The Best Cities For Outdoor Lovers

Being cramped up inside has reignited Americans love of the outdoors.

With large events cancelled, limited capacity of most public spaces, and ambiguous safety, nature is calling. Across the country outdoor equipment like bikes are selling out, and interest in camping is skyrocketing.

But where are the best places to be to take advantage of the great outdoors from your home base?

We examined parks, weather, and other factors to find the cities that have the most to offer in the open air.

The Best Cities For Outdoor Lovers

These 10 cities have the most to offer outdoor enthusiasts. Surprised to see California sweep the top 10 with an astounding 9 cities making the list? Then you don’t know California. The state as a whole has an impressive park system and great weather to boot.

Keep reading to see how we determined the 10 best cities for outdoor lovers— and to see where your city landed.

How We Determined The Best Cities For Outdoor Lovers

We ranked 99 cities on the following factors:

Amount of parks within city limits
State and national parks
Walkability
Weather

First, we examined the parks. We looked at the amount of parks within city limits from the Trust For Public Lands. We then examined the number of state and national parks. The more parks, both in the immediate vicinity and a short jaunt away, the better for enjoying nature.

We used WalkScore’s ratings. The more walkable, the better. While parks are all well and good– what better for someone who loves being outside than not having to be boxed up in their car to run an errand?

Finally, we looked at weather. Some states have incredible national and state parks. However, there weather makes it tricky to enjoy all-year round. We used Wallethub’s ratings.

1. San Diego, California

san

Source: Tomcio77|CC BY-SA 3.1

Parkland: 34.9
Weather: 35
National/State Parks: 339

San Diego is the best city for outdoor lovers. Not only does San Diego itself boast an impressive amount of city park acreage per resident, but they can also take advantage of all the state parks California has to offer. California is 7.5% park, which gives San Diego residents a lot of ground to cover. Bonus? They have great weather to enjoy all the city has to offer.

1. Fremont, California

Source: David Ball|GFDL

Parkland: 106.7
Weather: 27
National/State Parks: 319

Tied for first with San Diego is Fremont, California. Fremont is nestled in the Bay Area and offers prime weather to explore the staggering 106.7 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents.

3. Tampa, Florida

tampa,

Source: jharris407|CC BY-SA 2.0

Parkland: 14.4
Weather: 17
National/State Parks: 284

Tampa is the only non-California state to make the top 10. As Tampa residents no doubt already know, the city has a lot available to lure residents outdoors. That includes beautiful beaches! The city recently opened all parks on May 16th– which means residents can now enjoy all the amenities they have to offer. Of course, if they somehow get tired of that, Florida itself has an impressive 191 state parks worth seeing.

4. Irvine, California

irvine,

Source: Branden Pinney|Public domain

Parkland: 39.1
Weather: 23
National/State Parks: 318

In 4th place, is Irvine, California. Residents of Irvine have great outdoors opptions, including Orange County Great Park. The park’s antique carousel and helium balloon make it something to see. Of course, the real show stopper is its trails that bring you down into Bommer Canyon wind and ancient sycamore trees.

5. Los Angeles, California

los

Source: Nserrano|CC BY-SA 3.0

Parkland: 9.5
Weather: 6
National/State Parks: 342

LA might bring to mind show business and Hollywood, but it has a lot to offer city folks who enjoy escaping into nature. While the city could have more park lands, they make up for it with truly incredible weather. Best of all, they can take a lovely drive with the windows down to California’s world class state parks.

6. San Jose, California

san

Source: Wikepdia|CC BY 2.0

Parkland: 15.8
Weather: 26
National/State Parks: 323

When people say Silicon Valley, they often really mean San Jose. While San Jose is a huge tech center, it is also a city where it’s easy to shut your computer and enjoy the outdoors. Mild weather means even in the winter, residents can enjoy the plentiful greenspaces.

7. Long Beach, California

long

Source: Chensiyuan|CC BY-SA 3.0

Parkland: 6.6
Weather: 15
National/State Parks: 346

Surf’s up! Long Beach is the 7th best city to enjoy the great outdoors. While some say Long Beach has the LA feel due to its proximity with the bigger city, it has charms, attractions, and parks that are all its own. Lucky for Long Beach residents, as of Wednesday the parks and beaches are once again open for walking and swimming.

8. Riverside, California

Source: User:Qwerty510gt;Wikipedia|CC0

Parkland: 11.2Weather: 2National/State Parks: 316

At #8, Riverside’s comparatively low amount of city park acerage kept it from ranking higher. However, sunny, mild weather, decent walkability, and its access to neighboring outdoor areas, mean the city is still primly situated for great times outside.

9. Sacramento, California

Source: Wikipedia|GFDL

Parkland: 10.2
Weather: 11
National/State Parks: 319

Sacremento is the 9th best city for outdoor lovers. No surprise, the capital of California (with the most state parks), also has exceptional parks for its residents!

10. Anaheim, California

Source: (Buchanan-Hermit)|Attribution

Parkland: 7.4
Weather: 4
National/State Parks: 329

Anaheim residents love their parks (and we aren’t referring to Disneyland). Thanks to its parks, weather, and walkability, the city is the 10th best place to be for nature fanatics.

