MENLO PARK, Calif. • It’s the best of both worlds: outdoor green spaces and vibrant big cities. Sunset magazine has recommendations for 10 places to enjoy springtime in the West without leaving civilization.
- In San Diego, there’s Balboa Park, with its Botanical Building and Lily Pond, plus museums and gardens.
- In Sacramento, William Land Park offers green space, big trees, the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town.
- In Seattle, Carkeek Park has six miles of walking trails, as well as views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.
- Golden Gate Park is a must-see in San Francisco, home to a bison herd, the Conservatory of Flowers and a Japanese tea house.
- In Phoenix, South Mountain Park/Preserve offers 16,000 desert acres and a program called “Silent Sundays,” where one Sunday a month, the park’s main Central Avenue-access roadways are closed to motorized vehicles.
- Denver’s Central Park at Stapleton features 80 acres of woods, flowers, a playground - and a view of the city skyline.
- Forest Park is one of Portland’s outdoor gems, with 5,000 acres of woods, trails and scenic views of the mountains.
- Albuquerque Biological Park includes an aquarium, the Rio Grande Botanic Garden, a zoo and Tingley Beach, where you can fish or rent pedal boats or bikes. Last fall, the park opened a four-acre Japanese-themed garden.
- Sunset magazine says Los Angeles’ “wildest oasis” is Griffith Park. The park’s trails are still recovering from a fire last year, but the park is also home to the Griffith Observatory and Autry National Center. The magazine recommends the park’s Trails Cafe as a “rustic yet four-star concession.”
- The jewel of Vancouver is Stanley Park, where you’ll find woods, gardens, waterfront and cricket being played in the park’s Brockton Oval.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

To get you in a happy, outdoor mood here’s Daniel Boone’s “Beautiful Sunday” from 1972.