Louisville's amazing park system.
By Steve Jermanok
I was in Louisville several weeks ago researching and writing a story for The Washington Post on the emerging neighborhood on East Market Street called NuLu. I dined on tasty southern fare like fried chicken livers doused in a bourbon sauce at Harvest, recently named one of the best new restaurants in America by the James Beard Foundation. I also spent at least three hours looking at old television footage at the Muhammad Ali Center and saw an intense drama at the Humana Festival of New American Plays. Yet, what really impressed me was the all the rolling green parkland and rivers Louisville is blessed with. Louisville has more parkland than Chicago or Denver. In fact the city has more green space than Baltimore, Boston, and Pittsburgh combined. And not just any ole park, but 18 parks and 6 parkways designed by the developer of New York’s Central Park, Frederick Law Olmsted. With such an abundant wealth of parkland, it didn’t surprise me that so many residents were out biking and jogging on the parkways.
Steve Jermanok As a columnist for National Geographic Adventure, adventure travel expert at Budget Travel, and regular contributor on outdoor recreation for Outside, Men’s Journal, Health, and Sierra, Steve Jermanok has written more than 1,000 articles on the outdoors.He’s also authored or co-authored 11 books, including Outside Magazine’s Adventure Guide to New England and Men’s Journal’s The Great Life. His latest book is Go Now! Put Your Life on Pause and See the World. He’s currently an adventure travel expert at Away.com and blogs daily at Active Travels.