Visitors can rent a bike, ball, net or more at Sunset Park
When Sunset Park wrapped up a major, multiyear renovation in May, a new amenity was added. Visitors to the park now can rent everything from fishing poles to bicycles to rope for slack rope walking for just a few dollars.
A building north of the pond that predates the park has become a rental center and the main point of contact between the park staff and the public.
“We accomplish a lot of our other functions in the department by having that office,” said Steven Corry, assistant director of Clark County Parks and Recreation. “The office handles not only the new rental program, reservations for picnic areas, allocations for playing fields and a lot of other functions that were covered in our main office.”
Park administration for all of Clark County Parks and Recreation is handled out of the main office at Sunset Park. The new Sunset Park reservation office deals exclusively with Sunset Park resources.
The project is the brainchild of director of Clark County Parks and Recreation Jane Pike, but Corry said working out the details was a group effort.
“We were thinking that we were doing this great renovation of Sunset Park,” Corry said. “We made it more accessible to the public and more pedestrian-friendly. How could we make it even more realistic for people to enjoy the park to its fullest?”
The solution was to make equipment available for visitors there on the spur of the moment or for those who didn’t have equipment readily available. The rental program is also a boon to apartment dwellers who might not have storage space for a fishing pole or a bicycle.
Stephanie Sandoval, a program assistant working at the rental office, said people seem to like the new service, although it’s still early in the program, and they’re still trying to get the word out about it.
“We rent single-speed beach cruisers (bicycles) and trailers for use in the park,” Sandoval said. “The bikes have to stay in the park, but all the trails in the park are available for their use.”
The rental office stocks commonly used sporting equipment, including basketballs, footballs, tennis rackets and balls, tug-of-war ropes, soccer balls and volleyballs. Although the park has dedicated permanent sand volleyball courts, the office also offers volleyball packages for rent, including boundary markers, the net and a ball for setting up on the grass, allowing people who are picnicking to set up a volleyball game practically anywhere.
In addition to more standard equipment, the reservation office handles a few specialty sports items for visitors who might want to try their hand at something new before sinking a lot of money into the activity. The office rents Aerobie Sharpshooter mid drivers, a flying disc specifically engineered for disc golf; the Funline Slackline for slack rope walking; and fishing poles and tackle.
The office even rents Ozark Trail Deluxe Arm Chairs for those more interesting in relaxing and watching.
The Sunset Park reservation office is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Rented items must be returned by 5:30 p.m. For more information, visit clarkcountynv.gov or call 702-455-8200.
Contact Paradise/Downtown View reporter F. Andrew Taylor at ataylor@viewnews.com or 702-380-4532.
