Looking south from New York City's Central Park. Ajay Suresh / Wikipedia / CC BY 4.0
By Richard leBrasseur
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered humans' relationship with natural landscapes in ways that may be long-lasting. One of its most direct effects on people's daily lives is reduced access to public parks.
<p>
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html" target="_blank">guidelines</a> urging Americans to stay at home whenever feasible, and to avoid discretionary travel and gatherings of more than 10 people. Emergency declarations and stay-at-home orders <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._state_and_local_government_response_to_the_COVID-19_pandemic" target="_blank">vary from state to state</a>, but many jurisdictions have closed <a href="https://thedyrt.com/magazine/local/campground-closures-list-covid-19/" target="_blank">state</a> and <a href="https://parks.arlingtonva.us/2020/04/parks-recreation-working-to-keep-people-healthy-and-safe/" target="_blank">county parks</a>, as well as smaller parks, playgrounds, beaches and other outdoor destinations.
</p>
<p>There's good reason for these actions, especially in places where people have <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/26/us/southern-california-beaches-coronavirus-heat/index.html" target="_blank">spurned social distancing rules</a>. But particularly in urban environments, parks are important to human health and well-being.</p><p>As a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Richard_Le_Brasseur" target="_blank">landscape architect</a>, I believe that <a href="https://www.olmsted.org/the-olmsted-legacy/frederick-law-olmsted-sr" target="_blank">Frederick Law Olmsted</a>, the founder of our field, took the right approach. Olmsted served as general secretary of the U.S. Sanitary Commission during the Civil War, and his knowledge of contagious diseases informed his visions for his great North American urban parks, including <a href="https://www.centralpark.com/" target="_blank">Central Park</a> in New York, <a href="https://www.lemontroyal.qc.ca/en" target="_blank">Mount Royal Park</a> in Montreal and Boston's <a href="https://www.emeraldnecklace.org/park-overview/" target="_blank">Emerald Necklace</a> park system. In my view, closing parks and public green spaces should be a temporary, last-resort measure for disease control, and reopening closed parks should be a priority as cities emerge from shutdowns.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a867752aaff56a08500b385a86246215"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lm4UD1eOTSI?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
Making Healthy Places
<p>Olmsted was born in 1822 but became a landscape architect rather late in his career, at <a href="https://www.olmsted.org/the-olmsted-legacy/olmsted-theory-and-design-principles/olmsted-his-essential-theory" target="_blank">age 43</a>. His ideas evolved from a diverse and unique set of experiences.</p><p>From the start, Olmsted recognized the positive effect of nature, noting how urban trees provided a "<a href="https://loa-shared.s3.amazonaws.com/static/pdf/Olmsted_Trees.pdf" target="_blank">soothing and refreshing sanitary influence</a>." His "sanitary style" of design offered more than mere decoration and ornamentation. "Service must precede art" was his cry.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMxMzY0Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MDAxMzU4NH0.7HO1vlHxHZXowNrxFdabiUNPhc4bmcc4N-ct7Mq37bI/img.png?width=980" id="7dac7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="56aeeebf247c3a9dd09d5fc14e90805c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Olmsted's 1874 plan for the U.S. Capitol grounds in Washington, DC. Architect of the Capitol
<p>Olmsted came of age in the mid-19th century, as the public health movement was rapidly developing in response to typhoid, cholera and typhus epidemics in European cities. As managing editor of Putnam's Monthly in New York City, he regularly walked the crowded tenement streets of Lower Manhattan.</p><p>At the U.S. Sanitary Commission during the Civil War, Olmsted led efforts to improve sanitation in Union Army military camps and protect soldiers' health. He initiated policies for selecting proper camp locations, installing drainage and disposing of waste, ventilating tents and preparing food, all designed to reduce disease. And in 1866 he witnessed adoption of New York's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Health_Bill" target="_blank">Metropolitan Health Bill</a>, the first city law to control unhealthy housing conditions.</p>Antidotes to Urban Stress
