'It's so beautiful and wonderful': Prickly Pear Park opens on former smelter site in East Helena

'It's so beautiful and wonderful': Prickly Pear Park opens on former smelter site in East Helena

The 240-acre park features Prickly Pear Creek, trails for hiking and biking, wetlands bursting with birds, and views of the Elkhorn and Big Belt mountains.

Prickly Pear Park officially opens in East Helena

The former East Helena ASARCO site is open to the public and has a new name and new purpose - Prickly Pear Park."This is an incredible success story in a community that so deserves it," Mary Hollow, the executive director for Prickly Pear Land Trust, says.WATCH: Prickly Pear Park officially opens in East HelenaThe land Prickly Pear Park sits on was remediated and restored after more than a century of lead smelting.Thursday, a ribbon was cut to r…

Former East Helena smelter site transformed into recreation area, Prickly Pear Park

After 137 years, the former East Helena ASARCO site is open to the public and has a new name and new purpose, Prickly Pear Park."This is an incredible success story in a community that so deserves it," Mary Hollow, the executive director for Prickly Pear Land Trust, says. The land Prickly Pear Park sits on was remediated and restored after more than a century of lead smelting.Thursday, a ribbon was cut to recognize that for the first time since …

Grand opening for new East Helena park

On a recent morning on the edge of East Helena, a sandhill crane landed next to a dense thicket of willows along a burbling creek, highlighting the natural appeal of Prickly Pear Park, which opens to the public this Thursday,…