Anyone who has visited Medellin knows the river is everywhere. For years, though, the Medellin River felt more like a border than a meeting point, surrounded by busy roads and noise. River Park Medellin wants to flip that story.
Parques del Rio, also known as Medellin River Parks, is a long‑term project that takes traffic down and brings people up, creating parks, trees, and bike lanes where there used to be only asphalt and concrete.
What River Park Medellin is and why it is important
River Park Medellin is a network of urban parks along the Medellin River, in the Aburra Valley. It aims to connect east and west, north and south, using the river as the main public space of the city.
The plan combines engineering and landscape design. Roads that once hugged the river are being redirected underground, giving space for lawns, gardens, paths, cycle routes and cultural areas on top.
For residents, that means more room to walk, run, ride a bike, play with children, or simply sit and watch the water, instead of rushing past it in a car or bus.
The first phases, from concrete to public space
The first visible result of River Park was tramo 1A, opened in 2016, on the west bank near the Conquistadores neighborhood. It offers over 145,000 square meters of public space, with large lawns, trees, playgrounds, and paths.
Here, visitors find species such as drago and yarumo, plus cycle routes, bike parking, and a tunnel more than 390 meters long with several lanes, all hidden under the green surface.
Tramo 1B, on the east bank, opened in 2019 with even more public space and another “depressed” road section. Above it, plans include a “cloud forest,” a dense group of trees and plants that cools the air and adds shade.
To make all this possible, companies such as Argos supplied more than 143,000 cubic meters of concrete for tunnels, bridges, and structures, showing the scale of the engineering behind the peaceful park views.
Awards, sustainability, and Medellin’s new face
River Park has not gone unnoticed abroad. The project has received international prizes such as Future Project Awards and several recognitions at the World Architecture Festival, in categories related to water, master plans, and sustainability.
Juries highlight how the project helps recover the river, creates public space, and addresses issues such as urban sprawl, segregation, and unequal access to parks.
These awards add to Medellin’s reputation as a city that uses public space and transport projects to change its image and daily life, along with cable cars, libraries, and escalators on steep hillsides.
River Park’s future, from the north side to a full river corridor
River Park is not finished. A key next step is Parques del Rio Norte, which will bring the project to new comunas in the north. Plans talk about more than 56,000 square meters of public space and an investment above COP2,000,000,000 (around US$53 million) with works expected to benefit residents by about 2027.
This stage seeks to reduce the lack of parks in comunas two and four, adding paths, green areas, and better crossings in a part of the city that has long faced social and physical barriers.
Broader strategies describe River Park as a 20 to 34 km corridor that will take 10 to 15 years to complete, gradually turning the entire riverbank into a chain of parks, bridges, and ecological areas.
As more phases move from plan to reality, the project aims to cut pollution, reconnect habitats, and give people a closer, friendlier relationship with the Medellin River.
Medellin’s slow but steady river transformation
River Park Medellin shows how a city can change its story with long patience. Sections such as tramo 1A and 1B already changed how thousands of people use and see the river, while new stages move toward the north and beyond.
If the full vision is completed, Medellin will have turned a noisy, dividing corridor into a green ribbon of parks and paths that ties together neighborhoods, people, and nature along its river.