Top 20 parks around York
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Top 20 parks around York to visit with family and friends
Here’s a selection of some of our favourite parks in York, and how you can get there with First Bus!
Walmgate Stray
Postcode: YO10 4AS
Best service to take: 7 or 66/66A
Walmgate Stray is a remnant of York's historic landscape; an area of marshy moorland with grassy open spaces and grazing cattle. The Stray is often wet and muddy but it’s worth putting on your boots to go for a walk!
Knavesmire Grasslands & Wood
Postcodes: YO24 1GN
Best service to take: 4, 11 or 12
Knavesmire Grasslands runs along the northern edge of York Racecourse. Paths running through this area make this a pleasant place for a walk and lead to Knavesmire Wood.
Batchelor Hill
Postcode: YO24 3BD
Best service to take: 1, 4 or 5A
A well-hidden site which provides panoramic views across York city as far as The Yorkshire Wolds and The North York Moors. Grassy slopes and a copse of pine trees make this an attractive location for picnics or day trips.
Rowntree Park
Postcode: YO23 1JQ
Best service to take: 3 and 11
Rowntree Park is a short walk from the city centre, situated on Terry Avenue by the River Ouse. It’s a huge 30-acre park offering plenty of space to stroll, a reading café, large play areas, sporting facilities including tennis, basketball courts and skateboarding area, and a lake with ducks & geese.
Homestead Park
Postcode: YO30 6WP
Best service to take: 2 and 10
Homestead Park stretches across the corner from Water End to Shipton Road, with an entrance on both roads. This well-maintained park is a popular place for picnics, and is great to wander around with avenues of ornamental trees and facilities including an under 12's play area.
Rawcliffe Bar Country Park
Postcode: YO30 5RR
Best service to take: 2
Rawcliffe Bar Country Park is a huge, grassed parkland surrounded by woodlands, that is close to the river, making it ideal for walks or a run. This park is next to Rawcliffe Bar Park & Ride, and is just 2 ½ miles from the city centre, with buses leaving from Museum Street.
West Bank Park
Postcode: YO24 4JB
Best service to take: 1 and 5
West Bank Park is a beautiful, urban 20-acre park in the middle of Holgate. It boasts a mature woodland and former arboretum at the top end of the park, with many trees including dawn and giant redwoods. Great for woodland walks, tree trails and picnics.
Clarence Gardens
Postcode: YO31 8JU
Best service to catch: 1, 5/5A and 6
Situated adjacent to York District Hospital, Clarence Gardens is a small park, enclosed by trees, offering a breathing space in a busy urban setting, and a new children’s play area to enjoy.
Scarcroft Green
Postcode: YO24 1BQ
Best service to catch: 4, 11 and 12
Scarcroft Green is a large, open space just on the outskirts of the city, with play areas, a large open grassed area, outdoor table tennis and five-a-side football posts.
Acomb Green
Postcode: YO26 5LR
Best service to catch: 1, 4 and 5/5A
Acomb Green is 3 acres in size and a short distance from Acomb Front Street. It has large, grassed areas great for games and handy for a run around!
Acomb Wood and Meadow - York's newest Local Nature Reserve
Postcode: YO24 3XN
Best service to catch: 12
A stroll around the pathways of Acomb wood could take up to an hour, and there are many beautiful species of woodland life. There is also a meadow adjoining the wood, abundant in wildflowers. Acomb Wood is now split into two separate sites on either side of Acomb Wood Drive – East and West.
Hob Moor - Local Nature Reserve
Postcode: YO24 4JU (various points of access)
Best service to catch: 4 or 12
Hob Moor is part of Micklegate Stray. Today, it is used for grazing in the summer, but is also a valuable area for wildlife as well as a recreational area for dog-walkers, cyclists, pedestrians, birdwatchers and many others.
Mayfields Public Open Space
Postcode: YO24 1EY
Best service to catch: 4 or 12
Mayfields Public Open Space forms a link between part of Hob Moor and The Railway Pond, and is well worth a visit for a walk.
Hassacarr Pond - Nature Reserve in Dunnington
Postcode: YO19 5PB
Best service to catch: 10 and 10A
Much of this nature reserve is occupied by a large pond thought to date back to the last glaciation. The rest of the site comprises alder woodland, a meadow and other smaller ponds to visit.
St Nicholas Fields - Local Nature Reserve
Postcode: YO10 3ST
Best service to catch: 6
A wildlife haven in the centre of York - over 200 species of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants and just under 20 species of butterflies have been recorded. Tits, finches, thrushes, robins and wrens regularly visit the 24-acre site, and there is plenty of different walking routes to explore.
York to Selby Cycle Path
Postcode: YO23 2RY
Best service to catch: 3 or 11
A great cycle and walking route that is mainly traffic free, with a path through the Vale of York to Riccall and then onwards to Selby. A perfect route for families and cyclists.
Millennium Green (Leeman Road)
Postcode: YO26 4UY
Best service to catch: 5/5A and 10
The Leeman Road Millennium Green is one of York’s largest public green spaces, situated between the River Ouse and the railway line – perfect for walking and recreational activities!
Fishponds Wood and Beech Grove
Postcode: YO26 5EJ
Best service to catch: 1, 4 and 5
Fishponds Wood is hidden behind the houses of Danebury Drive and Rosedale Avenue - an area of wetland that is the site of an old fishpond. Beech Grove is a unfenced area alongside the road, with informal paths between the trees, perfect for walking.
Rawcliffe Lake and Grasslands
Postcode: YO30 4YL
Best service to catch: 2/2A and 6
This small lake is situated in the heart of Rawcliffe Parish and is surrounded by grassland and planted woodland. There are grassy slopes, which are great for picnics, as well as ornamental shrubs and old hedgerow, which attracts interesting species to the area.
Strensall Common
Postcode: YO60 5YB
Best service to catch: 5/5A
Strensall Common is a beautiful, large heathland close to York, with public footpaths great for walking.