America's prettiest parks

New York City's Central Park may be the nation's best-known urban park, but the country abounds with others that are uniformly as beautiful. So we went in investigate of the loveliest parks in the United States, eliminate the nation's uber-popular national parks – which host a predictable 275 million visitors a year – in favor of homegrown local parks. 

The Huntington   

Pasadena, Calif.

With the financial crash came tighten belts at many of the nation’s parks. Not so at The Huntington, a non-profit association that just exhausted $6.8 million renovates its century-old Japanese Garden.

Golden Gate Park

San Francisco

Visitors find a home where the buffalo roam at Golden Gate Park, a 1,000-acre oasis that ranks as one of the United States' most well-liked parks with 13 million visitors per annum.

Town Square Park

Anchorage, Alaska

Town Square Park may not be a immense place to spend time through the winter -- if you like frigid temperatures and ice skating -- but during the summer there’s nothing like it.

Mackinac Island State Park

Mackinac Island, Mich.

You could effortlessly lose yourself in this scenic Great Lakes Park. More than 80 percent of Mackinac Island -- nearly 1,800 acres -- is within Mackinac Island State Park, with 70 miles of roads and trails for hiking, bicycling, horseback riding and carriage tours.

Public Garden

Boston, Mass.

Visitors who wander along the colorful pathway of Boston’s Public Garden get a free pass to the past. The park, founded in 1837, is America’s first community botanical garden.

Forsyth Park

Savannah, Ga.

Stroll, jog, picnic under the massive live oaks in Forsyth Park and don’t be surprised if it all looks a little familiar. This Savannah landmark is a popular movies locale, used in the film Forrest Gump, surrounded by others.

Bernheim

Clermont, Ky.

You might call Bernheim the park that whiskey built.  His huge arboretum and do research forest was found by Isaac W. Bernheim, a German migrant who made his fortune in the distillery business and gave the 14,500-acre park to the people of Kentucky as a gift.

Central Park

New York City

No list of pretty parks would be total without the granddaddy of them all, Manhattan's Central Park. Wooded pathways, flowering gardens, green meadows, cool forest and quiet lakes offer respite from the high-octane world of downtown Manhattan, which is the main cause the 843-acre greenbelt was recognized more than 150 years ago.