Top 10 City Parks in North America: Culture, Natural Beauty, and Active Living in Urban Spaces
Top 10 City Parks in North America: Culture, Natural Beauty, and Active Living in Urban Spaces
What makes for a great urban park? Today’s video explores that questions, then scans the continent of North America, looking for the very best. Our journey will include some obvious stops — New York’s Central Park and Mexico City’s Bosque de Chapultepec — but some of the cities and parks that appear on the list will likely be surprises as well.
This is an urbanist look at city parks, so criteria will include things like transit access, proximity to city center, integration with adjacent neighborhoods and density, and just…how cool of a park is it? So, lace up your best walking shoes and come on safari.
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Twitter: @nerd4cities
Instagram: @nerd4cities
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Other CityNerd Videos referenced:
– Workhorse Streets of North America: https://youtu.be/JE-cyJypmMY
– Undervalued Cities of the US: https://youtu.be/1qzePci2N6E
– Urbanist Ballparks: https://youtu.be/aXQx1_Zi1BA
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Resources:
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_populous_cities_in_the_United_States_by_decade
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoobomb
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Image Credits:
– Hyde Park Video by George Morina: https://www.pexels.com/video/people-walking-beside-the-park-lake-5353635/
– Klyde Warren 1 By Kevin1086 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27980272
– Klyde Warren 2 By Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24515359
– Bryant Park 1 By Jean-Christophe BENOIST – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19274240
– Bryant Park 2 By AxelKK – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=83561535
– Lake, boats and the Alfonso XII monument (Retiro) By cesar.ruiz, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53324171
– Golf (not Retiro) Video by Tom Fisk: https://www.pexels.com/video/drone-footage-of-a-golf-course-3280102/
– Parque Funidora By Robert Valencia (bertobox) – https://www.flickr.com/photos/bertobox/1517348517/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5119922
– Cubs Rally By Mack Male from Edmonton, AB, Canada – Chicago Cubs Rally, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71214107
– Wollman Rink By Tomás Fano – originally posted to Flickr as New York. Central Park. Wollman Rink, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4802893
– Central Park thumb 2 Image by Pierre Blaché from Pixabay
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Music:
CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (YouTube music library)
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Contact: nerd4cities@gmail.com
Take it easy on the golf courses.
City Park in New Orleans is often slept on
As someone who grew up near Balboa Park in SD, yes I was there a lot as a kid. Great spot to ride bikes through, play ball, or chill.
City nerd always keeping it real! 🔥
Cool video. Maybe you could do something on national parks at some point? 😃
I live in Cincinnati and while we do not have one extra special Park, the park system is the best thing about this community. To add to this the county that Cincinnati is located inside of, Hamilton County, has a terrific Park system as well. I have never been anywhere that has parks that come close to the parks in the greater Cincinnati area
I am trying to find the rights of the people, the local community, in city parks. I have a park who the city council gave one of the facilities "exclusive use" to a Private Club. This private club now locks out the local community- who has used the facility for decades. What they have done have violated the California codes. Please give me your opinion on this. thank you. (This private club requires membership to join and charges $100. to use this facility)
Rock Creek Park in DC and Maryland is amazing and meets your criteria. We don’t consider the National Mall a park 😫
Delaware park
Yeah! Lincoln Park!!! 🤘🤘
Forrest Park in St. Louis is great! It would be amazing if they’d remove the damn golf course!
Stanley Park is a top 5 park in the world if you’ve ever spent more than 10 minutes there.
Golden gate should have been ranked wayyy higher, no freeways and very few parking lots, it’s huge (bigger than central park), hosts a load of festivals and concerts every year, and has a beach! Should’ve been ranked higher than Balboa anyhow, thise flyovers looked like it was all just parking lots and pavement.
Your complete omission of DC’s Rock Creek Park feels odd? You even are zooming out saying "there isn’t a standout" and you can even start to see Rock Creek Park in the top left before you cut away.
