Dillon Colorado Opens Eight Free Pickleball Courts as US Participation Hits 24.3 Million Players
- Dillon, Colorado opened eight new pickleball courts at Dillon Town Park on Friday, September 4, free to the public with players supplying their own paddles.
- The town is positioning the courts as a way to draw both residents and visitors to Summit County, where the sport already fills a summer tournament calendar.
- U.S. pickleball participation reached 24.3 million players in 2025, a 22.8 percent jump from the prior year, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.
A Mountain Town Bets on Eight New Courts
Dillon Town Park has a new attraction, and it does not involve the reservoir views the Colorado mountain town is known for. Eight new pickleball courts opened to the public on Friday, September 4, giving Summit County players a dedicated space built specifically for the sport rather than lines painted over an old tennis court.
The courts are free to use. Anyone showing up just needs to bring a paddle, according to the town, which lists Dillon Town Park at 120 Buffalo St. as the location.
Why Dillon Wants In on the Boom
The town is not shy about what it wants these courts to do for it. A construction update posted to the town’s website says the new courts will “help position Dillon as a premier destination for the sport.”
The same posting presents the project as a response to how fast the sport has grown nationally. “The new courts provide additional space for residents and visitors to enjoy one of the country’s fastest-growing sports while expanding outdoor recreation opportunities in the heart of Dillon,” the town’s website says. “Designed specifically for pickleball, the courts offer a high-quality place for players of all ages and skill levels to gather, compete and connect.”
That pitch lines up with what is already happening a few miles away. Silverthorne, the neighboring town, has hosted the Pickle in the Peaks tournament for six straight years, an event that has grown alongside the sport’s national surge and already draws competitors from around the region to Summit County each July.
The National Numbers Behind the Local Build
Dillon’s investment mirrors a growth curve that shows no sign of slowing anywhere in the country. U.S. pickleball participation hit 24.3 million players in 2025, a 22.8 percent increase from the year before and a 171.8 percent jump over three years, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s 2026 single-sport report. The sport has now held the title of America’s fastest-growing sport for five consecutive years running.
The same report found that core players, those who play eight or more times a year, grew from 1.4 million in 2020 to 7.5 million in 2025. Teens and young adults between 13 and 24 posted the highest participation rates of any age group, and female participation climbed to 42.9 percent of all U.S. pickleball players last year.
Those figures explain why a town the size of Dillon, year-round population under a thousand people, is willing to dedicate park space to eight dedicated courts rather than a shared multi-use surface. A ski town’s summer foot traffic is exactly the kind of visitor base a free, well-built court complex is designed to pull in.
What Free, Dedicated Courts Change for Players
The distinction between a dedicated pickleball court and a shared or converted one counts for more with everyday players than it might look on paper. Repurposed tennis courts often run wider nets, mismatched surface textures, and lines that only approximate real pickleball dimensions. Courts built for the sport from the ground up fix all three, and they tend to hold up better under the volume of daily recreational play that fast-growing towns are now planning for.
Free access removes a second barrier that has become common elsewhere in the country, where membership fees, reservation systems, and paid time slots have followed the sport’s growth into private clubs and commercial facilities. Dillon’s approach, an open, no-cost public court, keeps the sport accessible to first-time players who just want to show up and try it without committing to a membership first.
Eight courts also change what a single visit looks like for a group. Two or three courts, the standard add-on at many shared recreation complexes, can absorb a handful of regulars before newcomers are stuck waiting on the sideline. Eight gives Dillon room for open play, drop-in doubles, and informal lessons to run at the same time without one format crowding out another, which matches how the SFIA data describes the sport actually being played: casually, in mixed groups, rather than through organized league structures alone.
The Pickle in the Peaks tournament in nearby Silverthorne offers a preview of what that demand looks like at scale. Now in its sixth year, the event has grown alongside the national numbers rather than against them, drawing competitive players to Summit County specifically for the tournament-standard courts the region already has in place. Dillon’s new courts do not host that event, but they extend the same infrastructure logic down to everyday recreational play, giving casual players a reason to treat the area as more than a stop on the way to a tournament.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Recreation Towns
Dillon’s project fits a pattern playing out in small and mid-sized towns across the country this year, where local governments are treating pickleball courts as both a recreation upgrade for residents and a tourism draw for visitors. Communities that built their identity around skiing, hiking, or lake access are increasingly adding a sport that fills the shoulder season and draws players regardless of snow conditions or water levels.
For Summit County specifically, the addition gives players a second home base beyond Silverthorne’s tournament courts, spreading recreational demand across two towns rather than concentrating it in one. That kind of expansion, dedicated courts opening within a short drive of each other, is becoming one of the clearer signs of how far the sport has moved from a niche retirement community pastime into mainstream local infrastructure.
The demographic numbers help explain why towns built around outdoor tourism keep landing on pickleball rather than a different amenity. With teens and young adults between 13 and 24 posting the highest participation rates of any age group tracked by the SFIA, and female participation now above 42 percent of all U.S. players, the sport draws a wider cross-section of visitors than the retiree-heavy reputation it carried a decade ago. A free court in a mountain park fits that broader base better than a members-only club would.
What It Means for Players Passing Through
For a visitor driving through Summit County this fall, the new Dillon courts add another stop to what is becoming a real regional circuit, one that does not require a membership card, a reservation app, or advance planning. Show up with a paddle, and the court is open.
That accessibility is a big part of what has carried the sport from 1.4 million core players to 7.5 million in five years, and small towns betting on free, dedicated courts are likely to keep showing up on the list of places where the boom is easiest to see up close. Dillon just made itself one more entry on that list, and unlike a membership club or a resort amenity, its courts are open to anyone who shows up with a paddle and a partner.
Sources:
- https://www.summitdaily.com/news/eight-new-pickleball-courts-open-in-dillon/
- https://www.dillonco.gov/government/2026-construction-projects
- https://sfia.org/resources/sfia-releases-2026-pickleball-single-sport-report-team-sports-reports-to-follow/
