Cultural and Sports Center in beautiful gardens
There's no sign anywhere prohibiting to step on the lawn - the almost 1 km wide and 5 km long green was made for recreation, sport and enjoyment. It's a masterpiece of horticultural art and landscaping considering that this area would naturally only be covered by some shifting sand dunes. Following the acquisition of the land through the city in 1868, park boss John McLaren, who remained in office for 56 years, planted bush for bush and tree by tree until the sand was defeated. In the Japanese tea garden the landscape is designed after the Kyoto original. Everything, from the Buddha statue, the traditional stone lanterns to the kimonos of the waitresses in the tea house were imported from Japan at that time and carefully and set up by Japanese specialists. The best time to visit is late March / early April when the cherry trees blossom. You can picnic around Stow Lake or rent a boat for some rowing fun. The golf course with nine short, but difficult holes is public. On the western end of the John F. Kennedy Drive buffalo graze on a separate stretch of green and tropical flowers grow in the Conservatory of Flowers. In the Strybing Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, between Lincoln Way and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, thousands of plants are on display. You will find plenty of tennis courts, bowling, chess and baseball fields and facilities throughout the park. The 40 km of paths are not only great for walking but also for cycling and bicycles as well as roller skates can be rented on Stanyan Street.
