Celebrating 2025: Parks & Rec Highlights

What Have We Made Possible?

Parks & Recreation Ballot Question

On the June 2026 primary election ballot, Henderson residents will decide:

• Whether to continue this funding for 30 more years—tax rates will not increase.
  
• Or to end this funding after 2026. The 12 cents currently allocated to Henderson Parks & Rec. would then be redirected to other agencies outside of Henderson for their discretionary use.

Will my tax rate increase if this property tax is renewed?

• No; this is not a new tax—it will maintain the existing Parks &
  Rec. funding that’s been in place since 1997.

"Reel" Fun with Parks and Recreation

Did You Know?

• the City of Henderson manages 77 parks, 8 recreation centers, 105 athletic fields and over 300 miles of trail?  

• the City of Henderson serves over 470,000 meals annually to Henderson seniors and children?

• that over the past 2 years, the City of Henderson hosted 4,944 sports tournaments which amounted to $108 million dollars of economic impact?

• that property values increase by 8-10% based on its proximity to a park?

• City has added more than 60 parks through smart partnerships - at no cost to taxpayers? This has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in park assets for the Henderson community.

• that access to nearby parks and trails has saved the Henderson community an estimated $40 million in health care costs?

Beyond the Playground: Real Impact

We are proud to announce we have been selected as a Gold Medal Award finalist by the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration (AARPA) in partnership with the National Recreation Park Association (NRPA). This prestigious award recognizes parks and recreation agencies in the United States that demonstrate excellence in community and organization operations.

Congratulations to our hard-working Parks and Recreation staff for providing outstanding services, programs, and events for all residents to enjoy.

The finalist award and Grand Award winner will be presented in September at the National Gold Medal Gala in Orlando, FL. 

Previous wins: 1999 and 2014

Ranked Top 25 in the Nation

We are proud to announce our parks were ranked top 25 in the nation by the Trust for Public Land's ParkScore® index — a national gold-standard comparison of park systems across the 100 most populated cities in the United States. Each year, the index measures park systems according to five categories: access, investment, acreage, amenities and equity.

Congratulations to our Parks and Recreation team for their commitment to enhancing the quality of life for our residents.

National Recognition for Quality

The City of Henderson Parks and Recreation Department has been reaccredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA) for the Fourth time, making it the only agency in Nevada to hold this prestigious designation and one of only 222 CAPRA accredited agencies in the United States.

Through compliance with 37 fundamental and 31 non-fundamental standards of excellence, CAPRA accreditation assures policy makers, department staff, and the public that an accredited park and recreation agency has been independently evaluated against established benchmarks as delivering a high level of quality. The City of Henderson demonstrated 100% percent compliance with all 68 standards.

Additional Info & Resources

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Explore Henderson Initiatives

Explore key programs that help the City meet our mission to provide services and resources that enhance the quality of life of those who live, learn, work and play in our City while striving “To Be America’s Premier Community".