I have talked to many people who say and read many websites that claim Stanley Park is the largest urban park in North America. This is false, and I will prove it.
Below is a list of urban parks in North America larger than 1000 acres (the size of Stanley Park) that others have sent to me.
- South Mountain Preserve (Phoenix AZ) – 16,283
- Rouge Valley Park (Markham ON) – 11,600
- Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge (New York City NY) 9,155
- Fairmount Park (Philadelphia PA) – 8,900
- Forest Park (Portland OR) – 5,090
- Mission Bay Park (San Diego CA) – 4,235
- Griffith Park (Los Angeles CA) – 4,107
- Nose Hill Park (Calgary AB) – 2,785 acres
- Wascana Centre (Regina SK) – 2,325
- Rockwood Park (Saint John, NB) – 2,200 acres
- Chapultepec Park (Mexico City) – 2,100
- Oldman River parks system (Lethbridge AB) – 1,865
- Rock Creek Park (Washington, DC) 1,754
- City Park (New Orleans LA) – 1,500
- Presidio (San Francisco CA) 1,480
- Canyon Lakes Project (Lubbock TX) – 1,450
- Wilderness Park in (Lincoln NE) – 1,450 acres
- Forest Park (St. Louis MO) – 1,370
- Bays Mountain Park (Kingsport TN) – 1,300
- Lincoln Park (Chicago IL) 1,208
- Great Kills (New York City NY) – 1,200
- Balboa Park (San Diego CA) 1,158
- Van Cortlandt Park (New York City NY) 1,146
- Golden Gate Park (San Francisco CA) 1,013
- Stanley Park (Vancouver BC) – 1,000
As you can see, not only is Stanley Park not the largest park in North America, it isn’t even the largest urban park in Canada. In fact, it isn’t even the largest urban park in western Canada.
BCers can, however, rest assured knowing that Stanley Park may be the largest urban park in British Columbia.
Amazing how people love to spread falsehoods without verifying their accuracy.
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You have a point there. Maybe Stanley Park is “the largest park that will never grow and is surrounded by urban area”. I guess it might be something to be proud of.
Stanley Park isn’t very big. But Vancouver has an impressive 11% of its total area devoted to parks, the most in Canada. That’s something much better to be proud of Vancouverites. You can’t compete on size with sprawling cities with land to waste like Edmonton or Ottawa. Do you know how big Ottawa’s total area is now that it merged with the surrounding county? It’s not a fair fight.
Actually, Lethbridge has dedicated 16% of its land to parkland, so Vancouver doesn’t come in first there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethbridge#Sports_and_recreation
Wikipedia is where I read that Stanley Park was the 3rd biggest city owned park in North America. I live here and I have never heard
anyone talk about this (or “spread rumours”) like you’re saying. It’s right downtown, you can literally walk from an office tower to it
within 15 minutes and within 2 minutes of Denman st. Rush hour traffic sits through it
on the way to and from North Van.
It’s as urban as you can get, just like
Central Park and Golden Gate Park. I was just in San Francisco, and no one talked to me about Presidio Park (of which I don’t know anything about); only about how Golden Gate Park is bigger than Central Park etc.
And the guy was born and raised in SF, so it’s not like he wouldn’t know about it’s
(Presidio) existance. It seems to me that when they are talking about the biggest “urban” parks, thay are talking about the ones literally within blocks of
the downtown core or major urban area (which would incude ALL of Manhattan, as that little area alone is far more urban than Regina, Calgary or Edmonton will probably ever be).
I haven’t heard of most of those parks on your list; I doubt they are used nearly as much or by as many people as any of those like Central Park or Golden Gate Park etc.
or Golden Gate Park. These parks are used
Oh. I hadn’t heard you were the clearing agent for urbank park sizes. Sorry about that.
Edwin and Percy Warner Parks are twin adjacent parks in downtown Nashville which total 2684 acres.
Actually, I think, very few of the parks in your list are URBAN parks. However, I will agree with you that Stanley is not the largest URBAN park in NA or even Canada. As a tour guide, taking tourist through Stanley Park, I would proclaim it as the World’s largest URBAN park.
But it is very beautiful and you can’t really blame Vancouverites for claiming it is the largest. After all Yankees have been claiming the US of A is the biggest, best, greatest, country in the world for years, yet everyone knows it isn’t.
Is Stanley a natural park? Well, yes, as much as any park can be. What with the building of trails, scenic outlooks, etc. Natural in that the trees have not been planted by man. Yes, they were, at one time, logged off, but they regrew without replanting.
Someone noted that Stanley is city owned. It isn’t. The land is owned, like all land in Canada, by Ottawa, ie; Federal Gov’t. It is rented, by the city of Vancouver for $1.00 per year.
Also, for those of you who have visited Stanley, when you enter Stanley, along the SEAWALL, you don’t enter from the city. On the Notrh side you enter from Devonian Harbour Park and on the South from English Bay Park.
I have never seen someone get upset and be emotionally affected by false information about park sizes. Is this called Park envy?
