View Full Version : Ranking of largest urban parks in the nation?



Spartan
10-04-2009, 07:46 PM
Does anyone recall the size ranking of the largest urban parks in the nation that someone posted a while ago?

soonerfever
10-04-2009, 10:23 PM
Here's a pretty good list. Don't know if this is what you were looking for or not?

http://www.tpl.org/content_documents/ccpe_100LargestCityParks.pdf

bluedogok
10-05-2009, 08:52 PM
That is overall, not urban parks. I know that none of the ones for Austin would be considered "urban" and I don't think Stinchcomb (NW 50th & Eagle Lane west of Bethany) would be considered urban.

Good list for reference though.

Platemaker
10-06-2009, 12:18 PM
I posted that Spartan... from the 'Thoughts on Downtown Parks' thread.

Here is some interesting trivia regarding park size...

Did you know that OKC has 4 of the 100 largest city parks in the nation?
3 of them are in the top 20!
Of course a majority of the acreage is taken up the lakes... but it's still a fact!

Take a look at Mohawk Park in Tulsa. The majority of it's area is land.

How can we think a measly 70 acres (that's the proposed Central Park PLUS Promenade Park) can possibly be 'world class'?

Most of the Core to Shore plan south of the new I-40 should just be scrapped. That gives us a 390 acre park from Exchange to Shields.... now we're getting somewhere. Blur the line between that new park and include Wiley Post Park and perhaps the land west of that to Western and we have a nearly 600 acre park with a river running through it. That still wouldn't break into the 100 largest but it would be something to be proud of.


<i>P&R</i> Web Extras::June 2005-National Recreation and Park Association
The Largest U.S. City Parks

Rank Park Name City Acres
4 Lake Stanley Draper Park Okla. City, Okla. 9,090
10 Lake Hefner Park Oklahoma City, Okla. 4,440
18 Lake Overholser Park Oklahoma City, Okla. 3,225
20 Mohawk Park And Golf Course Tulsa, Okla. 2,820
64 Central Park New York, N.Y. 840
93 Trosper Park Oklahoma City, Okla. 640


