1st Place: Phoenix Park
2nd Place: Carson Park
3rd Place: Irvine Park

In big cities, it doesn’t take much to make a nice park – slap down some grass and trees, and, compared to the concrete and steel of the cityscape, you’ve got a nice little chunk of nature. Around here, though, nature is not in too short of supply, so our parks need to step up with some outstanding features to really shine. This year’s line-up proves our big name local parks have some staying power, as the award winners are the same as 2008. Phoenix Park, with it’s amphitheater, converted railroad bridge, and farmer’s market pavilion, continues to be the best money the city has spent in quite some time, even if the bathroom is really, really far away. Carson Park, with its lake, sports fields, and acres of woods, still impresses after decades of existence. In third place, undoubtedly bolstered by sympathy for the jailbreak animals that ravaged (or just skulked around) Chippewa Falls, is Irvine Park, with its waterways and zoo enclosures. – Eric Rasmussen