sapiens

Do you have a favorite park? City, state, provincial, national, or otherwise? Describe it. Tell us one your memories of the park. Why is it special to you?
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I have many childhood memories of weekends in Wyalusing State Park. The park sits on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. We car-camped there in the Spring and Summer. In the mornings, my sister and I could choose what little box of sugar cereal we wanted from the variety pack. We only got the variety pack when we camped. At home we were stuck with grape nuts or shredded wheat. Choosing a cereal was serious business. Some mornings, my father would make hopple popple for breakfast. During the day, we would bike around the surrounding roads. I remember careening down a hill and slamming right into a telephone pole. We always brought our canoe with us. I remember the semis passing us on the state highways, the canoe catching gusts of air and blowing us all over the road. If the weather was good, we would lazily canoe down a tributary of the river. We stopped on sand bars and sat in the sun for hours reading. At night after dinner, my father would cook Jiffy Pop. Jiffy Pop on the propane stove was special camping event. I always found the expanding aluminum exciting. I slept in a tent with my sister, and my parents slept in a nearby tent my mother sewed herself.

I value my childhood memories camping in parks and I regret that I haven't found similar parks to take my kids to.

snowy

I have a few.

Our community has a lot of nice parks; I've been to all of them. Different parks have different features, and so I have different favorites for different things. For instance, Avery Park has nice fields, great picnic shelters, and a beautiful rose garden, but its playgrounds suck; they're incredibly unsafe, with one playground having the end of its slide about 3.5 feet off the ground, with no significant cushioned surface underneath. It's my favorite all-around park in this area, though, because despite the bad playgrounds, there is an awesome interactive sculpture for kids to play on, and a decommissioned steam engine that's been modified for safety for them to enjoy.

Willamette Park is another favorite. It has some really nice fields, a disc golf course, a great playground, and some enjoyable trails along the river. There are also places with bank access, where you can go stick your feet in the river. I never liked the blackberry canes that seem to be everywhere in this park before this last summer, but then I took some kids berrypicking there, and everyone had such a great time that I've changed my mind.

We've also got a variety of smaller parks inside the city. I live close to a few of these; the closest is a block and a half away. They're favorites of mine because we use them so frequently. When friends feel like tossing a disc around, we just head to the closest park.

As for state parks, I really enjoy the Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor. It consists of a string of waysides on the southern Oregon coast. Oregon State Parks and Recreation: Rates We were out there last week, and had a great time climbing Cape Ferrelo. My other favorite, also on the coast, is Hug Point. Oregon State Parks and Recreation: Rates There is an old wagon road cut through the rock of one of the points at the park. It's one of my favorite places to visit.

My favorite national park would have to be Zion. Zion National Park (U.S. National Park Service) We've talked about going back, and I'd like to. There are a lot of hikes at Zion I didn't get to do when I visited. It's so beautiful, and there are places there that are extraordinarily serene. It is one of my favorite places on Earth.

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

SabrinaFair

My city has a series of gorgeous Olmstead-designed parks--my favorite is Cherokee Park. It's in my neighborhood, full of hills and valleys, and has some gorgeous trees. I've spent many an hour there, sitting around, walking around, playing around. My favorite memory from the park is going there for a date when I was a date. We spent the evening on a picnic blanket, watching a sunset and having a long conversation. Although we didn't work out, I'll never forget that feeling of being young, excited, and happy. That's one of the many reasons why Cherokee will always be special to me.

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BadNick

Well I like most parks, but one of my early fond memories is when my mom & dad took my little brother and sister and me to this little inner city park in Philadelphia called Wissinoming Park; we went quite often. The entire park was just one whole large city block. My nickname as a little boy was mókus which means squirrel in Hungarian, so this park has that extra little connection for me since we always called the park "Mókus Park" because it was filled with seemingly friendly squirrels that would eat right out of your hand. We didn't own a car so the trip via trolley and bus was like a little family expedition.

I also have fond memories of another quite large Philadelphia park, Wissahickon Park (~1800 acres). So exploring that park as a kid with my dad leading the expedition has a lot of nice memories. Later in life I took my daughter to this park many times for hikes as she was growing up (now she's 28) and more recently my two sons (12 & 13yo) like to hike around on the trails and even swim in a couple "secret" swimming holes.

