Where do you go when you feel like you absolutely have to get out of the city? Sometimes it’s better to look within: the park. They’re there, the big, green oases in every corner of American urbanity. But if we’ve worked for a long time in one city, it’s easy to ignore the park, to become jaded, to sniff at the simple pleasure of a stroll through its grounds as a touristy activity that’s below us (true metro denizens that we are). But next time you hit overload, don’t go making big plans for an escape to the 'burbs or beyond. Simply grab a book, walk down the street, and rediscover the charm of relaxing under the spread of an elm that is itself in the shadow of skyscrapers, the charm of escaping by staying right where you are.

If you’re in a Captivate Network market, you’re probably near one of what the CEO of the American Society of Landscape Architects tells USA Today are the best parks in the nation.

Labels: Architects, escape, Landscape, park