Study: D.C. has best park system in U.S.

When not being criticized as a swamp that must be drained, Washington, D.C., is occasionally praised for its arboreal charms.

Now, it is official: The District of Columbia took the top spot in a national survey of large U.S. cities with the best parks.

The survey, released Wednesday by the San Francisco-based nonprofit the Trust for Public Land, ranked the nation’s 100 largest cities on park access, acreage, investment and amenities.

The District came in at No. 1, with a “ParkScore” of 83.8 out of 100. The report noted that 98 percent of D.C. residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park and 21 percent of the city is park land.

The District leaped into first place after besting Minneapolis and St. Paul, which led the survey last year.

Charlie McCabe, director at the Center for City Park Excellence at the Trust for Public Land, credited an increase in amenities like basketball hoops and splash pads for the District’s gain. Money is the key to better parks, McCabe said, and some cities at the bottom of list that still are recovering from the Great Recession don’t have it.

D.C. spends $270.40 per resident on parks, the survey found.