<p>The insights Olmsted gained into connections between space, disease control and public health clearly influenced his landscape architectural career and the design of many urban park systems. For example, his design for the interlinked parks that forms Boston's <a href="https://ramboll.com/-/media/files/rgr/lcl/bgi_final-report_mit_boston_20160403.pdf?la=en" target="_blank">Emerald Necklace</a> foreshadowed the concept of green infrastructure.</p><p>This system centered on stagnant and deteriorated marshes that had became disconnected from the tidal flow of the Charles River as Boston grew. City residents were dumping trash and sewage in the marshes, creating <a href="https://landscapes.northeastern.edu/water-sanitation-and-public-health-in-boston/" target="_blank">fetid dumps that spread waterborne diseases</a>. Olmsted's design reconnected these water systems to improve flow and flush out stagnant zones, while integrating a series of smaller parks along its trailways.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzMxMzY1Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMzA0MTM4Nn0.NDri69ZuP5S1-FFERwACr1MFhgb4eqhxc4DkXq8OLR0/img.png?width=980" id="4f7fc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="15936574ba99f0927e4a509d7a6b3694" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Boston's Emerald Necklace park system today. Emerald Necklace Conservancy / CC BY-ND
<p>Olmsted also designed <a href="https://www.6sqft.com/in-1894-the-first-bike-lane-in-america-was-built-on-brooklyns-ocean-parkway/" target="_blank">America's first bike lane</a>, which originated in Brooklyn, New York's Prospect Park. Of the tree-lined boulevards in his design for Central Park, Olmsted said, "Air is disinfected by sunlight and foliage. Foliage also acts mechanically to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/04419057.2013.836557" target="_blank">purify the air by screening it.</a>"</p><p>In all of his urban parks, Olmsted sought to immerse visitors in restorative and therapeutic natural landscapes — an experience he viewed as the most profound and effective antidote to the stress and ailments of urban life.</p>Parks in the Time of COVID-19
<p>Today researchers are documenting many health benefits associated with being outside. Spending time in parks and green spaces clearly benefits urban dwellers' <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2007.09.009" target="_blank">psychological, emotional and overall well-being</a>. It <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10030913" target="_blank">reduces stress</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916591231001" target="_blank">improves cognitive functioning</a> and is associated with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s40471-015-0043-7" target="_blank">improved overall health</a>.</p><p>In my view, government agencies should work to make these vital services as widely available as possible, especially during stressful periods like pandemic shutdowns. Certain types of public green spaces, such as botanical gardens, arboretums and wide trails, are well suited to maintaining social distancing rules. Other types where visitors may be likely to cluster, such as beaches and playgrounds, require stricter regulation.</p><p>There are many ways to make parks accessible with appropriate levels of control. One option is stationing agents at entry points to monitor and enforce capacity controls. Park managers can use timed entries and parking area restrictions to limit social crowding, as well as temperature screening and face mask provisions.</p><div id="c0c52" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="defaeca6d251c3f521f316ea78e9a454"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1258546078162419712" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The weather's going to be awesome this weekend. Heading to your local #WaStatePark? Be like mascots Bagley and Ruth… https://t.co/BwCzquGx75</div> — WaStatePks (@WaStatePks)<a href="https://twitter.com/WAStatePks/statuses/1258546078162419712">1588895742.0</a></blockquote></div><p>For example, in <a href="https://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/sps_covid.html" target="_blank">New Jersey</a>, many public parks have reopened for walking, hiking, bicycling and fishing while keeping playgrounds, picnic and camping areas and restrooms closed. They also have limited parking capacity to 50 percent of capacity.</p><p>In Shanghai, <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3075224/coronavirus-parks-and-tourist-attractions-reopen-china-tries-get" target="_blank">China</a>, the government recently reopened most parks and several major attractions, including the <a href="http://en.csnbgsh.cn/sites/chenshan/chenshan_en/index.ashx" target="_blank">Chenshan Botanical Garden</a> and the <a href="http://www.smartshanghai.com/venue/2401/Shanghai_Zoo_shanghai" target="_blank">city zoo</a>. Entry requires successful screening and online reservations, and visits are limited to a maximum of two hours.