Edness K. Wilkins State Park, Riverside state park near Casper, Wyoming.
Edness K. Wilkins State Park is a 361-acre (146 ha) recreation area on the North Platte River, six miles east of Casper. It occupies a former rock quarry bought by the state in 1981. The grounds hold a grove of lanceleaf cottonwoods, open terrain, and three ponds with sand beaches.
The site was originally a rock quarry before Wyoming's state government transformed it into a public park in 1981. This conversion of abandoned industrial land into a recreation area reflects the region's changing priorities.
The park is named for Edness Kimball Wilkins (1896–1980), a Casper-area resident who sat in the Wyoming state legislature for 25 years. Her name was given to the former quarry site after the state bought it in 1981.
The park is easily reached via Interstate 25 Exit 182 and U.S. Highway 20-26. Visitors will find picnic areas, restrooms, and well-marked paths throughout the grounds.
The park was designated an Important Bird Area by the Audubon Society. More than 200 bird species have been counted here, among them yellow-billed cuckoos, golden and bald eagles, cormorants, sharp-shinned hawks and 16 kinds of ducks. The spring and fall migrations bring large numbers of birds, and many common species nest in the park.
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