,800 people within a 10-minute walk today are about the same size as the 2,900 the Tuttle Lateral path is meant to reach. The new path is designed to link up with the Settlers Canal Path and with ACHD's planned pedestrian improvements on Glenwood Street and Mountain View Drive. The Settlers Canal Path follows Settlers Canal and sits across the street from Capital High. It opened in May 2025, and CBS2 reported at the time that it links the surrounding area with the Hyatt wetlands. Once the Tuttle Lateral segment is finished, a walk that starts at the farm could connect to that canal route instead of ending at Cole Road.
The Parts That Are Still in Progress
Neither park is completely finished, and the city says so on its own project pages:
- McDevitt plantings. New turf and native plantings are still getting established, and crews are still weeding. Seeded areas remain off-limits.
- Spaulding irrigation. The city still plans to finish the irrigation system and make other improvements at the ranch.
- The Spaulding home and barn. Both historic buildings will need rehabilitation, which the city says will happen once funding is available.
- The Tuttle Lateral path. Construction is scheduled to begin October 5, and the city notes that timelines can shift with material and staffing problems.
McDevitt is open daily from sunrise to sunset. Its new features have been open since summer, and the October 17 ceremony makes them official.
If you're curious which West Boise streets will sit closest to the Tuttle Lateral path and the new McDevitt loop once the connections are finished, I'm happy to look at the map with you. Glenda Phua has lived in the Treasure Valley since 2006 and likes talking about these neighborhood details as much as about the homes. Let's Connect.