Actually, Stanley Park isn’t even the largest urban park In Greater Vancouver. Pacific Spirit Regional Park near UBC at 1885 acres isn’t technically part of Vancouver (located on the University endowment lands) but it’s administered by the GVRD and it’s completely surrounded by urban areas or water (UBC, Vancouver, Richmond).
One more for your list
Irishtown Nature Park, Located in Moncton NB
2200 acres
Charles
Project coordinator
City of Moncton
Poor Forest Park getting overlooked in all of this. Well, I guess it was mentioned in the original list. Either way I am damn proud to be able to walk along city streets in NW Portland, head up a handful of blocks and be at one of many entrances to the HUGE, natural and beautiful Forest Park. I mean if you can get lost on one of the many trails of a park, that says something.
I was in Vancouver recently and experienced Stanley Park. Yeah it was nice, yeah it had some great views, but honestly it was too trimmed, too landscape/ front yard like. I wasn’t as impressed as maybe I should have been. But yeah its pretty big.
Now what about the smallest park in the world. Does Portland, Oregon still take the gold on that one with Mill Ends Park? It is all of 2 ft diameter with a total area of 452 square inches you know.
just curious. oh and I love Portland. =)
ummmm, is it just me or does kim really have some sort of contempt for vancouver? case in point, the pacific spirit park (ubc) park debate, where you contradict yourself blatantly. you said that it’s not surrounded by development, implying that it wouldn’t be considered an urban park. so by the same logic, stanley park would not be considered an urban park either. and for the record, pacific spirit park is most definately surrounded by urban uses (residential, some commercial, and ubc-institutional) along the majority of its perimeter. i never comment on these things, and i always hate how they devolve into “who’s is bigger” matches, but kim, your tone is just so ridiculously snooty and toxic. it’s taking me back to 3rd grade: “NO, my mom said it was NOT the biggest park, and YOU’RE WRONG, and I’M RIGHT and YOU STINK.” and so on and so forth. therefore i really don’t feel bad making this kind of comment. and i’m sure the response (if this even gets posted) will be an angry and sarcastic freak-out.
Only because the previous commenter said it was.
I was born and raised in Vancouver (59 years old today)and I have seen most of the parks on your list as I have been in 7 provinces and 48 states. I have never “bragged” about the size of Stanley Park – only its beauty. It is, in my humble opinion, the most beautiful “urban park” in NA. That is something to brag about!
Burns Park in North Little Rock, is 1600 Acres. Please include it in your list.
“erik said: I have never seen someone get upset and be emotionally affected by false information about park sizes. Is this called Park envy?”
In my opinion the park sizes are not that important, I’d rather see a list of the most beautiful parks and Stanley Park would be in the top 10.
RE: “Below is a list of urban parks in North America larger than 1000 acres (the size of Stanley Park) that others have sent to me.”
Thank you for posting them.
Burns Park in North Little Rock, is 1600 Acres. Please include it in your list.
Again, this all depends upon your definition of “urban”. Franklin Mountains Park in El Paso, TX, while technically a state park, lies entirely within city limits and covers over 24000 acres.
Just to note, British Columbia is about 26,000 square miles larger than Texas…… Just saying…
Wooo, go Nose Hill!
Well, perhaps we need to mention Edmonton’s river valley park system. At 18,000 acres of land it’s sizable, and the most natural and undeveloped river valley of any major city in the world (land development in the valley was ceased when the valley was fully declared parkland in the early 1900′s) Add in the cities 11,000 acres of fields, and the additional Reserved parkland, and yes there are 22 different parks, BUT they are all directly connected. Each is given a different name because access points are restricted by the no development rule. All of the parks are operated by the city. The parkland does not include provincial and federal parkland which is operated on the river valley outside of city limits. The park runs for 48 uninterrupted kilometers, and over 100 if provincial and federal land is added to it.
Stanley park may not be the largest, but I would argue that it is one of the most beautiful. Boardered on three sides by ocean, surrounded by mountains, and unlike most city parks, largely undeveloped except for trails and very restricted road access.
Considering that Vancouver is the most expensive city in north America, and the third most in the world, cost of a home is over 1 million on average, that is one of the most valuable pieces of land in the world. Also unlike many city parks in north America it was not built on the site of a former city dump, it has always been what it is donated by Lord Stanley for the enjoyment of all. Some trees in the park are over 1000 years old. So yeah not the largest, but still something to be very proud of.
Dont cast stones Lethbridge girl. Ive been to you city on several occasions, and there is nothing there that can hold a flame to the beauty, and majesty of Canada’s west coast. It’s why it is considered to be one of the most beautiful places on earth by people from all over the world, and why it has consistently placed I the top three most livable places on earth for the past 15 years.
Read the comments above regarding’s Edmonton’s park.
Stanley Park has not always been in the state it is now. It was clearcut at one point.
Oh yeah one more interesting fact… Stanley Park is unique in that it is a part of a rare ecosystem. Namely the most northern rain forest in the world which extends from Richmond, to Squamish and the entire of Vancouver island.