Cities Offering the Most Public Parkland Per Household

• 6. San Diego, Calif.

  Adjusted City Area: 205,918 acres

• Parkland: 48,405 acres
• Number of households: 493,446
• Parkland per 1,000 households: 98.1 acres

The city of San Diego manages more than 340 parks and over 40,000 acres of open space, including the popular Balboa Park, Mission Trails Regional Park, and Mission Bay Park. Balboa Park, at 1,200 acres, has an array of botanical gardens, museums, theaters, trails, and a world-famous zoo that houses over 3,700 animals. San Diego Park and Recreation Department holds a variety of recreational activities and programs for all ages, including public golf courses, swimming courses, bi-weekly dances, and therapeutic services. The city recently announced the opening of new trails on Carmel Mountain and Del Mar Mesa.

• 7. Honolulu, Hawaii

  Adjusted City Area: 36,329 acres

• Parkland: 12,006 acres
• Number of households: 127,394
• Parkland per 1,000 households: 94.2 acres

It’s hard to think of Honolulu without the sea, beaches and palm trees, but the city boasts some great urban parks as well. Honolulu’s Department of Parks and Recreation oversees 290 public parks on approximately 5,200 acres of land. Apart from common park activities, some of Honolulu’s city parks allow people to fly model airplanes, launch rockets and sail model boats.

• 8. Irvine, Calif.

  Adjusted City Area: 42,308 acres
• Parkland: 8,508 acres
• Number of households: 90,513
• Parkland per 1,000 households: 94.0 acres

Home to a bunch of high-rated public schools, Irvine was ranked as the sixth best U.S. city to live in by CNN Money in 2012. It certainly deserves the honor in terms of its public parkland resources. Numerous community and neighborhood parks make up about 8,000 acres of the city’s green space. William R. Mason Regional Park, one of the largest parks in Irvine, offers areas for picnicking, hiking, softball and volleyball. Most uniquely, the city of Irvine has an Open Space Preserve to protect natural wildlands. The preserve, consisting of a wide variety of native habitats, is home to wild animals like deer, bobcats, mountain lions, coyotes and endangered birds. Most areas of the preserve are accessible to the public.

• 9. Phoenix, Ariz.

  Adjusted City Area: 327,729 acres

• Parkland: 49,254 acres
• Number of households: 532,210
• Parkland per 1,000 households: 92.5 acres

Located in the heart of the Salt River Valley, the city of Phoenix hosts parks of city, county and national levels within city limits. There are 41,000 acres of mountain parks, desert preserves, and 182 city parks open to the public in Phoenix. South Mountain Park, for example, is one of the largest urban parks in the world, at 16,500 acres, where 51 miles of primary trails have been made for horseback riding, hiking and mountain biking. The city has planted 90,000 trees in parks and along city streets, ranging from aleppo pine to palo brea. Residents can access an interactive tree inventory website to find out more about certain types of tree and where in the city they can be located.

• 10. Aurora, Colo.

  Adjusted City Area: 98,788 acres

• Parkland: 10,367 acres
• Number of households: 126,677
• Parkland per 1,000 households: 81.8 acres

The city of Aurora has 97 developed parks, including Great Plains Park, Arapahoe Park and Cherry Creek State Park, the venue of the 8th World Youth Day in the year 1993. Playgrounds and seasonal spray parks are featured in several parks. Outside of normal recreational activities, the city hosts community welfare programs from time to time. The creational center within Expo Park, for instance, offers free after-school meals for all kids 18 and younger from Monday to Friday.