Ascarate Park

Ascarate Park, with more than 400 acres, is one of the largest parks in El Paso County. Originally part of a banco, or river loop, of the Rio Grande, the land was deeded to the county by the federal government after an International boundary Commission rectification project straightened the river in the early 1930s.

The National Park Service designed the park for the county when nearly three-quarters of El Paso county residents voted in 1937 for a special tax to help fund its construction. More than 200 Civilian conservation Corps (CCC) laborers planted thousands of trees; built baseball fields, tennis courts, a recreation center and golf course; and removed more than 1 million cubic yards of sand to create the 45-acre lake, which opened in December 1940.

The project was the CCC's largest in Texas. The park is named for the Ascarate family, El Paso-area pioneers who owned a large ranch near the park. The County of El Paso has operated and maintained the park since its construction.