Richland: A Park-Lover’s Paradise in the Tri-Cities

I’m sure a lot of Tri-Citians would agree that there are few things more relaxing and enjoyable than a day in one of our great local parks. 😍

Visit Columbia Park in Kennewick, Howard Amon Park in Richland, or Wade Park in Pasco on any summer day, and you’ll see families enjoying a picnic along the water and others walking and biking along the generous paths. (West Richland also has a number of parks, but they offer very little water access.)

But of all the Tri-Cities, new data indicates that Richland is the place for park-lovers.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national nonprofit organization whose mission is creating and protecting public parks, tracks the park-friendliness of communities all over the country. Here’s how our main four cities rank:

Richland

• According to TPL, Richland has 70 parks.
• 80% of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park. TPL uses this 10-minute standard to determine how park-friendly a town is. The median U.S. city has only 55% of its residents living within 10 minutes of a park.
• 10% of Richland’s land is used for parks, which is below the national median of 15%.

Richland’s Howard Amon Park is a favorite in the McGee family. We’ve had two dogs over the past ~15 years, and both loooove going to Howard Amon and walking under the trees, out on the boat docks, and anywhere else we take them in the park!

Here’s a look at the rest of the Tri-Cities:

West Richland

• TPL says West Richland has 16 parks.
• 78% of West Richland residents live within 10 minutes of a park. (Note: I wonder if this accounts for all the new construction on the west side of town, where there don’t seem to be as many parks as the rest of the city has.)
• Only 1% of West Richland’s land is used for parks.

Pasco

• According to TPL, there are 34 parks in Pasco.
• 62% of Pasco residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park.
• Only 3% of Pasco land is used for parks.

Kennewick

• TPL says there are 39 parks in Kennewick.
• 56% of Kennewick residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park.
• Only 4% of land in Kennewick is used for parks. Again, the median U.S. city has 15% of its land set aside for parks.

As I mentioned above, the median U.S. city has only 55% of its residents living within 10 minutes of a park. So all four of our biggest towns are ahead of the curve when it comes to people living within walking distance of a park!