The park is located in the locality of Teusaquillo and is managed by the District Institute of Recreation and Sport (Instituto Distrital de Recreacion y Deporte - IDRD).

In 1968 the city of Bogotá built a temple to commemorate the 39th International Eucharistic Congress to which the pope Paul VI was a part of.

The park was officially named under the Law 31 of 1979 in commemoration of the bicentennial of the birth of Latin American leader Simón Bolívar.

Colombian architect Arturo Robledo Ocampo designed in 1982 the details of new improvements to the park which at the time was far from an actual recreational space.

Ocampo developed the plans for tree growing areas, the central plaza and also designed the water supply and structures such as channels and walls.

3300 trees were planted and a pedestrian bridge that linked the park with the Children's Museum was inaugurated.

At the present time it is considered the "lung of the city" due to its central location and because of its size and its vegetation.

Additionally the park features a roof covered waterpark with pools and water slides.

The Salitre is currently administered by a Mexican private company which has improved and remodeled the park that used to be managed by the government of Bogotá.

The complex has stands for an audience of 1.500 people, parking lots for 300 vehicles, sauna, dressing rooms, gym and a cafeteria.

It has a public bowling center and connections to pedestrian bridges above the 68th Avenue to the Central Park Simón Bolívar.

The band holds the record for fastest sell out concert at the park for their first show, with 3 hours and 40,000 tickets sold.

American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers[3] performed for the first time in the country in the events plaza on September 11, 2011, in front of 19,654 people.

Britney Spears[4] performed for the first time in Colombia in front of 20,000 spectators on November 26, 2011, during her Femme Fatale Tour.