State park in the context of Gunlock Reservoir

A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. National parks and country parks are green spaces used for recreation in the countryside. State parks and provincial parks are administered by sub-national government states and agencies. Parks may consist of grassy areas, rocks, soil and trees, but may also contain buildings and other artifacts such as monuments, fountains or playground structures. Many parks have fields for playing sports such as baseball and football, and paved areas for games such as basketball. Many parks have trails for walking, biking and other activities. Some parks are built adjacent to bodies of water or watercourses and may comprise a beach or boat dock area. Urban parks often have benches for sitting and may contain picnic tables and barbecue grills.

The largest parks can be vast natural areas of hundreds of thousands of square kilometers (or square miles), with abundant wildlife and natural features such as mountains and rivers. In many large parks, camping in tents is allowed with a permit. Many natural parks are protected by law, and users may have to follow restrictions (e.g. rules against open fires or bringing in glass bottles). Large national and sub-national parks are typically overseen by a park ranger. Large parks may have areas for canoeing and hiking in the warmer months and, in some northern hemisphere countries, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in colder months. There are also amusement parks that have live shows, fairground rides, refreshments, and games of chance or skill.

Twin Falls State Resort Park is a state park in Wyoming County, West Virginia. The park was opened in 1968 and was completed by 1975. The two namesake waterfalls are accessed by a hiking trail and are located about 1/2-mile apart on the Marsh and Black Forks of Cabin Creek.

The park is built on land donated by Pocahontas Land Corporation and Western Pocahontas Land Corporation as well as a few small privately owned plots.The entrance to Twin Falls State Park is about 12 miles (19 km) from the Castle Rock Trailhead of the Hatfield–McCoy ATV Trail.

In land-use planning, urban green spaces are open-space areas reserved for parks and other spaces of greenery. These include plant life, water features – also known as blue spaces – and other kinds of natural environments. Most urban open spaces are green spaces, though some may consist of other types of open areas. The landscape of urban open spaces can range from playing fields and other highly maintained environments to more natural landscapes that appear less managed.

Urban green spaces may also include areas that are not publicly accessible, such as privately owned higher education campuses, school sports fields, allotments, neighborhood or community parks and gardens, and corporate campuses. Areas outside city boundaries, such as state and national parks or rural open spaces, are not generally considered urban open spaces. Boulevards, piazzas, plazas, and urban squares are not consistently classified as urban open spaces in land-use planning.

A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the public for recreation. Their environment may be more or less strictly protected.

Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a bivy or tarp, hammock, or no shelter at all. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors, in pursuit of activities providing them enjoyment or in a form of educational experience. Spending the night away from home distinguishes camping from day-tripping, picnicking, and other outdoor activities.

Camping as a recreational activity became popular among elites in the early 20th century. With time, it grew in popularity among other socioeconomic classes. Modern campers frequent publicly owned natural resources such as national and state parks, wilderness areas, and commercial campgrounds. In a few countries, including Sweden and Scotland, public camping is legal on privately held land as well. Camping is a key part of many youth organizations around the world, such as Scouting, which use it to teach both self-reliance and teamwork. School camping trips also have numerous benefits and can play an essential role in the personal growth and development of students.

Warren Woods State Park is a 311-acre (126 ha) nature preserve and public recreation area in Berrien County, Michigan, near the village of Three Oaks. The state park is leased by private owners to the state of Michigan.

Red Rock Canyon State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of California which features scenic desert cliffs, buttes and spectacular rock formations. The park consists of approximately 27,000 acres (110 km) within the Mojave Sector of the Tehachapi District of the California State Park System, and is located along State Highway 14 in Kern County, about 80 miles (129 km) east of Bakersfield and 25 miles (40 km) north of Mojave, where the southernmost tip of the Sierra Nevada converges with the El Paso Mountains.

Each tributary canyon is unique, with vivid colors due to alternate layers of white clay and red sandstone, further accented by pink volcanic rocks and brown lava formations. The canyon was formed 3 million years ago. After wet winters, the park's floral displays are notable. Three overlapping desert ecosystems provide for the wildlife that includes eagles, falcons, roadrunners, hawks, coyotes, kit foxes, bobcats, lizards, mice and squirrels. Red Rock Canyon provides magnificent views of the pristine desert landscape, includes two natural preserves, and offers, among other recreational activities, camping, sightseeing, equestrian activities, hiking, and opportunities for solitude.

Sandy Point State Park is a public recreation area on Chesapeake Bay, located at the western end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The state park is known for the popularity of its swimming beach, with annual attendance exceeding one million visitors. The park grounds include the Sandy Point Farmhouse, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic Sandy Point Shoal Lighthouse stands in about five feet of water some 1,000 yards (910 m) east of the park's beach.

