For all the healthcare travelers who would like to plan travel to places that are considered some of the "greenest" in the nation, here is a list of the top 10 green cities. They are ranked by the percentage of parkland to overall area of the city.
Greensboro, NC – 9.4% - Lots of mountain biking and hiking trails all around the city's lakes and parks.
St. Louis, MO – 9.5% - Built for the World's Fair in 1904, Forest Park has almost 1300 acres of land with trails, a soccer field, waterways and a zoo.
Seattle, WA – 12.5% - Olympic National Park contains a beautiful rainforest, you can hike on Mt. Rainier, watch the snow geese in Skagit Valley and/or kayak the San Juan Islands in the summer months.
Madison, WI – 13.4% - This beautiful place contains 280 parks within their city limits. There is a great sledding hill and James Madison Park has swimming, sunning and playgrounds.
Jacksonville, FL – 13.8% - The River City by the Sea has over 80,000 acres of parks. Jacksonville boasts 10 state and national parks, a national preserve, city parks and gardens and even an arboretum and of course it is also part of the Great Florida Birding Trail.
Austin, TX – 14.6% - Not only is Austin the Live Music Capital of the World, it is also the home to Zilker Park which consists of 350 acres with a lake and a botanical garden as well as a 10 mile hike and bike trail.
Boston, MA – 17.1% - One of the country's oldest cities is also home to the Apple Street Farm and the Arnold Arboretum with 15,000 living plants and 4,000 kinds of shrubs, vines and trees.
Portland, OR – 17.8% - home to the largest urban forest in the country, with over 5000 acres of trees and 80+ miles of soft surface trails. There are snow-capped Cascade Mountains and the Columbia River Gorge to explore. Skiing in the winter and surfing in the summer and exploring year round.
San Francisco, CA – 19% - The Folsom Street Fair and Golden Gate Park are here. There are bison wandering in the hills of this park which also hosts the California Academy of Sciences, the Japanese Tea Garden and botanical gardens.
Honolulu, HI – 33% - And the #1 destination of course would be Hawaii. Who doesn't want to go to Hawaii with so many fantastic choices for enjoying the great outdoors in addition to the beaches? How about road-biking Mt. Tantalus, hiking Diamond Head, or deep diving with dolphins?
So, is it time to start planning your first or maybe next adventure?
Mary Crawford, HealthCare Employment Network
