New Oro Valley park gets crowd-sourced name

Oro Valley resident Nikki Dilbeck hit a hole in one in the contest to name the community’s new desert park.

Dilbeck submitted the winning entry with Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve.

That will be the new name of the former Golf Club at Vistoso, an 18-hole course that closed in 2018 after more than 20 years in business.

The old course is being turned into a passive park for walking, bicycling and bird watching, with 6 miles of paved pathways that wind past desert plants, wildlife, mountain vistas and ancient rock art.

The Town of Oro Valley plans to set aside money in its upcoming budget to repair the former cart paths, reopen the restrooms and clean up the open space.

The abandoned golf course is currently owned by national nonprofit The Conservation Fund, which partnered with a local group called Preserve Vistoso to buy the 202-acre tract earlier this year and keep it out of the hands of residential or commercial developers.

The land will be transferred to the town sometime after July 1, though a conservation easement will ensure that it can never be developed even after it changes hands.

Oro Valley plans to hold a ribbon cutting once the transfer is complete.

The naming contest drew more than 1,500 unique entries that were narrowed to a list of just 10 by a five-member committee. Those choices were then put to a vote of about 500 Oro Valley residents, who picked their three favorites. The Oro Valley Town Council made the final selection on May 18.

“When I saw the initial call for name suggestions, Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve popped into my head, and it just felt like the right fit,” Dilbeck said in a written statement from the town announcing the contest results. “It’s such a wonderful resource for the whole Oro Valley community.”

Dilbeck and her husband, Ron, have lived in Oro Valley for 10 years and in the Vistoso community for the past 8 years. For winning the contest, she gets a prize package valued at more than $1,700, including an annual family membership to Oro Valley’s community, recreation and aquatic centers.