According to a recent ranking of the 100 largest cities and their park systems, Madison sits at number 10 in the nation. The Trust for Public Land was impressed with Madison’s 6,358 acres of parkland, sure, but they really like the fact that, regardless of age or income, access to our city parks is shared pretty much equally by all.
How about some fun Madison park trivia to impress your friends with at your next get together?
- The median size of a Madison park is 4.7 acres
- There are 7.3 playgrounds per 10,000 Madison residents
- We have 4.2 dog parks per 10,000 residents
- The oldest municipal park in Madison is Orton, which was established in 1850
- Our largest park is Cherokee Marsh, with 1,299 acres
- The most popular park (the most visited) in Madison is Warner
The study chose park systems based on the percentage of parkland in the city, the parks’ sizes, how easy it is for residents to access city parks (they used a 10-minute walk as their criteria for this one) and park funding. Milwaukee, by the way, sits at number 27 on the list.
So, which cities ranked in the top five?
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- St. Paul, Minnesota
- Washington D.C.
- Arlington, Virginia
- San Francisco, California
And at the bottom of the list?
- Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Fresno, California
- Fort Wayne, Indiana
Although Madison did well, we can reach the number one spot by adding new parks and providing additional recreation centers.
Whether you are looking for a place to hike, shoot some hoops, launch your boat, let the pooch run free or laze away a summer afternoon on the beach, you’ll find the perfect park for it in Madison.
You can find information on all of the parks in Madison on the City of Madison’s website.
Image of James Madison Park by Richard Hurd/flickr via CC by 2.0
Posted by Jolenta Averill on