</p><p>Technologies such as GPS tracking and biometrics can set a precedent for future green space interaction. Residents could sign up for reserved time slots and log into apps that monitor their entry and distancing behavior. Some Americans might be put off by such technocentric means, but officials should be clear that making visitation easy and safe for all is the priority.</p><p>There will be challenges, especially when people <a href="https://www.wxyz.com/news/coronavirus/dnr-state-park-closures-likely-if-people-dont-follow-social-distancing-rules" target="_blank">flout social distancing rules</a>. But urban parks and nature offer plenty of benefits that are especially important during a pandemic. I believe that finding ways to enjoy them now in a manner safe for all will be well worth the effort.</p>
<p>
<em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/parks-matter-more-than-ever-during-a-time-of-sickness-something-frederick-law-olmsted-understood-in-the-19th-century-137882" target="_blank">The Conversation</a></em><em>.</em>
</p><script async="async" data-counter="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137882/count?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" id="theconversation_tracker_hook" src="https://theconversation.com/javascripts/lib/content_tracker_hook.js" type="text/javascript"></script>From Your Site Articles
- National Parks to Start Partial Reopening - EcoWatch ›
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Herb Dehler / EyeEm / Getty Images
By Jeff Turrentine
Years ago, my wife and I decided to while away an idle summer afternoon in her Texas hometown by driving our infant daughter to a neighborhood park. We pulled into the empty lot, liberated the baby from her car seat, and made our way somewhat warily through this public yet noticeably deserted space toward its small, forlorn playground. If the grass had ever been green there, it wasn't any longer; the punishing South Texas sun had dried it into a brittle yellow hay. There were few trees next to the playground equipment, and no shade of any kind to be found, so any metal or even plastic surface was searingly hot to the touch. The slide was a nonstarter. I flinched and had to let go immediately when I grasped the chains of the baby swing. The water fountain didn't work. We lasted all of five minutes before returning to the car.
<p>As much as I'd like to forget it, this experience came rushing back to me when I read <a href="https://theconversation.com/god-save-us-greenspace-oriented-development-could-make-higher-density-attractive-126204" target="_blank">an article</a> this week in <a href="https://theconversation.com/us" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. In it, coauthors Julian Bolleter and Cristina E. Ramalho, an assistant professor and a research fellow at the University of Western Australia, respectively, make the case for something they call "<a href="https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030296001" target="_blank">greenspace-oriented development</a>." The concept is similar to the much more well-known urban planning concept of <a href="http://mitod.org/whatisTOD.php" target="_blank">transit-oriented development</a>, which holds that communities reap substantial social, economic, and environmental benefits when they place commercial and residential development within <a href="https://theconversation.com/god-save-us-greenspace-oriented-development-could-make-higher-density-attractive-126204" target="_blank">walking distance of transportation hubs</a> such as train stations, bus stops, or light rail stations. Bolleter and Ramalho believe that adding green space to this equation can boost these benefits significantly. They also think it has the potential to do more. By creating better urban parks, they say, cities can curb <a href="https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-and-effects-of-urban-sprawl.php" target="_blank">urban sprawl</a> by giving residents what they often claim to be seeking when they flee cities for the low-density suburbs and exurbs: a connection with nature.</p><p>"Over the last century, in all regions of the world, the expansion of urbanized land has outpaced the growth of urban populations, resulting in unprecedented urban sprawl," Bolleter told me when I asked him to elaborate on his theory. "We need to work with the underlying desire for suburban living, around the world, in attempting to deliver density in these cities; otherwise our efforts will just waste a lot of time and money."</p>
