big ditch park

We read the reviews on this unique city park and decided to take a look. What we found is basically a walk along a deeply entrenched runoff ditch/creek through the heart of downtown Silver City. The trail is easy to follow and has some steps included. The trail goes for several city blocks and can be joined at a number of streets one block or less from the downtown shopping center. Most of the trail is tree lined which would be a great place for a casual walk on hot summer days.The city Visitor Center can provide a history of the site. The Visitor Center is also just across the channel by bridge walk from this site.

The Big Ditch is a gem of a surprise. You really have to walk across it and along it to see it. It is not really visible from the streets being so deep and lined with trees. And you probably can't really appreciate it until you find out its history. To do this go to the adjacent Visitor Center or the Silver City Museum to see photographs of the late 19th and early 20th century floods that changed Main Street into the 55' deep chasm that has now been transformed into a beautiful park of several levels with benches and railed walkways. Take advantage of the shady location, listen to the spring-fed stream, and chat with people. This is NM where almost everyone says "Hi", has a story to tell, and would like to hear yours.

The long side is The road, but The park is nice, there is a charge but they have all the basic services

The Big Ditch park formed when Main Street collapsed, and later floods created the 53-foot deep ditch. The stores fronting Main Street started using the back doors onto Bullard Street, which is essentially the main street now.The ditch runs several blocks, and is essentially unimproved. It's a quiet place to walk, with trees growing out of the creekbed. Stop by if you have time, but don't come here just to see the Big Ditch.

Whoever does the PR material for Silver City does a wonderful job - the promotional magazine is superb and really made us want to visit. But the spin is ahead (or behind?) the reality. We went to the Visitors' Center, which was closed at 8:30 am. ( Maybe we are too used to living in the desert, where people are up and out by 6 am to get some exercise before the sun gets too hot.) We could peer down into the ditch, but no indication of how / where to enter. We drove down the main street, and found the "famous" pedestrian bridge but it all looked so dark and unkempt, we just kept going. It makes for a good story, but ...

It's just a short ealing path that takes you down by the trickle of s stream that had garbage in it. It needs a little more work, perhaps a dedicated running or bike path.

To really see and appreciate Silver City you have to see the Big Ditch. It once was the main street of the city, but apparently it was turned into a small canyon by the flash floods that periodically run through the area. Now the main street runs parallel to it, but a block away. And the canyon is a park.

Agree with other one-star reviews posted - Silver City really needs to work on getting their homeless into shelters and their addicts into treatment programs.

Very nice path along the 'big ditch'. Beautiful lush vegetation. Liked the stairways and bridges and street access to the downtown area.

There's a lot of history here, and someone deserves a lot of credit for trying to preserve it. One can see the effort that went into the preservation and restoration, but you can also see the area getting ready to slip away again without renewed interest. Well worth a visit if you're in the area, but don't travel a long distance out of your way.

We found this by parking near a stairway near it. It's pretty but there was a lot of garbage in the water, ruined the effect of what could be a pretty walk. Kids went down by the water but came back pretty quick. There are benches and lots of pretty flowers and cactus.

When you visit the antique shops on Bullard street in Silver City don't miss a stroll through the Big Ditch park.Lovely shade trees and inviting benches are a rest from the heat. You can take very nice photos there. Also it is always clean.

Be prepared to be stopped by every panhandler in Silver City. They're all around downtown so keep your cash in your pocket. Watch for a clean cut guy walking his dog, just another scam. The merchants need to clean up this problem.

We had a nice stroll along the creek as a break to walking around downtown. It is pretty interesting how this little park was formed. Make sure and stop by the Silver City Museum to see a nice display on the Big Ditch.

The Big Ditch used to be Main Street before a flood wiped it out about a century ago. Now it has a small stream (at this time of year) way down below street level. There is a nice cement path running high along it.There are several entrances. There are benches along the way to sit. Right now there are forsythia and redbud in bloom. The trees are very tall and provide a lot of shade. It's an easy walk (~1/2 block) from Bullard Street (now the main street). We saw a woman and her child having breakfast on a park bench on a Sunday morning.