Minneapolis placed seventh in the Forbes list of America’s Best Cities For The Outdoors, noted for its commitment to parkland and activities for every season, such as sailing and summer concerts, trail walking and cross country skiing. Forbes recognizes Minneapolis for devoting 15 percent of its land to parks and including such diverse attractions as a wildflower garden, bird sanctuary and 29 outdoor skating rinks. San Francisco was ranked first.
Minneapolis has more than 150 parks, 22 lakes and 43 miles of walking, biking, running and rollerblading trails. The Mississippi riverfront, Minnehaha Creek and tree-lined neighborhood sidewalks provide welcoming, scenic outdoor spaces any time of year.
The city’s 6,400 acres of parkland are managed by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. The high per-resident investment in Minneapolis parks put it ahead of bigger cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
Forbes used data from the Trust for Public Land, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency to determine rankings. Factors cited in the study included percentage of parkland, spending per resident, recreation facilities, air quality, precipitation and weather extremes. Minneapolis’ parkland makes up 15.3 percent of city land, while the average for the top 40 is 10.5 percent.
See the entire Forbes article on America's Best Cities for the Outdoors.
June 17, 2008