<p>Encouraging more transit-oriented development is important, Bolleter believes. (The optimal urban green space, in his view, should be no more than a 5-minute bike ride or 15- to 20-minute walk from public transit.) But if cities want to maintain or increase density and stimulate <a href="https://www.nlc.org/resource/urban-infill-brownfields-redevelopment" target="_blank">urban infill</a>, they have another powerful tool at their disposal to make density more attractive to people living in city centers and inner-ring suburbs. In the article, the authors suggest "redesigning parks to increase the naturalness, ecological function and diversity of active and passive recreational uses, which in turn can support higher-density urban areas."</p><p>That means thinking of urban and suburban parks as much more than big public lawns with a playground, a few picnic tables, and maybe a soccer field (if you're lucky). It means thinking of them as "multifunctional, mutable, and messy," in Bolleter's memorable phrasing — authentic oases from city life, where winding paths through forested landscapes lead to burbling creeks or meadows filled with native wildflowers; where you might stand a real chance of spotting a beaver or a fox; or where you might happen upon a group of neighbors tending a bounteous community garden. It means creating actual opportunities for <em>escape</em> into nature — for the kind of spirit-restoring connection with trees, water, and wildlife that all humans need.<br><br>Bolleter, who's a licensed landscape architect in addition to being the codirector of the University's Australian <a href="https://www.audrc.org/" target="_blank">Urban Design Research Centre</a>, is quick to list the many benefits that come with such connection. Regular immersion in the sort of green settings that he champions can vastly improve people's quality of life, he says, "first, by promoting physical activity; second, by reducing exposure to stress factors and providing an environment for physiological and mental recovery that delivers coping resources to deal with life; third, by promoting social interaction and a sense of community; and fourth, by providing a healthy, comfortable urban environment. Overall, these pathways lead to multiple health and well-being benefits that play out across an individual's life span."</p>
<p>Additionally, if people living in city centers and dense suburbs had greater access to nature, so the theory goes, they might be less inclined to drift farther and farther away in search of their own slice of manicured, green lawn. Winners in this scenario include not only the residents who are healthily and happily communing with nature, but also municipalities that are able to <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2018/11/cities-can-save-17-trillion-preventing-urban-sprawl" target="_blank">more efficiently distribute</a> their services and resources. Another winner, of course, is the environment: Limiting sprawl means reducing car dependence (and the <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180305150601.htm" target="_blank">tailpipe emissions</a> and traffic jams that come with it), preserving <a href="https://www.citylab.com/environment/2018/02/mapping-the-conflict-zones-between-sprawl-and-biodiversity/553301/" target="_blank">habitat and biodiversity</a>, and even decreasing risks for <a href="https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/research/2010/100818PijanowskiLandscape.html" target="_blank">flooding and runoff-related water pollution</a>.</p><p>People's preferences for the suburbs and exurbs don't automatically denote a rejection of what more densely populated urban areas have to offer. "The problem has been that we generally haven't delivered density in a form that resonates with suburbanites," Bolleter says. Green space–oriented development can help correct that problem by providing people already living in dense communities, or cities and suburbs that want to<em> increase</em> their density, with "a multifunctional, communal backyard" capable of "replacing many of the functions typically found in suburban gardens, such as the ability to grow food, have pets, and entertain and relax in private—and in nature."</p><p>Just don't forget the shade trees, please. And the working water fountains. Especially in Texas.</p>
<p> <em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/parks-are-good-they-can-and-should-be-better" target="_blank">onEarth</a>. </em><em></em></p>Related Articles Around the Web
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Visit Any National Park for Free This Saturday to Celebrate 25th National Public Lands Day
21 September 2018
Adventure
Muir Woods, which costs $10 for entry, will have free entry on Sept. 22. m01229 / Flickr / CC BY-NC 2.0
If you're stuck for plans this weekend, we suggest escaping your city or town for the great outdoors.
This Saturday marks the 25th National Public Lands Day, organized by the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF).