There You Have It, The Best Cites For Outdoor Lovers

California’s impressive amount of state, national, and local parks make it hard to beat. Not many states are 7.5% park like the Golden State. California has over 7 million acres of public land– which is larger than the entire size of a handful of small states. Combine that with mild weather, and it’s cities are a great place to be for an outdoor lover.

Of course, not everyone wants to live in California– and there are plenty of other great cities to enjoy the outdoors (including Tampa!). Take a peak below to see other cities have to to offer.

Best Cities For Outdoor Lovers

Rank	City	State	Parkland	Weather (Lower Is Better)	National/State Parks
1	San Diego	CA	34	35	339
1	Fremont	CA	106	27	319
3	Tampa	FL	14	17	284
4	Irvine	CA	39	23	318
5	Los Angeles	CA	9	6	342
6	San Jose	CA	15	26	323
7	Long Beach	CA	6	15	346
8	Riverside	CA	11	2	316
9	Sacramento	CA	10	11	319
10	Anaheim	CA	7	4	329
11	St. Petersburg	FL	24	40	243
11	Bakersfield	CA	14	2	308
13	Oakland	CA	9	61	348
14	San Francisco	CA	6	57	361
15	Santa Ana	CA	2	23	340
16	Glendale	CA	8	1	314
17	Fresno	CA	5	22	319
18	Hayward	CA	11	28	314
19	Chula Vista	CA	8	33	317
20	Honolulu	HI	34	45	118
21	Orlando	Fl	10	32	240
22	Hialeah	Fl	90.0%	38	268
23	Seattle	WA	9	80	289
24	Jacksonville	Fl	74	76	225
25	El Paso	TX	43	29	140
26	Miami	FL	3	79	277
27	New Orleans	LA	71	64	101
28	Chandler	AZ	23	18	85
29	New York City	NY	4	65	305
30	Atlanta	GA	11	43	115
31	Las Vegas	NV	70	21	66
32	Phoenix	AZ	31	18	78
32	Portland	OR	23	84	262
34	Alburquerque	NM	48	38	79
35	Scottsdale	AZ	124	3	68
36	Las Vegas	NV	26	21	66
37	Aurora	CO	29	74	89
38	St. Paul	MN	16	80	128
39	Anchorage	AK	2,992	86	150
40	Omaha	NE	24	83	122
41	Colorado Springs	CO	24	44	81
42	Cincinnati	OH	22	67	125
42	Philadelphia	PA	6	62	199
44	Henderson	NV	32	3	54
44	Detroit	MI	8	69	158
46	Lincoln	NE	13	49	118
46	Minneapolis	MN	12	84	138
48	Madison	WI	26	83	124
48	Corpus Christi	TX	26	75	140
48	Paterson	NJ	6	56	129
51	Dallas	TX	21	82	145
52	Buffalo	NY	7	99	285
53	Denver	CO	9	74	107
53	Boston	MA	7	98	237
55	Fort Worth	TX	14	34	134
56	Plano	TX	15	45	138
58	Boise	ID	19	30	73
59	St. Louis	MO	11	93	159
60	Chandler	AZ	6	18	85
60	Pittsburgh	PA	11	87	184
62	Arlington	TX	12	38	137
63	Tuscon	AZ	8	18	79
64	Chicago	IL	4	92	220
65	Toledo	OH	11	60	120
66	Austin	TX	22	86	140
66	Kansas City	KS	36	44	62
68	Oklahoma	OK	40	36	73
69	Tulsa	OK	22	33	78
70	Reno	NV	13	32	63
71	Laredo	TX	5	34	140
72	Columbus	OH	18	71	115
73	San Antonio	TX	20	83	134
74	McAllen	TX	3	40	141
75	Lexington-Fayette	KY	14	72	85
75	Lubbock	TX	9	53	137
77	Chesapeake	VA	233	53	58
77	Baltimore	MD	7	91	112
79	Irving	TX	8	83	143
79	Milwaukee	WI	10	95	139
81	Newark	NJ	3	97	130
82	Louisville	KY	23	92	85
83	Greensboro	NC	26	67	70
84	Cleveland	OH	7	87	135
85	Baton Rogue	LA	5	65	83
86	Mesa	AZ	5	23	74
87	Winston-Salem	NC	15	39	64
88	Nashville-Davidson	TN	52	90	84
89	Raleigh	NC	29	85	72
90	Gilbert	AZ	5	18	65
91	Virginia Beach	VA	54	92	69
92	Norfolk	VA	7	72	82
93	Memphis	TN	13	89	92
94	Richmond	VA	9	90	89
95	Charlotte	NC	13	81	67
95	Wichita	KS	12	89	62
97	Indianapolis	IN	13	98	66
98	Durham	NC	10	85	70
99	Fort Wayne	IN	9	97	65

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Author

Kathy Morris

Kathy is the head of content at Zippia with a knack for engaging audiences. Prior to joining Zippia, Kathy worked at Gateway Blend growing audiences across diverse brands. She graduated from Troy University with a degree in Social Science Education.

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