When completed, the Mariposa Creek Parkway will provide a variety of community-driven recreational programs along Mariposa Creek in the town of Mariposa. It will connect the community by linking residents and visitors to neighborhoods, businesses, and tourist amenities, while conserving the remarkable beauty of the Sierra Foothill riparian landscape. It will provide engaging opportunities for public art and performance, and it will build community by establishing a welcoming space for Mariposa to gather.

The Mariposa Town Plan identifies the Mariposa Creek Parkway as a priority project with multiple social, economic, and environmental benefits. The Mariposa Town Plan states the following: "The Park will provide a pedestrian and bicyclist corridor...wide enough for two-way traffic...for walkers, joggers, or bicyclists...will tie together a number of tourist facilities and destinations...residents near the park will also use the creek trail."

Since it was first described in the Mariposa Town Plan, the project has been further recommended and refined in a range of other planning and design efforts. One of the biggest steps forward on this project was the Mariposa Creek Parkway Master Plan, which was adopted by the Mariposa County Local Transportation Commission on January 28, 2020. The Master Plan was created with help from the community in order to capture a collective vision for the creek and define priority actions for making that vision a reality.