<p>
The annual event is known to be the nation's largest single-day volunteer effort and is one of the four days in 2018 where you can
<a href="https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/fee-free-parks.htm" target="_blank">visit any national park for free</a>—even at parks that normally charge an entrance fee.
</p><p>
<span></span>Additionally, if you decide to <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/npscelebrates/public-lands-day.htm#CP_JUMP_5653218" target="_blank">volunteer for a work project</a> this Saturday, you will also receive a fee-free day coupon to be used on a future date, the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/npscelebrates/public-lands-day.htm" target="_blank">National Parks Service</a> (NPS) said.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="df425" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="438COO1576662694"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1043156396060106753" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Visit national parks, forests, and monuments for free tomorrow-Saturday, Sept. 22-in honor of the 25th National Pub… https://t.co/SwI2voKbsG</div> — LandSearch (@LandSearch)<a href="https://twitter.com/landsearchapp/statuses/1043156396060106753">1537542840.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
<a href="https://www.neefusa.org/npld-snapshot" target="_blank">At last year occasion</a>, roughly 169,000 people rolled up their sleeves at more than 21,000 sites, generating $16.7 million in volunteer hours.
</p><p>
The volunteers planted trees, removed trash, repaired structures and habitats and more, providing much-needed help in chipping away at the national park system's
<a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/infrastructure/deferred-maintenance.htm" target="_blank">$11 billion</a> backlog of repairs.
</p><p>
Last year, the Interior Department moved to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/national-parks-entrance-fees-2559617590.html">more than double</a> the entrance fees at the busiest parks to address maintenance and other costs, but backed away after widespread <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/national-parks-fees-2511615668.html">public backlash</a>. Ultimately, NPS <a href="https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/entrance-fee-prices.htm" target="_blank">decided</a> to increase entrance fees for the 117 parks that charge admission between $5 to $10 for annual passes.
</p><p>
Fittingly, the theme of this year's National Public Lands Day will focus on the "resilience and restoration" of our public lands.
</p><p>
"Every day, natural disasters and
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/extreme-weather">extreme weather</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change">human activities</a>, and a host of other factors take their toll on our public lands, threatening the health and wellbeing of the people and wildlife who depend on them," NEEF <a href="https://www.neefusa.org/npld" target="_blank">said</a> on its website. "Public land managers, volunteers, and others who steward these special places work tirelessly to restore these areas, make them more resilient to future threats, and ensure that people and wildlife continue to enjoy them for years to come."
</p><p>
<span></span>The annual event, which always falls on the fourth Saturday of September, is held in cooperation with seven federal agencies and more than 250 state, county, city, university and school partners.
</p><p>
Stuck on where to go? Visit the NPS
<a href="https://www.nps.gov/findapark/advanced-search.htm" target="_blank">website</a> where you'll have more than 400 national parks to choose from. Also check out the NEEF <a href="https://www.neefusa.org/event-locator" target="_blank">website</a> to find volunteer events near you.
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODY0NzIwNS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxOTQ3OTYzNX0.ukl2h0Sd8pJpR9NKf057d_hLvhcFqqDQk1raxL6PBNU/img.png?width=980" id="31e7a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ca5bfba2253c715657d7e179c1a2dab4" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">National Parks Service</small>
</p>
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Jason Mark
By Jason Mark
Normally, a writer writes to reach an audience. But what I'm about to tell you, I want you to keep just between us, OK? Whatever you do, don't email this article to your friends, don't share it on Facebook, and please don't post it on Twitter. Because I'm going to let you in on one of the San Francisco Bay Area's best-kept backpacking secrets, and I want to keep it that way.
