Meet Director Sara Arkle

Boise Parks and Recreation Director Sara Arkle steps into new role prioritizing people, parks and possibility

The Boise Parks and Recreation Department continues to grow and change along with the community it serves. That growth was especially apparent in 2025, including the opening of the City of Boise’s 100^th developed park, honoring 100 years of the Boise Depot with the week-long Boise Depot Centennial Celebration, completing Zoo Boise’s Virginia R. Bartak Red Panda Passage and Small Animal Kingdom renovation, along with the debut of the much anticipated Warm Springs Grill + Golf facility at Warm Springs Golf Course, and other milestones along the way. It was also the year we said goodbye to our longtime department Director, Doug Holloway, whose support made these projects possible. In 2026, we say hello to our new Director, Sara Arkle, who is hitting the ground running, picking up right where Holloway left off to make this another year of dreaming big, reaching goals and continuing to care for the city we love.

Arkle has been a part of the Boise Parks and Recreation team for nearly a decade, most recently serving as Superintendent of Parks Resources. During her tenure, she oversaw the development and maintenance of parks across the city and has seen firsthand how deeply they impact our community.

“Everybody has a story about our parks, because they impact people’s lives daily,” Arkle said. “Boise wouldn’t be Boise without our incredible parks system.”

The City of Boise currently has 101 developed parks, and more upcoming park projects starting in 2026. This is part of the city’s 10-Minute Walk to a Park goal – an initiative to ensure every Boise resident has access to a park or open space within a 10-minute walk (roughly half a mile) to their home. The goal drives park land acquisition and investments at a critical moment in the city’s history. Currently, approximately 74% of residents can walk to a park, pathway or open space within 10-minutes, a figure that has steadily increased since the goal was established in 2017.

Throughout her tenure with the department, Arkle has worked on many memorable projects and land acquisitions. Her impact includes important preservation and recreational access opportunities in the Boise Foothills, the launch of the Boise Outdoor Preschool Program, the addition of new park spaces, maintenance improvements and more. As someone who utilizes her neighborhood parks daily, usually with her two dogs in tow, Arkle understands the importance of and need for access for all Boise residents, regardless of their economic status, background or the neighborhood they call home. She also recognizes that Boiseans have high expectations, which she is committed to continuing to meet.

“My guiding principles are care, connect and perform,” said Arkle. “My goals as a director, and my goals for this department within this amazing city, is to do just that: to care about the people we serve, to connect people to the places and the programs that enhance their well-being and perform by continuing to deliver the exceptional service this team has delivered for decades.”

In 2025, Boise Parks and Recreation made improvements and opened parks that put 7,285 more residents within a 10-minute walk to a park, the department provided $249,487 in scholarships that helped over 1,600 people participate in our programming and took climate action alongside partners to plant hundreds of trees across the city. With this momentum, there’s plenty to build on in future years.

“I love furthering opportunities for other people to get outside and have a perspective beyond themselves that connects them to a larger world and a broader community,” Arkle said. “It’s good for our mental health, it's good for our physical health, and it builds the community I want to live in on a daily basis.”

Upcoming projects in 2026 include the development of Whitney Pool next to Whitney Elementary School, replacing the playground at Liberty Park (the oldest in Boise’s system) to make it more accessible, and dedicating new features at Charles F. McDevitt Youth Sports Complex in West Boise.

Arkle also looks forward to stewarding Boise’s third levy supporting clean water and open space preservation. In November, voters overwhelmingly approved $11 million to continue Boise’s legacy of conservation. The funding will support land acquisition and projects to clean our air and water, improve park and open space access and create pathway connections for safe travel. It’s a legacy that Arkle is proud to now be a part of.

“I found my place in Parks and Recreation,” Arkle said. “Being able to lead this team is a gift. I want to spread the joy that we all have in our work with the rest of the city and ignite this passion for service that is within all of us. If I can create an enjoyable place to continue to demonstrate that passion every day in, I think that's like the best gift I could be offered and that I could provide.”

Boise Parks and Recreation’s Strategic Plan is a good place to start to learn more about our team’s vision and values. Click here to read it and learn more about how we are creating spaces Where Boise Belongs.