Ten Cities Celebrate National Walk to a Park Day Featuring 16 Events Nationwide

Today, communities across the country are celebrating National Walk to a Park Day, a day to recognize the vital role of parks and to bring attention to the disparities in park access that exist today. Supported by Trust for Public Land (TPL), ten cities from across the U.S. are hosting signature events to engage residents and bring attention to the essential roles local parks play in creating strong, healthy communities.

Parks are essential to community health, environmental resilience, social connection, and economic growth. However, there is a significant park equity divide in the U.S., with 1 in 3 Americans lacking access to a park within a 10-minute walk of home. This includes 28 million children who do not have access to close-to-home park spaces. National Walk to a Park Day is an opportunity to explore our local parks, celebrate the critical role that green spaces play for all of us, and advocate for increased access across the country.

"Only​ 63% of Angelenos have a park within a 10-minute walk of home. And many of the parks we do have don't have an easy access point for people who are walking, biking or rolling," said Kathleen Johnson, Executive Director at Los Angeles River State Park Partners. "We're excited to bring together community members on National Walk to a Park Day to raise awareness of how important it is that everyone has access to a quality, accessible park close to home."​

This year, 16 events hosted by TPL partners nationwide will engage residents in their local parks. These events build upon technical assistance and partnership between TPL and cities. From a neighborhood walk in LA to highlight the need for community voices in securing better, safer access to LA River parks, to a participatory budgeting session in Denver, CO to a lively "Party in the Park" in Cleveland, OH, and a family-friendly picnic in Lexington, KY - these events underscore the importance of connecting people to parks.

"National Walk to a Park Day is an important time to celebrate the parks we love and raise awareness about the park inequities we see across the country", said Bianca Clarke, Parks Initiative Lead and Associate Vice President, 10-Minute Walk® Program, Trust for Public Land. "Too many people lack access to the opportunities and benefits that parks and greenspaces provide. We're excited to join with cities and partners across the nation to spotlight local parks through fantastic events."

Founded in 2017 by Trust for Public Land, National Walk to a Park Day commemorates the launch of the 10-Minute Walk® Campaign, which set the ambitious goal that everyone in the U.S. has access to a high-quality park or green space within a 10-minute walk of home. Today, over 300 mayors across the country have made the "10-Minute Walk" commitment to strengthen their parks systems and bring the benefits of parks to their communities. National Walk to a Park Day is an important annual moment to raise awareness of the benefits of the outdoors and encourage communities nationwide to support more public parks and green spaces.

About Trust for Public Land

Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,420 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $94 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 9.7 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.

About 10-Minute Walk® program

The 10-Minute Walk program, a Trust for Public Land award-winning national program, is supporting city leaders in efforts to close the park equity divide so that every resident has access to a quality park or green space within a 10-minute walk of home. The program calls on U.S. mayors to address cities' most pressing needs around health, resilience, environmental protection, economic development, and community building through parks, and provides the resources needed to create and support parks that drive equitable, healthy, thriving communities. Learn more about the program, and current work to investigate and implement high-impact policies and best practices for accelerating parks development, at www.10minutewalk.org.