<p>The place I'm going to tell you about is big enough, and still wild enough, to accommodate a week-long backpacking trip. It's a landscape that's textbook California savanna—a terrain of mammoth black oak and valley oak that, in the springtime, explodes into wildflower fireworks. And—best of all—it's a place that you can get to in a relatively painless two-hour drive from San Francisco or Oakland. </p><p>I'm talking about Henry Coe State Park, the largest state park in Northern California. At 88,000 acres, it's about 25 percent larger than Point Reyes National Seashore, but it hosts a tiny fraction of the estimated 2.5 million visitors who travel to the national seashore every year. It's also stupid-close to the mish-mash of freeway mazes and sprawl that make up most of the Bay Area. As the crow flies, the park is a scant 35 miles from the Apple headquarters in Cupertino. </p><p>All of which makes Henry Coe the perfect escape. Once you get there, you'll feel far away—even if you're still close to home.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODIyMTI5NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzODIxOTM4MH0.7nyxfIVUVqHR_hATGp-Nz2u2tInUiVwNc-_TCx7OrZo/img.jpg?width=980" id="40fa3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9ab24715324b0cef0a9fb8ae9c41aec3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Jason Mark</small></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODIyMTI5Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNzYxMDA5MX0.Kc_ve4r6BG0U7cdOnfQdVHEIPYz04DKeF9y4xqsX4c4/img.jpg?width=980" id="579b5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d1dd6d64dff33b13acc184a7ca42dc41" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Jason Mark</small></p><p>I should say that if you're the kind of backpacker who hungers for epic alpine vistas or the sharp beauty of the desert, you may at first be disappointed by Henry Coe. There's little grandeur there. No big peaks or stunning buttes, no rough rivers or knock-you-on-your-ass tall trees. It's a place of subtle charms. With its broad sweeps of tall grass and swooning oak trees, Henry Coe feels like it's ripped from a John Steinbeck novel, the epitome of Old California. The place is merely pretty—but after weeks stuck in the city or the 'burbs, pretty is more than enough.<br></p><p>At a good half mile above sea level, this northernmost outpost of the Diablo Range has a lushness unusual for Californian savanna. Gray pines are scattered among all of the oak trees. There are ponderosa, including a few giants that seem like they've been transplanted from the kneecaps of the Sierra Nevada. Coyote Creek, one of the park's main arteries, manages to flow even through the dusty days of August and September. </p><p>Then there are the flowers—my God, the flowers. My field guide, <em>Wildflowers of Henry Coe State Park</em>, features 67 species. If you time your visit for late winter or spring, you'll be gobsmacked by the chaos of colors: blue lupine, pink and red paintbursh, football field lengths of orange poppy, crimson columbine, yellow fiddlenecks arching their heads above the grasses like herds of giraffe. There's purple everywhere: purple owl's clover, purple shooting stars (two different types), purple clarkia. </p><p>You've got a good chance of seeing some wildlife. Henry Coe's usual critters are common: deer and coyotes, flocks of turkeys zigzagging through the understory. If you behave yourself (that is, if you're practiced at being still) you might catch something more elusive. Once, I spotted a red fox, jumping through the beam of my head lamp. On another trip, I came across a bobcat, right in the middle of the trail. During a New Year's solo trip, I saw a feral hog above Coit Lake. It was the size and color of a wine barrel, tearing up a hillside with the speed of an NFL linebacker. </p><p>If you really want to play with solitude, Henry Coe will demand some work. Anything within a day's hike of the visitor center at Coe Ranch is reliably busy with day-trippers, crews of college backpackers, and mountain bikers a'shredding. (Many of the park's trails are old ranch roads, broad and with a brutal grade, which makes them popular with the two-wheelers.) But if you go farther afield, it gets lonely quick enough. Few folks make it out to the Orestimba Wilderness, a 22,000-acre state wilderness punctuated by the impressive chert outcropping of the "Rooster Comb," where miles-long groves of blue oak cast their candelabra arms skyward. I doubt more than a dozen people a year make it to the old corral below Bear Spring. </p><p>Did I mention that if you live in the Bay Area, Henry Coe is ridiculously easy to get to? The proximity is the point. Often as not, the backyard beats the bucket list destination. I've backpacked through Henry Coe nearly 10 times, and its lack of pretension has grown on me. At this point, it seems like an old friend.