Green Spaces

Outdoors & Healthy Living

Buffalo has an entire park system designed by Frederick Law Olmsted — that’s the same guy who designed New York City’s Central Park. He thought the purpose of green space was “to refresh and delight the eye and through the eye, the mind and the spirit.” Upon touring the City of Buffalo in 1868, he convinced local leaders that not one park– as in New York City’s Central Park – but multiple parks would better serve Buffalo’s needs. In all, there are six major parks, seven parkways, and eight circles throughout the system where residents make daily use of playgrounds, basketball courts, baseball diamonds, soccer fields, golf courses, running tracks, tennis courts, paths, trails, and a lot more.

Buffalo Niagara has many non-Olmsted designed parks across its region as well. Letchworth State Park is often referred to as “The Grand Canyon of the East.” And the Ralph Wilson Centennial Park, located along Lake Erie on Buffalo’s west side, is undergoing a $110M transformation​ into a world-class waterfront destination with a resilient shoreline to mitigate the effects of climate change and rising lake levels.

Enjoy beautiful and seemingly endless trails like: Eternal Flame at Chestnut Ridge Park, Knox Farm, Tift Nature Preserve, Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve, Niagara Gorge, Zoar Valley, The Town of Lockport Nature Trail, and Letchworth State Park.

Best Access To Green Spaces
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Sunny days per year

Best city for runners
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Biking in Buffalo

Biking is big in Buffalo Niagara – both as transportation and for recreation. Learn all about casual waterfront rides, mountainous trails, and everything in between.

Water

Whether you’re staying on shore or heading into the water, Buffalo has so much to offer. Check out all of Buffalo’s waterfronts and waterways.

Sports

There are countless community and school-based leagues for every hobby or sport you might want to pursue - from the diamond for softball to the links for golf.

Dog Friendly

“When I lived in Manhattan, we had 300 pounds of dog within a 600-square-foot apartment. Buffalo is really dog-friendly. We’re always hiking in the Southtowns or at the Knox Farm dog park.” -Liz Tsai, Founder & CEO, HiOperator

Find your zen

​ If you’re looking to get active out-of-doors, try free yoga at Canalside or the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. Get a bit more daring while scaling one our monolithic grain silos reinvented as a rock wall near RiverWorks across from Canalside. Buffalo’s Outer Harbor lies along mighty Lake Erie’s edge – access the trails, walking and biking paths, beaches, and parks that dot over 200 acres of green space and reclaimed shoreline. Wilkeson Pointe, Lakeside Complex and bike park, and the Bell Slip along the Health Wellness Trail are popular destinations. Tifft Nature Preserve, boasts 264 acres of restored habitat and picturesque trails. Or, take a stroll through Forrest Lawn Cemetery, the final resting place of Buffalo legend Rick James.