Tetherow Glen Park
Location: Bend, OR
The park program was developed to serve a broad cross-section of residents with both active and social uses. A small HOA pool and pool/ restroom building anchor one side of the site, paired with a picnic shelter and seating areas that support everyday gatherings and neighborhood events. Nearby, a community garden offers residents opportunities for food production and seasonal engagement with the landscape. Courts for tennis, volleyball, and half-court basketball are strategically sited to minimize impacts on existing trees, and to distribute activity zones so noise and lighting are compatible with adjacent homes. Nature play elements are woven into the existing ponderosa stands and complemented by a traditional play area, blending imaginative, landscape-based play with more familiar equipment.
Pathways connect each of these amenities in a looped system that encourages walking and casual encounters among neighbors, while respecting topography and drainage patterns. The layout allows the site’s natural character—tall pines, native understory, and basalt outcrops—to remain visually dominant, with built elements appearing as carefully placed insertions. Although the project ultimately did not move forward to construction, the completed concept and construction documents provide a clear, implementable framework for a park that reflects Tetherow’s identity and maximizes the recreational potential of a unique, tree-filled site.
SZABO Landscape Architecture envisioned Tetherow Glen Park as a neighborhood-focused destination that transforms a former turf farm into a multi-layered community amenity, closely tied to the surrounding ponderosa forest and native vegetation. The design preserves mature trees and existing drainage basins as organizing features, nestling program elements into clearings so the park feels immersed in the landscape rather than imposed on it. A generous open play lawn reuses the existing turf farm area for informal recreation and events, while native plantings along the street frontage extend the established Tetherow aesthetic of naturalistic edges and low-maintenance, regionally appropriate landscapes.
