An official website of the Classification: regional parks
Defines attributes of a regional park
Regional parks, typically 200-500+ acres in size, are areas of natural or decorative (for example, perennial and annual plants) quality for nature-based outdoor recreation such as picnicking, boating, fishing, swimming, camping, and trail use. Access to water bodies suitable for recreation – such as swimming, boating, and fishing – is particularly important. Most regional parks are adjacent to lakes, rivers, or streams.
Regional Parks at-a-glance
Existing: 46 regional parks
Planned: 1 regional park; 1 regional park boundary adjustment
Search: 6 regional park search areas
Regional Park attributes
Use: Regional parks accommodate a variety of outdoor recreation activities. The recreational quality of a regional park is measured by the presence or absence of outstanding natural areas and the ability to provide for a wide range of natural area-related recreational opportunities. Regional parks and park reserves offer important amenities and services to regional trails, including providing places for trailheads, picnicking, parking, restrooms, and drinking water.
Service area: 3 - 5 communities
Site attributes: Regional parks are located in natural settings contiguous to water bodies or watercourses whenever possible. They contain significant regional natural habitats including lakeshore, rivers, streams, wetlands, uplands, forests, prairies, and groundwater recharging areas, as well as lands which could be restored to provide critical habitat and access to nature.
Size: Regional parks can range from 100-1000 acres of land area; a typical regional park in a rural/suburban area is between 200-500 acres, while a regional park in an urban area is typically closer to 100 acres. A regional park should be large enough to accommodate a variety of activities, preserve a pleasant natural experience, and buffer activity areas from each other and from surrounding areas.
Site location: Regional parks are located where high-quality natural systems occur or have potential to occur. Examples include land with restoration potential, areas where there is a demonstrated regional recreation need, particularly next to lakes and rivers, and/or where growth is expected to occur.
