The city of Walton is planning upgrades to Owens Lake Park.
The upgrades will include updated restrooms and a new pavilion structure. Matt Bogen, Walton City Engineer with Cardinal Engineering, briefed the community on the coming renovations at the Tuesday, Nov. 10 city council meeting.
“The pavilion would overlook the lake,” Bogen said. “It could host live music and potentially be rented out by the city.”
The city opened Owens Lake Park to the public in 2025 with a stocked fishing lake at its heart. Now, the city is planning renovations that will preserve the natural character of the park, while also making it more accessible to Walton residents.
Bogen explained that Walton already has a park that serves most of the traditional park purposes. Walton Community Park, at 35 Old Stephenson Mill Road, has playgrounds, a splash pad, and ball fields. Bogen and the city said that Owens Lake Park serves a different purpose in the community.
“At Owens Lake Park, the lake is the centerpiece,” Bogen said. “We want to preserve the nature as much as possible.”
The late Dr. O’Dell Owens donated the land that became Dr. O’Dell Moreno Owens & Family Nature Park, known locally as “Owens Lake Park,” to the city of Walton in 2020. Owens served as Hamilton County Coroner and president of Cincinnati State Technical & Community College. He offered the 54-acre plot of land at 74 Church Street to the city after discussing it with former Walton Mayor Gabe Brown.
Originally, the land acted as Walton’s water reservoir and Owens bought the land with hopes of developing on it. Development plans never panned out and Owens donated the entire plot to the city without a specific plan for use.
When the city took over control of the land, it had the lake ecosystem analyzed by scientists at the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife. They found the environment lacking and rehabilitated it for fishing. The park will remain open to the public, from dusk to dawn, during redesigns. The city will announce if that changes at any point.
“The park is currently a work in progress,” Bogen said. “The city always welcomes citizen input and residents can contact city hall with comments and questions.”
