Denver’s got some pretty good parks — 20th in the nation, says report

Megan Arellano

Jun. 06, 2016, 7:31 a.m.

Kids enjoy the view on a hill in Stapleton's Central Park. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

stapleton; central park; denverite; denver; colorado; kevinjbeaty — Kids enjoy the view on a hill in Stapleton's Central Park. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

How many times have you sat down in a Denver park and said, “Ah, this is the best.” Well, sorry, you’re wrong, it’s actually the 20th best, according to the Trust for Public Land’s latest ranking of the country’s 100 largest cities.

Once you factor in acres, funding, amenities and programming, Denver does pretty well when comparing park systems. Minneapolis took the top spot though — 95 percent of city residents live within 10 minutes of a park.

Not many of Denverites are cut out from the fun, either. Over 75 percent of every age and income group lived within a 10 minute walk to a park, according to TPL’s analysis.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Denver’s park system earned its highest marks when it comes to playgrounds and dog parks. For every 100,000 residents, there are 1.4 dog parks. And there are 39 playgrounds for every 100,000 residents.

Denver’s worst score came from our lack of basketball courts: only 16 for every 100,000.

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