park quotes A list of park quotes and the beauty of open spaces for the public

This month is Park and Recreation Month, a time to celebrate and appreciate those little patches of green that WE ALL OWN where we can play, take refuge from the noises of the city and just hang out. Here are 15 park quotes we thought you might like.

  1. "When was the last time you spent a quiet moment just doing nothing - just sitting and looking at the sea, or watching the wind blowing the tree limbs, or waves rippling on a pond, a flickering candle or children playing in the park?" - Ralph Marston
  2. "You can't tell a kid that it's time to exercise; that's a turn-off…you have to say, "Let's go to the park and have some fun! Then you get them to do some running, play on the swings, practice on the balance beam, and basically get a full workout disguised as play." - Arnold Schwarzenegger
  3. "And I remember going to the record studio and there was a park across the street and I'd see all the children playing and I would cry because it would make me sad that I would have to work instead." - Michael Jackson
  4. "All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl." - Charlie Chaplin
  5. "My favorite British spots are any of the beautiful parks, especially on a sunny day such as this, after a long stretch of cold, cloudy and rainy days." - Richard Schiff
  6.  "You can get the true essence of New Yorkers by just hanging out in Central Park." - Andy Roddick
  7. "If you drive to, say, Shenandoah National Park, or the Great Smoky Mountains, you'll get some appreciation for the scale and beauty of the outdoors. When you walk into it, then you see it in a completely different way. You discover it in a much slower, more majestic sort of way." - Bill Bryson
  8.  "I just want to go through Central Park and watch folks passing by. Spend the whole day watching people. I miss that." - Barack Obama
  9. "I can't wait for summer in the city! I love all the free activities in the parks that become available to us New Yorkers. Yoga and movie screenings in Bryant Park, concerts in Central Park - there's so much more available to the New York community in the summer! And everyone just seems to smile more." - Kara Lindsay
  10. "Preserving parks and open spaces is a winner because it doesn't need to be explained to everyday Americans." - Frank Luntz
  11. "Congress has an obligation to protect our country's natural beauty, embodied in our nation's parks, rivers, and breathtaking landscapes." - Dave Reichert
  12. "There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy, and its charm."  - Theodore Roosevelt
  13. "Nature surrounds us, from parks and backyards to streets and alleyways. Next time you go out for a walk, tread gently and remember that we are both inhabitants and stewards of nature in our neighborhoods." - David Suzuki
  14. "The more civilized man becomes, the more he needs and craves a great background of forest wildness, to which he may return like a contrite prodigal from the husks of an artificial life."- Ellen Burns Sherman
  15. "There is nothing so American as our national parks. The scenery and the wildlife are native. The fundamental idea behind the parks is native. It is, in brief, that the country belongs to the people, that it is in the process of making for the enrichment of the lives of all of us. The parks stand as the outward symbol of the great human principle."  - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Bonus park quotes: Here are two more great quotes about parks that we came across since this was first published.

"City parks serve, day in and day out, as the primary green spaces for the majority of Americans." - Bruce Babbit

"Parks and playgrounds are the soul of a city." - Marty Rubin

"People don't remember each tree in a park but all of us benefit from the trees. And in a way, artists are like trees in a park." - Yoko Ono

What about you? Think about how much you appreciate parks, both local and national.

Here's a fantastic way to "Find Your Park" from the National Park Service.

You know all that stuff that makes a park great - benches, picnic tables, trash cans, bike racks? We provide them. Call The Park Catalog at 800-695-3503 for a free catalog or visit our site here.