The City of Las Cruces Parks & Recreation Department offers a wide range of recreational opportunities for adults and children alike, providing innovative and sustainable services at all city parks, trails, and recreational centers.
Parks & Recreation provides more than 100 scenic athletic and neighborhood parks. Play a game of tennis on one of the city’s outdoor courts or enjoy a leisurely stroll on one of the multi-use paths with inspirational views of the Organ Mountains. For example, at the Hadley Sports Complex, you can watch a scheduled soccer, softball, or sand volleyball game or bring the kids to play on one of the jungle gyms.
Youth programs allow kids to experience a wide range of activities supervised by a caring and supportive staff. Programs are developmental because we ensure that activities are Fun, Educational & Safe. Our programs engage young people in intentional, productive, and constructive ways while recognizing and enhancing their strengths.
Currently, we are gearing up for the summer months and preparing our Out-of-School Time programs for the many programs that can benefit the families that will be utilizing them.
The Summer Recreation Day Camp is one of our most long-lived programs. This year it is completely FREE and begins May 31 and will go until July 13, Monday – Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. We partner with Las Cruces Public Schools to provide this beneficial program at three locations around the city, Camino Real Middle School, Sierra Middle School, and Picacho Middle School. Sixty kids will be signed up at each site and will have the opportunity to socialize, recreate, and receive nutritional meals each day while in attendance.
The Teen Connection Program offers FREE afterschool and summer programming for middle school and high school-aged youth grades 6-12. We impact our community by supporting teens as they develop lifelong habits for health and well-being in an environment that fosters becoming respectful, responsible, honest, and caring individuals to develop into contributing community members.
The Weed and Seed Program at A. Fielder Memorial Safe Haven provides young people and community residents with a safe and secure neighborhood facility where children gather daily and engage in educational activities, like homework, reading, life skill presentations, and recreation. The facility provides age-appropriate after-school and summer activities with a unique focus on maintaining the cultural traditions of the community it serves.
The Weed and Seed and Teen Connection summer programs are from June 1st to July 15th for summer.
Educational and recreational programming revolves around five areas:
- Fitness and Outdoor Fun — Providing opportunities to move and exercise through team sports, cooperative games, and outdoor adventure activities.
- Education and Technology — Supporting students in their educational goals through homework support, nutrition education, and introduction to computers, gaming, and technology.
- Service and Civic Engagement — Involving teens in service opportunities that benefit their community; helping youth find and use their voice through community involvement and fostering leadership.
- Prevention and Life Skills — Facilitating teen discussions and educational presentations with guest speakers to promote prevention, teach life skills, and develop communication skills and healthy social behaviors.
- Arts & Culture — Incorporating arts, music, and cultural programming to encourage new experiences through multiple media forms and understanding through exposure to different cultural perspectives.
After school hours are from 3 to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Summertime hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Keep an eye out as we explore our programs more in-depth through these SUCCESS Snapshots, and don’t forget to follow our social media.
Visit our website for more program information at https://www.las-cruces.org/1451/Teens.
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