I get it isn’t in the core of the highest density part of DC, but it is still within the district and easily accesible. If you discount it for another reason, you should have specified. But not even mentioning it feels wrong.
San Diegan here, and I was excited and surprised you included Balboa Park. My thoughts on it: a definite tourist attraction, but nothing to keep locals away. I live only two miles away and often use it as my turnaround point for going on runs, and it’s a great place to go on a walk with family and friends if you’re trying to get some air.
Every first weekend of December they have “December Nights” where the buildings are lit up for the first time, and vendors galore are about. It gets crowded, but a great family atmosphere. During Halloween they have Haunted Trails on the grassy lawn parallel to 6th.
The Old Globe is an actual functioning theatre that has performances year round! And every Tuesday, a limited amount of museums are free to SD residents, and the selection rotates every week. The only sad part is is the Starlight Bowl, an outdoor amphitheatre, has been vacant for nearly 20 years now, but there are community groups trying to get it up and running. It sits under the flight path, so it makes for an interesting venue, but it’s been the home of amazing bands and productions.
The World Beat Center is the local Afro-Centric, music venue/community center and vegan cafe. Basically, Balboa Park is a great place to be a tourist in your own city, and not a tourist trap. It’s really close to downtown and thriving neighborhoods like Hillcrest, Gooden Hill, Bankers Hill, South Park, North Park (see a pattern yet)? There’s so much to offer that we often forget the community we’re looking for is right in our backyard.
You forgot Belle Isle In Detroit
Balboa park is where I’ve spent a lot of time as I live walking distance from it, but it’s quite boring if you don’t spend money, free museums every Tuesday, and a nice park next to it. Not as good anymore because the city took out the food and other vendors. They let cars in which sucks cuz they literally have a passenger car system that takes you around.
Forest Park in Portland Oregon is not your typical urban park. On a hot day the cover would keep you so cool and the air quality was so refreshing.
I think you’re a bit hard on the golf! My grandfather loved golf, and he was a bus driver, not a rich guy.
Fairmount Park in Philadelphia goes higher up the list. Actually I think it goes to #1. (ok, I haven’t been to Mexico city.) It certainly beats what Chicago has to offer for that open-space get-lost feeling. Central park in NYC has some ponds, Fairmount park has a river! Philly’s art museum is absolutely world class, you can even do the "Rocky" run, so even if you don’t like art it’s worth visiting! Then there is Wissahickon Valley park in Philadelphia. If you consider it a *separate* park from Fairmount park, it makes this top 10 list in its own right. If you consider Wissahickon Valley park and Fairmount park to be one park, then there is absolutely no competition, it’s head and shoulders above anything else on the list.
Marymoor Park is getting its own light rail station and has several cycling connections already. Also, where’s the love for Washington Park Arboretum and Green Lake park in Seattle?
"Sir, ("with all due respect ") there is no way possible that you actually left Belle Isle Park , ("an island park/Biggest island park in America ") off of your list". "Because Belle Isle Park fits every aspect of your criteria of best parks". "They used to have a Zoo ("one of the oldest in the U.S"), the have trails, a nature center, an aquarium, A mini beach, & Ect. "Plus it connects to the best Riverwalk in America". "So, you should really look into Detroit’s parks , including River rouge Park" ."And perhaps you will add them to your next list".
I’m not sure if it’s actually in the park but there is a golf driving range at least adjacent to Fairmont park in Philly. I think that’s a good land use since a couple dozen people can play simultaneously on the equivalent to one golf course hole. And you can get your golf in cheaply. Of course you need a club but I only own a driver.
I’m from San Diego and my kids ask to go to Balboa Park all the time. It really has everything but I wish it had more food options.
T Movile park is also accessible by ferry!
"you don’t get to choose which teams you love" sure you can, you can choose to not give a fugg about sports teams.
As a Philadelphian, it pains me to admit that I think Central Park is nearly perfect, by far my favorite urban park. Fairmount Park is a close 2nd but it’s actually so big you forget you’re in the city. The thing I like about Central Park is you never completely lose sight of the city.
