Story Mill Community Park

Bozeman, Montana

Linking natural resources, cultural heritage and adventure

Resting at the confluence of two rivers in Big Sky Country, Story Mill Community Park was conceived as a partnership between The Trust for Public Land and the City of Bozeman. It is now the city’s largest nature park and a destination for gathering and civic pride. The community grew up around the project site, rich in cultural and natural resources. However, years of abandonment and decay, ecological disturbance and non-native species had transformed the site into fragmented terrain. Invasive species were rampant and the rivers needed restoring.

Celebrating and interpreting its setting, the park connects people in the urbanizing city to the rich agrarian heritage of the Gallatin Valley and the adjacent historic Story Mill, as well as to natural features and intermountain grassland context. Adventure abounds in a playscape inspired by Montana’s natural realm, vernacular architecture and childhood imagination, and the community’s response and excitement has been shared widely from conception through opening, reflecting pride and ownership. The ethos of the project incorporates five components of equity, arts and culture, community engagement, partnerships and stewardship. The resulting park is undeniably, Bozeman.

Services Provided: Landscape Architecture, Master Planning, Signage & Wayfinding

Client

The Trust for Public Land