As a kid I spent many summers in Toronto and my cousins lived a couple blocks from High Park, which is a large, really great park on the southwest side of Toronto...we had many awesome times playing in that park and it was there that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police first captured me after we "terrorized" a parade of old ladies enjoying the trail of flowers....a hoser, eh?

As an adult I have some awesome memories and adventures while visiting the Grand Teton/Yellowstone Parks...but this is in mid Spring when the whole park is just awakening from the Winter and before the park even opens for the tourist season...I think I would hate to see these parks overcrowded/overrun with tourists so I have no interest in going there at other times....early to mid Spring is the best time here.

lostgirl

Oh yes! Golden Gate Park, San Francisco! It's nice because I live 2 blocks from it.
Next up would be Memory Grove in SLC. Part of the movie Stephen Kings 'The Stand' was filmed there. Lots of good memories.

tisonlyi

I really, really like Seurasaari in Helsinki.

Google Maps

It's not particularly big, but it's very wooded, overrun with precocious red squirrels (who'd mug you for a nut if they could only work out how to use knives and wear leather jackets, i think) has a fun little museum in there and is just, generally, a really nice place to walk around and relax in.

I think the bridge over a little watery expanse to get onto the island kinda mentally prepares you for the division of park from city, makes it a little more special.

Oh yeah... I forgot the nudist beach... haha!

Nordic types. Love it.

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Grancey

Smoky Mountains National Park. I have so many good memories of fun times. One is staring at me from the wall: a picture of my dad, my brother and myself on the sky lift in Gatlinburg when I was 7. Those were good times.

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Magpie_1

My favourite park in this town is Ken Reid park. I haven't been in years but have always wanted to go back. It's an awesome place to do some photography.

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snowy

My university's master plan was done by the Olmsted Bros., and one of the reasons I love my campus so much is because it's so park-like. There are hundreds of trees, and what's interesting is the variety: it is as if we have our own arboretum on campus.

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

xuvio38

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highthief

Rondeau on the north shore of Lake Erie is up there for me.

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lostgirl

If I was talking about a National park, and not just a city park, it would be Zion national park in southern Utah. Followed very closely by Yosemite. Those are out of the ones I have been to. I am sure there are more wonders out there to behold.

ametc

Firstly.. Big Sur's Burns State Park. It's right by the ocean and so gorgeous.






Then, there's Balboa Park here in San Diego. Beautiful architecture and wonderful gardens.






EDIT: woah.. the pictures were bigger than my browser showed me. How do you resize them? >_<

alicat

I've lived in Michigan my whole life but far and away, my heart belongs to Pinery Provincial Park, Grand Bend, Ontario, Canada. Out of my 37 yrs., I have probably camped there 24 summers and my father many yrs. with his parents and siblings before I was ever thought of.

It is huge, gorgeously forested, with beaches (and 1 campground, Dunes) on Lake Huron. There is an awesome river to canoe on and plenty of peaceful trails to hike. We have mostly tent camped in the "Riverside" part which is closest to the camp store and, yes, on the river (if your in the full service section for trailers, then you're elbow to elbow). As we all get older, time between camping trips get further apart, this year we are going for the first time in 3 yrs. That is partly due to how packed it is, you have to make reservations almost 6 mths. in advance now. We will always love Pinery and go back though.

About four years ago our family discovered the most perfect lake in the middle of the eastern Upper Peninsula of MI. It's maybe about a 20-30 acre, perfectly oval lake, surrounded by pine forest with NO developement, just the campground. You have to drive on a seasonal dirt road for about 5 min. before you get to the campground, which only has about 20 campsites (1st come, 1st serve), outhouses and water pumps. Absolute heaven. Peace, serenity and beautiful nature. Forgive me for not giving out the name of this haven.

Unfortunately, with the recent years gas prices and the U.P. wildfires, we haven't been able to get back yet. Major bummer.

As for National Parks: Of what I've been to, Yellowstone hands-down. Toss up between Zion or Bryce canyons for second (Grand Canyon doesn't count in my eye's, it's a "world" park/wonder).

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oliver9184

Yes, Balboa Park in San Diego. I loved watching the airliners coming in to land at sunset, glowing orange with sunlight even after you can't see the actual sun anymore.