Riverside County supervisors Tuesday authorized final payment for a modernization project that involved millions of dollars in upgrades at Lake Cahuilla Veterans Regional Park near La Quinta, formally recognizing all work at the site completed.
In a 4-0 vote without comment, and Supervisor Yxstian Gutierrez absent, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved the disbursal of $497,426 to Santa Ana-based KYA Services for the contractor’s work on the Lake Cahuilla Veterans Regional Park Modernization Project that began in December 2024.
The renovations, which recently wrapped up, cost a total $8.9 million, all of which was drawn from remaining 2021 American Rescue Plan Act funds provided to the county under a $480 million federal relief package over five years ago.
“The project has enhanced the quality of life for county residents by improving the campground areas, playground areas, amenities for day use and maintaining access to clean and safe outdoor recreational activities,” according to a county Parks & Open Space District statement posted to the board’s agenda.
The 710-acre park rests at the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains, providing hiking, equestrian and biking trails. Additionally, there’s a 135-acre lake stocked with aquatic life, and fishing is permitted.
The modernization project entailed installing a new pickleball court, upgrading basketball courts, replacing campground shade structures, adding picnic ground seats, making landscaping enhancements, restoring the swimming lagoon, replacing fire pits and RV pedestals and repairing roads leading into the park, as well as resurfacing the parking lots.
The acreage comprising the park is not county-owned, but rather leased under a 30-year agreement that was renewed in 2024 from the Coachella Valley Water District and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.