Colonel Summers Park

Description

Located in Southeast Portland, Colonel Summers Park is a lively neighborhood park with wide open lawns, shady trees, and lots of space to relax or play. 

It offers a mix of active recreation space and quiet green space, which makes it a popular spot for neighbors, families, and visitors from across the city. Community members come here to play basketball, futsal, tennis, volleyball, softball, and pickup soccer games, or to enjoy a walk along the paved paths. The playground and splash pad are especially popular with children during warmer months, while picnic tables, reservable picnic areas, and the covered shelter make the park a great place for birthdays, group gatherings, or a relaxing afternoon outdoors. The park also includes accessible restrooms and accessible picnic areas.

Colonel Summers Park has a welcoming and creative neighborhood feel. Many people use the park to meet friends, throw a frisbee, stretch out on the grass, walk their dogs, or enjoy community events during the summer. The nearby community garden adds color and activity throughout the year, and mature trees help create a comfortable place to cool off on sunny days. In the southwest corner of the park, visitors can find a large rock from Kelly Butte with a plaque honoring Colonel Summers.

In 2017, the park received several major improvements, including a new splash pad, updated picnic areas, a decorative shelter enclosure, and accessibility upgrades. These updates helped make the park even more inviting for the community.

Futsal court

Colonel Summers Park features a futsal court. Futsal is a fast-paced sport similar to soccer that is typically played on a smaller hard-surface court with fewer players. 

Futsal helps players build footwork, passing, and ball control skills, and is growing in popularity, both in Portland and the country more broadly. Portland Parks & Recreation identified futsal as one of the city's most popular emerging recreation activities through community feedback gathered during the Outdoor Tennis Courts and Emerging Recreation Strategy process. The strategy found strong interest in adding more flexible court spaces and recreation opportunities for sports like futsal, pickleball, and bike polo. The futsal court at Colonel Summers Park gives community members of all ages a place to play, practice, and gather for informal games year-round.

Portland Parks & Recreation thanks Operation Pitch Invasion, the Portland Parks Foundation, and the Buckman Community Association for helping make the futsal court possible.

Basic Earthquake Emergency Communication Node

A Basic Earthquake Emergency Communication Node (BEECN, pronounced beacon) is a place to go in Portland after a major earthquake to ask for emergency assistance if phone service is down, or report severe damage or injury. More information can be found on the Basic Earthquake Emergency Communication Node page.