</p><p>I'd encourage you to start planning your route. Just remember: You didn't hear this from me. </p><p><strong>Follow in the Writer's Footsteps </strong></p><p><strong>Where:</strong> <a href="https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=561" target="_blank">Henry Coe State Park</a>. Take California Highway 101 to the city of Morgan Hill and exit at East Dunne Avenue. Follow Dunne Avenue eastward, and follow the park signs up into the hills. </p><p><strong>Best Time to Visit:</strong> Spring is the most popular season for visiting Henry Coe, on account of the explosions of wildflowers. If you want to beat the crowds, consider visiting in winter, when the grasses are typically green and lush and the temperatures still relatively mild. The park can be punishingly hot and dry in the summer, and water difficult to come by. </p><p><strong>Backcountry Hack:</strong> Each spring, the park hosts what it calls "Backcountry Wilderness Weekend," when park staff and volunteers from the <a href="http://coepark.net/pineridgeassociation/" target="_blank">Pine Ridge Association</a> organize a shuttle system along the old ranching roads to establish a temporary trailhead on the east side of the park, affording hikers and equestrians easy access to the Orestimba Wilderness. Downside: The typically quite-far reaches of the park become packed with people. Upside: It's a good way for families to get to places like the Rooster Comb, which requires at least two days of hard trekking to reach. </p><p><strong>Bring Your Fishing Pole:</strong> If you're an angler, consider bringing your pole. There's good fishing—bass, crappie and sunfish—at Coit Lake and Mississippi Lake. But both lakes are fringed with thick stands of tule reeds, so getting to a good place to cast requires some bushwhacking.</p><p><strong>Pro-tip—Brave the Narrows: </strong>Many backpackers or hikers seeking to get from the park headquarters to the eastern side of the park will avoid the narrow gulch of Coyote Creek marked on the map as "The Narrows" and will instead take the punishing ranching roads up and over the ridges. But if you're a half-experienced trekker, you should brave the Narrows (unless it's after a big rain). Between Poverty Flat Campground and China Hole you'll be rewarded with a sycamore-strung single-track free of mountain bikers. In the spring, the pools between China Hole and Los Cruceros are often filled with various species of duck. </p><p><strong>More Information:</strong> The Pine Ridge Association <a href="http://coepark.net/pineridgeassociation/" target="_blank">website</a> offers more detailed visitor information than the official park site.</p><p><span></span> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/henry-coe-state-park-bay-area-s-best-kept-backpacking-secret" target="_blank">SIERRA Magazine</a>.</em></p>
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The Trust for Public Land has released the third annual ParkScore® index, which analyzes the 60 largest U.S. cities and assigns scores based on three things: acreage; services and investments, based equally on playgrounds per resident and total spending per resident; and access, or the percentage of the population living with a 10-minute walk of a public park.
Minneapolis won top honors as the only city park system receiving a perfect “5 park bench” rating. See the highest-ranking city park systems in the U.S. below.
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“You can't have a great city without great parks,” said Adrian Benepe, senior vice president and director of city park development for the Trust for Public Land. “Parks provide places for children and adults to be physically active, and they serve as community meeting places where friendships are built and a sense of community is strengthened.”
ParkScore utilizes GIS mapping technology and demographic data to calculate how successfully each city meets the need for parks. Also taken into account are physical obstacles and locations of entrances to parks. ParkScore offers free, interactive maps and tools for local leaders such as a park evaluator to site the best location for new parks.
“This year’s ParkScore results show that even outstanding park systems must improve to stay on top. When population grows, more parks and playgrounds are needed, but when city leaders get creative, they can meet the increased demand,” said Peter Harnik, director of the Trust for Public Land’s Center for City Park Excellence.
Fresno again took last place in the 60 ranked cities, earning a “1 park bench” score. Find out your city’s ParkScore.
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