The Royal National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Sutherland Shire local government area in Southern Sydney and in the City of Wollongong local government area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia.

The 151-square-kilometre (58 sq mi) national park is about 29 kilometres (18 mi) south of the Sydney central business district near the localities of Loftus, Otford and Waterfall.

Robert Moses State Park is a 875-acre (3.54 km) state park in southern Suffolk County, New York. The park lies on the western end of Fire Island, one of the central barrier islands off the southern coast of Long Island, and is known for its five-mile (8.0 km) stretch of beaches on the Atlantic Ocean. The park is accessible from Long Island by the Robert Moses Causeway across Great South Bay.

Established as Fire Island State Park in 1908, the park is the oldest state park on Long Island. It was renamed to honor Robert Moses, the influential mid-20th century urban planner and former president of the Long Island State Park Commission. Recently, lawmakers have suggested the park should revert to its previous name or to something that better reflects its location.

Jones Beach State Park (colloquially "Jones Beach") is a state park in the U.S. state of New York. It is located in southern Nassau County on Jones Beach Island, a barrier island linked to Long Island by the Meadowbrook State Parkway, Wantagh State Parkway, and Ocean Parkway. The park was created during Robert Moses' administration as President of the Long Island State Park Commission as part of the development of parkways on Long Island.

The park, 6.5 miles (10.5 km) in length, is renowned for its beaches (which, excepting the beach on Zachs Bay, face the open Atlantic Ocean) and furnishes one of the most popular summer recreational locations for the New York metropolitan area. It is the most popular and heavily visited beach on the East Coast, with an estimated six million visitors per year.

Leaf peeping, fall color tourism, or simply fall tourism is the activity in which people travel to observe and photograph the fall foliage in autumn. The term comes from the United States, having been first mentioned in 1966. Although the activity is prominent in the United States, where it is considered one of the most popular autumn activities, it is also present in other cultures, such as in Japan, where it is known as momijigari and has been practiced since the Heian period.

In the United States, leaf peeping is popular in New England and New York, where it has significantly affected regional autumn tourist activities, which have in return boosted local economies. New England states have also competed in leaf peeping tourism by launching advertisements and offering low-cost lodging. Some state parks have also introduced viewfinders for red-green colorblind people to allow them to view fall foliage. Leaf peeping has been negatively affected by climate change and weather occurrences, such as wildfires and hurricanes.

Starved Rock State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Illinois, characterized by the many canyons within its 2,630 acres (1,064 ha). Located just southeast of the village of Utica, in Deer Park Township, LaSalle County, Illinois, along the south bank of the Illinois River, the park hosts over two million visitors annually, the most for any Illinois state park.

A flood from a melting glacier, known as the Kankakee Torrent, which took place approximately 14,000–19,000 years ago led to the topography of the site and its exposed rock canyons. Diverse forest plant life exists in the park and the area supports several wild animal species. Of particular interest has been sport fishing species.

Chugach State Park covers 495,204 acres (2,004 square kilometers) covering a hilly region immediately east of Anchorage, in south-central Alaska.

Established by legislation signed into law on August 6, 1970, by Alaska Governor Keith Miller, this state park was created to provide recreational opportunities, protect the scenic value of the Chugach Mountains and other geographic features, and ensure the safety of the water supply for Anchorage. The park, managed by Alaska State Parks, is the third-largest state park in the United States, and consists of geographically disparate areas each with different attractions and facilities. Only Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California and Wood-Tikchik State Park in western Alaska are larger. Though primarily in the Municipality of Anchorage, a small portion of the park north of the Eklutna Lake area in the vicinity of Pioneer Peak lies within the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

Hocking Hills State Park is a state park in the Hocking Hills region of Hocking County, Ohio, United States. In some areas the park adjoins the Hocking State Forest. Within the park are over 25 miles (40 km) of hiking trails, rock formations, waterfalls, and recess caves. The trails are open from dawn to dusk, all year round, including holidays.

The park contains seven separate hiking areas: Ash Cave, Cantwell Cliffs, Cedar Falls, Conkle's Hollow (nature preserve), Old Man's Cave, Rock House and Hemlock Bridge Trail to Whispering Cave.

Wood-Tikchik State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Alaska north of Dillingham. Over 1,600,000 acres (650,000 ha) (6,500 km) in area—about the size of the state of Delaware—, comprising more than half of all state park land in Alaska and 15% of the total state park land in the country. Despite being the second-largest state park in the nation (after the Adirondack State Park in New York), the park had no staff whatsoever for its first five years, and even now at times only a single ranger is in charge of patrolling the entire park, usually by aircraft.