Best parks located in major urban areas?

Houston has Buffalo Bayou Park, Memorial Park, and Hermann Park. All 3 centrally located with paved and crushed crock running trails/paths. Buffalo Bayou Park is along the bayou, wooded, lots of wildlife literally in the shadow of downtown. Memorial park circles memorial golf course but mostly wooded and wetlands about to open. Hermann Park circles Hermann Park golf course and the zoo. All 3 are beautiful, varying amounts of vegetation and BBP is actually fairly hilly for flat as a pancake Houston.

Cohomology wrote:

What are the best parks, weighted towards running quality, located in (and not just on the outskirts of) cities with a population of 500,000 +?

Madrid has some nice ones. I like the Mortalaz Park in the Marroquina area.

I should clarify that I mean the types of parks that are very convenient to get to if you happen to be staying downtown for a weekend and don't have access to a car and want to avoid a longish trip on public transport.

I'm not sure if that rules out any of the other places mentioned so far, but it does rule out, say, the wissahicken park, which is technically in philly but certainly doesn't count in this scenario.

Wash Park in Denver. A little over two miles from downtown connected via a bike path. Once in Wash Park, a nearly 3 mile crusher fine(pea gravel) outer loop and a 2.5 mile paved inner loop. Filled with runners/walkers on the outer loop and cyclists, etc on the inner loop.

How about golden gate park park in SF. Lots of dirt paths, paved paths too. Just look out for the many drug- addled and mentally ill homeless within.

I once had a crazed transient come out of the bushes swinging a 4ft heavy wooden dowel like a wannabe ninja. Praise God for easy mobility.

As for mont royal in Montreal, I recall a beautiful dirt trail that climbed steadily up to the lookout point. Felt great going up, didn’t enjoy the descent as much, only because I hate running downhill. Are there other dirt trails there, or just the long climb?

Chapultepec Park in MX City actually has 3 sections, but when I lived there I did most of my running in the most famous and well-visited section. The Park there reminded a lot of NYC's CP and was pretty nice considering the alternative of running on the city's crowed streets. But, if you waited until Sunday mornings when they closed down Paseo de la Reforma and other major avenues to traffic the whole city felt like one big park.

Rock creek park Dc

C and O park dc

Luisen Park Mannheim Germany

Olympic Park Seoul

World Cup Park Seoul

Han River Park Seoul

The Tiergarten is really nice. I’ve had some pleasant runs in El Retiro in Madrid and, although I don’t recall any unpaved trails, Vondelpark in Amsterdam.

In D.C., we have a couple parks that might fit. Rock Creek Park has some good trails, although they’re a bit outside of downtown. The National Parklands around the Mall, Tidal Basin, and Haines’s Point are very accessible, and offer decent running, although parts can get crowded.

Class of oh wine wrote:

As for mont royal in Montreal, I recall a beautiful dirt trail that climbed steadily up to the lookout point. Felt great going up, didn’t enjoy the descent as much, only because I hate running downhill. Are there other dirt trails there, or just the long climb?

There are relatively flat mileish in length dirt loops branching off from the main climb at about a mile in, at about 2.5 miles in, and at the top, so you can really break up the downhill descents by adding those. There's also a smaller trail running parallel to the main one for the last 3rd or so of it that has rolling hills instead of the steady climb.

Running along the main trail to the top, then taking the smaller trail and hitting all the loops on the way back is a 9 mile run and my go to route. You're only on the main trail for 2.5 miles on the way back so you don't have too much repeated scenery and the downhill stretches are nicely spaced.

Stanley Park

The Phoneix Park in Dublin is the best I’ve seen. You can do 9 mile loops all on grass.

Stuttgart has many great parks including one with marked 5, 10, 15 and 21km loops.

The Pratar in Vienna (venue for Ineos1:59) is amazing. Lots more paths than just the straight up and back that Kipchoge used.

The Botanical Gardens in Sydney is another. Quite hilly but amazing views of the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. Did a race there five years ago and actually said “oh wow!” at one point during the race - and I’d lived in Sydney for 20 years at the time.

Agreed on Phoenix Park in Dublin. I also like Balboa Park in San Diego.

I haven't run downtown in a lot of big cities, but I think Lakefront Trail in Chicago would be pretty hard to beat. It's not confined to a single park but passes through many parks, and it simultaneously gives great views of Chicago's downtown buildings and skyline as well as Lake Michigan.

Hourunner wrote:

Houston has Buffalo Bayou Park, Memorial Park, and Hermann Park. All 3 centrally located with paved and crushed crock running trails/paths. Buffalo Bayou Park is along the bayou, wooded, lots of wildlife literally in the shadow of downtown. Memorial park circles memorial golf course but mostly wooded and wetlands about to open. Hermann Park circles Hermann Park golf course and the zoo. All 3 are beautiful, varying amounts of vegetation and BBP is actually fairly hilly for flat as a pancake Houston.

Houston's Memorial Park ranks only behind NYC's Central Park in the number of runners each day who use it and is twice as big as Central Park. It is currently undergoing a major renovation, and I do mean major. A local guy donated $80 million for it and I am not sure how many more millions are being spent. To the existing 3-mile jogging trail extensive new walking and running paths are being built. It still has the crappy old asphalt track but a new all weather one is going to be built. 2 new man-made lakes are being built. The golf course recently underwent a massive renovation and PGA Tour events will begin being held there next year. A huge land bridge will be built to span Memorial Drive. Multiple new bathrooms are being built all over the area. Multi-phase sports complexes are being built and will have a number of outdoor sand volleyball courts, baseball and softball fields and multi-use fields. I think the tennis center might be moved over by the fitness center.

Forest Park in Portland, OR. Rainforest with an awesome 30-some mile trail. Best urban place I have run.

When I’m in Singapore I always make an effort to get out to the MacRitchie Reservoir Trail... Really nice and quiet for about one 10K loop, or two, if you can deal with Singapore’s humidity...

https://www.thewanderblogger.com/macritchie-reservoir-park-singapore/

Obviously, when in Singapore for the first time everybody wants to run around the Marina Bay... Not really a park but awesome views and if done early in the morning not so crowded!

I’m not sure there’s a bigger park closer to a downtown than Kings in Perth. Turn at the end of St. George’s terrace, go about 400 meters and you’re in a bigger park than Central. Mostly wild, too with trails instead of pavement.

bbc wrote:

Stanley Park

^This.