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Private Park, San Marcos

Laura Benavides stands beneath the treehouse in her Private Park, which features accommodations for everything from children’s birthday parties to packages for a Valentine’s Day date night. Photo by Jason Cook

Private Park: Benavides opens event space for socially-distanced holidays

Sunday, February 7, 2021

Imagine a Valentine’s date night under the stars in a socially-distanced private park. In San Marcos, all it takes is an acre of land, a dreamer, and a plan.

For Laura Benavides, her Private Park, located at 313 Nicola Alley, is the place where these three things meet.

Benavides recently opened Private Park as an outdoor safe haven for socially-distanced gatherings, but she had been dreaming up this idea for years. Then, once the pandemic struck last March, Benavides began once again to eye this particular acre of space adjacent to her family's land.

Sitting at a patio table beneath the shade of pecan trees, Benavides spoke about her decision to move forward with her plans.

“There used to be a house here,” she explained, “but it was condemned after the 1998 flood.”

Once that house had been removed, Benavides’ father began to build a treehouse in the space. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to complete the treehouse before he passed away. Keeping to his memory, though, Benavides brought out a contractor to complete the project, verifying that it was still safe and up to code. The treehouse remains a central fixture of the park, along with a swing set and various other children’s games, but it would still be some time before she would put her plan into action.

The idea for the park lingered a while longer, but it was her daughter, 13-year-old Lianna Lopez, who would be the final deciding factor.

“I really need her help,” Benavides said. “Starting a business isn’t always easy. It may mean having fewer family vacations. I talked it out with my daughter and I said, ‘I’d like your help and your support.’ We talked about it at length. Then one day, we were out here talking about it, and she said, ‘Let’s do it.’”

On that day, they started digging the park’s stonelined fire pit, a kind of symbolic breaking ground for their endeavor.

Once the motherdaughter team decided they were both on board, they began to expand their vision. Benavides set up an appointment with Ecosystems, an environmental-friendly landscaping company that comes out to assess a space and recommend improvements. Benavides plans on bringing in gardens with native plants that will be deer-resistant, capable of weathering floods and bringing butterflies to the yard.

She then created a website and Facebook page, offering Private Park for rent to a limited number of families in order to provide a safe meeting space that allows people to remain conscious of social distances.

“I would love for it to be a natural area where people of all ages can come to celebrate each other safely. Especially now,” Benavides said. “That was what I had in mind when choosing games. They are all sociallydistanced: badminton, volleyball, bocci ball, horseshoes and cornhole.”

Benavides also maintains a high-standard of hygiene for those who rent the park.

“We clean all surfaces before and after each reserved visit,” she wrote on her website. “With only reservation per day, you and your family will be able to enjoy Private Park safely without interference from anyone outside your household.” She also added the reminder that, “At this time, we respectfully request that your party adhere to current social distance guidelines if inviting others outside your household.”

Private Park is centrally located in San Marcos, within walking distance of the Square and the river, making it ideal for day-trip excursions to Rio Vista Park or for a lateevening downtown pub crawl. However, Private Park also nestles up to Purgatory Creek, which lends the space a secluded, woodsy ambiance. In fact, animal sightings are quite common.

“We have lots of deer,” Benavides said. “And a family of foxes, hawks, cardinals, a family of woodpeckers, a few raccoons. We have signs of armadillos, and there’s also a ringtail cat roaming around. I love that it’s in a central location, but still in the woods.”

Private Park is perfect for small-scale family gatherings. All furniture and games can be rearranged to accommodate for the renter’s needs. Additionally, Benavides has installed an ADA-approved accessible restroom and hand-washing station. The station includes hand sanitizer as well as dish washing soap for renters who hope to use the park’s barbecue grill. She also has a projector and screen for movie nights under the trees. Then there is the fire pit, ideal for roasting hot dogs or making s’mores.

Currently, Private Park is offering a Winter’s Special — two hours for $25, with all dates transferable in case of inclement weather or COVID-19-related delays.

Then there is the Valentine’s date-night package, which will feature a local basket for each couple. Maintaining the park’s rule for mindful social distancing, reservations will only be available for a maximum of three couples booked for each night while the promotion runs.

The basket features items created by local artists, including a custom koozie, a refillable drink pouch, wine glasses, games, cards and a sampler box of sweets.

The dinner package includes a charcuterie board by The Davenport, plus the dinner sampler options from Mana’s Restaurant, OMG Seafood and The Davenport. The date night and basket costs $50 per couple. The charcuterie will be in the basket when guests arrive no earlier than 5 p. m. and the dinner sampler will be delivered at 6:30 p. m. when the movie projector goes up.

Couples may also opt to have something delivered from their favorite local restaurant, which they will be able to enjoy in the romantic twilight setting of Private Park.

Like all of us, we are waiting for the time when COVID-19 restrictions will lift and we can return to our regular lives. In the meantime, people will continue to search for ways to gather while being responsible to our family members, neighbors and friends. Benavides sees her Private Park as a way to keep true to this.

“Even with all this pandemic stuff, it’s all coming together for a reason,” Benavides said. “Making peace with it is something we need to do, so why not be at peace with ourselves, enjoying nature and enjoying ourselves as much as possible.”

To reserve Private Park and learn about day rentals and specials, check out the website at privateparksmtx. com or visit the Facebook page: facebook.com/ PrivateParkSMTX.

San Marcos Record

(512) 392-2458
P.O. Box 1109, San Marcos, TX 78666