Rank Park Name City Acres
1 Franklin Mountain State Park El Paso, Tex. 24,000
2 South Mountain Preserve Phoenix, Ariz. 16,283
3 Cullen Park Houston, Tex. 11,321
4 Lake Stanley Draper Park Okla. City, Okla. 9,090
5 North Mountain Preserve Phoenix, Ariz. 7,500
6 Mission Trails Park San Diego, Calif. 5,700
7 Forest Park Portland, Ore. 4,836
8 Mission Bay Park San Diego, Calif. 4,600
9 Mountain Creek Lake Park Dallas, Tex. 4,500
10 Lake Hefner Park Oklahoma City, Okla. 4,440
11 False Cape State Park Virginia Beach, Va. 4,321
12 Eagle Creek Park Indianapolis, Ind. 4,279
13 Griffith Park Los Angeles, Calif. 4,171
14 Fairmount Park-Wissahickon Philadelphia, Pa. 4,167
15 Walter Long Park Austin, Tex. 3,802
16 Bidwell Park Chico, Calif. 3,670
17 Ft. Worth Nat. Ctr/Wildlife Ref. Fort Worth, Tex. 3,331
18 Lake Overholser Park Oklahoma City, Okla. 3,225
19 Trinity River Park Dallas, Tex. 3,173
20 Mohawk Park And Golf Course Tulsa, Okla. 2,820
21 Pelham Bay Park New York, N.Y. 2,766
22 Warner Parks Nashville, Tenn. 2,684
23 Los Penasquitos Canyon Pres San Diego, Calif. 2,572
24 San Pasqual Open Space San Diego, Calif. 2,341
25 Steele Creek Park Bristol, Tenn. 2,214
26 Sepulveda Basin Rec. Area Los Angeles, Calif. 2,031
27 Floyd Lamb State Park Las Vegas, Nev. 2,027
28 Rock Creek Park/Potomac Pk Washington, D.C. 1,949
29 White Rock Lake Park Dallas, Tex. 1,873
30 Greenbelt Park New York, N.Y. 1,778
31 Barton Creek Austin, Tex. 1,771
32 Swope Park Kansas City, Mo. 1,769
33 Ft. Harrison State Park Indianapolis, Ind. 1,640
34 Pennypack Park Philadelphia, Pa. 1,618
35 Burns Park North Little Rock, Ark 1,575
36 Beaman Park Nashville, Tenn. 1,500
37 Memorial Park Houston, Tex. 1,498
38 Mt. Airy Forest Cincinnati, Ohio 1,471
39 Hansen Dam Rec. Center Los Angeles, Calif. 1,437
40 Garden Of The Gods Park Colorado Springs, Colo 1,367
41 City Park New Orleans, La. 1,300
42 Forest Park St. Louis, Mo. 1,293
43 Latta Plantation Nature Prsrv. Charlotte, N.C. 1,282
44 North Cheyenne Canon Park Colorado Springs, Colo 1,260
45 Flushing Meadows/Corona Park New York, N.Y. 1,255
46 Anacostia Park Washington, D.C. 1,215
47 Lincoln Park Chicago, Ill. 1,212
48 Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park Baltimore, Md. 1,200
49 Cave Buttes Recreation Area Phoenix, Ariz. 1,200
50 River Rouge Park Detroit, Mich. 1,181
51 Van Cortlandt Park New York, N.Y. 1,146
52 Red Mountain Mesa, Ariz. 1,146
53 Emma Long Park Austin, Tex. 1,137
54 Golden Gate Park San Francisco, Calif. 1,107
55 McDowell Nature Preserve Charlotte, N.C. 1,098
56 Balboa Park San Diego, Calif. 1,048
57 Rochester Park Dallas, Tex. 1,032
58 Olmos Basin San Antonio, Tex. 1,010
59 Belle Isle Park Detroit, Mich. 982
60 Riverfront Park Kansas City, Mo. 955
61 Brown Park Houston, Tex. 902
62 Papago Park Phoenix, Ariz. 895
63 McAllister Park San Antonio, Tex. 856
64 Central Park New York, N.Y. 840
65 Wm T Davis Wildlife Refuge New York, N.Y. 814
66 Shelby Bottoms Park Nashville, Tenn. 810
67 Bells Bend Park Nashville, Tenn. 808
68 Robert H. Hodge Park Kansas City, Mo. 801
69 Tres Rios Phoenix, Ariz. 800
70 Gerritsen Beach Park (Marine) New York, N.Y. 798
71 Hamilton Creek Park Nashville, Tenn. 790
72 Cobb's Creek Park Philadelphia, Pa. 786
73 White Rock Creek Greenbelt Dallas, Tex. 773
74 Bear Creek Canon Park Colorado Springs, Colo 769
75 Leif Ericson Dr. (Shore Pkwy) New York, N.Y. 760
76 Iroquois Park Louisville, Ky. 739
77 Palmer Park Colorado Springs, Colo 737
78 Forest Park Springfield, Mass. 735
79 Delta Park Portland, Ore. 719
80 Bronx Park New York, N.Y. 718
81 Alum Rock Park San Jose, Calif. 718
82 El Dorado East/West Long Beach, Calif. 704
83 Lake Merced Park San Francisco, Calif. 700
84 Keney Park Hartford, Conn. 694
85 Tiffany Springs Kansas City, Mo. 689
86 O'Melveny Park Los Angeles, Calif. 672
87 Cowans Ford Wildlife Refuge Charlotte, N.C. 660
88 Alley Pond Park New York, N.Y. 655
89 Squaw Peak Phoenix, Ariz. 653
90 Druid Hill Park Baltimore, Md. 650
91 Virginia Key Miami, Fla. 642
92 Whitnall Park Milwaukee, Wis. 640
93 Trosper Park Oklahoma City, Okla. 640
94 Midland Boardwalk And Beach New York, N.Y. 639
95 McAlpine Creek Greenway Charlotte, N.C. 638
96 FDR Boardwalk And Beach New York, N.Y. 638
97 River Legacy Parks Arlington, Tex. 634
98 Theodore Wirth Park Minneapolis, Minn. 634

Platemaker
10-06-2009, 12:22 PM
That is overall, not urban parks.

You're mostly right, but a few on that list are still urban parks... Franklin Park in El Paso, for instance, is actually completely surrounded my the city of El Paso.