I can understand your reasoning for not including Boston Common, but being a Bostonian, it hurts my pride. 🤣.
As someone who lives in Philadelphia, I don’t find Fairmount Park that great. The problem is that it is intersected by so many big streets and highways that are hard or impossible to cross. And they make it very noisy. For example, there is not pedestrian crossing with traffic light on the entire Kelly drive from Boathouse Row up to East Falls. You can’t even cross around Girard Avenue, even though there are stairs leading down. Kelly drive is also a 4 lane street and cars always drive substantially over the 25 mph limit (most drive 40/50), so it is extremely loud along the Schuylkill River Trail.
Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC, with the Mall as an extension? The Park starts just behind the Lincoln Memorial and extends up the Rock Creek Valley, includes the National Zoo and then up into Maryland where it is part of the MD National Park and Planning Commission. I can feel lost here.
I moved from NYC to San Diego, so I can speak to Central Park and Balboa Park.
Central Park is definitely deserving of the #1 spot, especially during autumn colors or spring cherry blossoms.
Balboa Park is good too, but it’s not as well built out as Central Park. I explored pretty much all of Balboa Park over the course of a year. My observations:
– Very touristy along El Prado and the museums, as you stated.
– You can actually see some Cherry Blossoms in late January / early February near "Bea Evenson Fountain" (it’s a handful of trees, nothing like NYC)
– My favorite spot in the park is near there, across an overpass to "Desert Garden" and "Rose and Cactus Gardens"— you can see roses in early May
– I also like the western side of the park along Banker’s Hill, where there is a nice view of the city on the southern end of Balboa Drive
– Aside from that, most of the park will be taken up by the San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park Golf Course, or Naval Medical Center
– There are some canyons to explore (at your own risk) between Park Blvd and Florida Drive, but I’ve seen and been yelled at my homeless people there
– East of Florida Drive, there are some elevated canyons that are safer, near Morley Field
– Inspiration Point has some nice buildings and statues, but there isn’t too much going on there
Overall, due to the lack of foliage, Balboa Park just feels smaller than Central Park. Having dense trees in Central Park makes it easier to feel lost in nature. But I liked Balboa Park for the nice weather, views of the city, and airplanes overhead.
Ah, yes. Balboa Park in San Diego, where you can relax to the soothing sounds from car traffic racing up and down State Highway 163 all day and all night, year-round.
I live in San Diego – a block from the park, actually – and I don’t find myself using it much. I like to bike, and there are no designated biking trails. All of the streets are designed primarily for cars. I don’t walk through the park much either. After living in the Twin Cities and experiencing what a well-planned park system can do to encourage walking and cycling, Balboa Park just doesn’t measure up.
What about memorial park in houston it’s the best and i
SO glad you mentioned Forest Park in St. Louis. I’m from St. Louis, and lived all over the world and can say that it is one of the best parks I’ve ever visited. Not only does it contain so many FREE world-class cultural attractions, but it is HUGE and the landscaping is just beautiful. I love how different and equally gorgeous it is during each of the 4 seasons.
As someone from the Twin Cities, breaks my heart that we didnt make it on this list but i agree with your comment. Great park system. Just not one great park that stands out. The best one is probably Como Park since it has the most attractions and amenities. A zoo, lake, golf course, and conservatory. All other parks within the twin cities are strictly just the park with no other attractions.
I’ve been to (almost) all the places on this list. I have to say the only miss was Parc Mont Royal in Montreal, which would be Top 5 for sure (edit: I see it’s at 16th, as per your comment, which still seems a titch low, to say it doesn’t stand out, when it is a literal mountain, is sorta funny).
For parks generally, the city I visited that probably takes the cake in North America is…Guadalajara – if you can believe it. Many parks, Alcade downtown for water, Agua Azul for museums, Colomos is a giant forest you can get lost in, and not to mention the whole city is surrounded by large conservation areas/national parks.
