Eau Claire's Rod & Gun Park covers 36 acres on the city's west side and features a unique environment with a rich local history.

Soon, this local landmark will get some improvements and you can have a say in what happens.

Eau Claire's Park, Recreation and Forestry Department says it has looked into renovating the Rod & Gun Park for the past seven years. Just last week, it got a stamp of approval from the Waterways & Parks Commission.

"In our parks system, Rod & Gun Park is a very unique park. It's a diamond in the rough," Superintendent of Parks, Phil Johnson said.

But Johnson says not everyone can take in its beauty.

"People can't come and enjoy it if they have some limitations in their mobility."

He says the upcoming renovations will help fix that problem.

"The park is going to be in need of some trails that are accessible, and the connection from one elevation to the other elevation is going to be part of that planning process," Johnson said.

Johnson says the department still doesn't know just how much this will cost.

"We're going to identify the design first and then we're going to work through a phasing plan for the redevelopment."

But he says it already has $320,000 set aside for the project, and plans to apply for grant money through the DNR.

"We need to be able to make the park something that's viable for future generations," Johnson said.

Now the department wants your renovation ideas. There's a park tour and public meeting scheduled for Thursday, April 26th. The tour will be from 4 to 5 p.m., with the meeting scheduled to follow from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Chippewa Valley Museum.

Johnson say she hopes to have a master renovation plan in place by August 1st. Once construction on the park actually starts, he says it should take between two to three years to complete the improvements.