Sønæs Park

From flooded football fields to climate-smart landscape

Sønæs Park began life as a set of marshy football pitches on the southern edge of Viborg, often too wet to use. Today the area has been reshaped into an inventive 10-hectare climate and activity park that helps protect the city from heavy rainfall while giving residents and visitors a generous piece of waterside nature. Gentle earth mounds, wide basins and looping paths make the engineering work almost disappear into the scenery. At the heart of the design is a large purification pond that holds back rainwater before it flows into nearby Søndersø lake. The calm water surface lets sediment and pollutants settle on the bottom, so that cleaner water leaves the park than arrives. In storm conditions, extra basins and overflow areas come into play, temporarily turning parts of the park into a shallow urban lagoon.

Walking the blue-green loop

For visitors, the most noticeable feature is the continuous loop trail of roughly a kilometre that circles the main wetland. Built from concrete and compacted gravel, it is broad, smooth and step-free, making it suitable for wheelchairs, prams and relaxed strolls side by side. Smaller side paths branch off towards play zones, viewing points and tucked-away benches. The route carries you over bridges and boardwalks that skim low across the water and wetlands, so you move at eye level with reeds, pond edges and the reflections of the sky. Seating is frequent, from simple benches to sculptural furniture, inviting you to pause and watch the play of light on the basins or the gentle movement of water grasses along the shore.

Playful edges and active corners

Sønæs Park is not just for quiet contemplation. The design deliberately mixes gentle nature areas with more energetic pockets of activity. Close to the main paths you find play equipment that tests balance and coordination, low climbing structures and swings that make use of the sloping terrain. Nearby, picnic tables and open lawns provide space for families and groups to spread out. Just outside the wetland core, a simple gravel parking area and a neighbouring skate spot underline the park’s role as an everyday meeting place. The water basins double as an atmospheric backdrop for informal games, summer gatherings or a quick lunch break in the open air, while still performing their technical role whenever heavy rain arrives.

Nature, wildlife and changing seasons

Because large areas are kept as wetland and meadow, Sønæs Park has become a small haven for urban wildlife. Ducks and other water birds patrol the ponds, and the mosaic of open water, reeds and grass supports a variety of insects that thrive in the moist environment. The gently varied terrain offers both exposed, windy ridges and sheltered nooks closer to the water. Seasonal change is highly visible here. In spring and summer, green banks and wildflowers frame the paths; in autumn, low sun angles and mist emphasize the shapes of the basins; in winter, frost or light snow can turn the terraced edges into a minimalist, almost graphic landscape. Even on days when water levels are low, markers and interpretation elements hint at how high the water can rise during real flood events.

Learning landscape for a changing climate

Beyond its leisure value, Sønæs Park also functions as an open-air classroom on climate and water. Discreet information features explain how urban rainwater is collected, cleaned and slowed down before reaching the lake, and how this helps protect habitats downstream. Schools and local groups often use the park to talk about climate adaptation in a tangible way, standing directly beside the infrastructure that makes it happen. In this way the park manages to be several things at once: a piece of critical city infrastructure, a pleasant local green space and a subtle exhibition about future-proofing urban areas. For travellers passing through Viborg, it offers an accessible glimpse of Danish landscape design at the point where environmental engineering, everyday recreation and lakeside scenery meet.