Do this for world parks. Where does gardens by the bay in Singapore rank
As a st louisan myself, you’ll be happy to know that I walk through forest park all the time and I’m never encumbered by a golf course. The park’s walking trails are pretty well laid out to give people plenty of space.
That being said… I feel like the collapse of st louis urbanization deserves its own video. The city was so great in the early 1900s and we had one of, if not the best light rail systems in the world.
So much beautiful urban architecture and so many beautiful urban homes.
Now I am reminded every day of what could have been if we didn’t bulldoze the city for interstates
Golden Gate Park is soooo beautiful. Love visiting it when I visit my in-laws.
Hi! This is more a question, but I wonder if you have any content on Buses vs. Rail (apart from the World Cup). I found another video on Bus Rapid Transit for example from some transport economists who seemed bus-biased. Different solutions could be appropriate in different settings, but I wonder how you think about the tradeoffs and relative merits of these two systems?
For example, as a Bay Area resident, I was encouraged by our representation in your video on the largest urbanist improvements in terms of bus ridership, while BART still seems to lag behind comparable systems. Do you think there is a stronger case for marginal improvements in one versus the other? Thanks!
I"m a resident of San Diego, and my girlfriend and I regularly spend time in Balboa Park. It is accessible by bus on both the east and the west side, and there are many places, especially on the west side, where one can relax and not be a part of the hurly-burly. The Organ Pavilion houses the largest outdoor organ in the world. The Zoo of course is not far from there, and there are many museums that can be visited. If that makes it touristy, so be it.
Where was Memorial or Hermann in Houston?
Yeeeee twin cities getting a stand out recognition for having a good ass park system. Not having it be a single park is what makes it so good!!
I don’t usually do this, but so many questions in the comments, so…here were the next ten:
11 Lincoln (Chicago)
12 High (Toronto)
13 Boston Common
14 Washington (Portland)
15 Zilker (Austin)
16 Mont-Royal (Montreal)
17 Lake (Milwaukee)
18 City (New Orleans)
19 Governors Island (NY)
20 Piedmont (Atlanta)
Stanley Park #1.
Seattle has enough Great Urban Parks to justify its own video. First and foremost–which at first glance isn’t even a ‘park’–is the Burke Gilman Bike Trail. It hooks up with a bike/ped trail from downtown and goes twenty-seven miles to the foothills of the Cascade mountains. It goes by several huge parks (Magnuson, Gasworks, Matthew Beach and so on). There are as many as 100,000 users on the Trail in a single day. In each ‘corner’ of the city are 100 acre+ parks: West Seattle, Seward Park, Magnuson, and Discovery Park. All four fit you criteria except rail transit. The UW campus (500+ acres) could even qualify (see Google Images for the UW cherry blossum trees–so beautiful in the spring that people get married there). Finally, there is the Freeway Park, built literally over the I-5 in the middle of downtown. And for a tiny urban oasis, it is tough to beat "The Waterfall Garden" in the Pioneer Square area. Oh My God, I failed to mention the best: Green Lake, which also hosts as many as 100,000 users in a single day! (Honorary mention: Schmidt Park inWest Seattle. 100 acres of old growth forest in the middle of a city!
FOREST PARK IS GOATED
As a San Diegan I have to say I am deeply disappointed with the placement of Balboa Park so high on this list. If anything I thought it would be a dishonorable mention haha. I am fortunate to live in close proximity to the park and I still find it essentially useless as means of escaping the city. It does not function as a park for actual residents. The eastern side is dominated by golf courses and the park is broken up by a literal highway running through it. It is essentially a tourist trap overrun with parking lots and massive roads, although the museums are nice sometimes.
Golden Gate Park and Stanley Park are my favorite parks on the west coast and I think they are much more accessible and enjoyable to be in.
When I was a San Diego local, I did love Balboa Park, but it does largely fail the ‘get lost in nature’ test. It’s got much more of an extended ‘plaza’ feel. San Diego is a very car-oriented town, and I think people tend to drive outside of the urban area for their nature (or they go to the beach).
glad to be one of several visitors on this awesome website : D.