The 3 best parks to walk in Richmond

In honor of today's National Take a Walk in the Park Day, we're highlighting some great walks you can do in some of Richmond's best parks.

The big picture: You don't have to do them all today, but lace up your sneakers and get to one soon.

⛲️ Maymont may have lost the "park" from its official name, but every day from 10am to 7pm, Richmonders can find one of the prettiest walks in town.

• Our walk rec: Start at the Hampton Street entrance and hit the Carriage House Garden first, then loop over to the Italian Garden (in peak bloom in the next few weeks) and save the best for last: the Japanese Garden.

🌳 Forest Hill Park: The city's Parks & Rec says it maintains 170 parks and open spaces, including nine big parks, so there are plenty of options in town, but we're partial to this one.

• Our walk rec: Park in the official lot (where South of the James Market happens) and head down the very steep hill to the restored lake and loop around the bike trail to see the whole spectrum of wildlife that lives in the park.

🦦 James River Park: Richmond's biggest park is hands down the best and one locals get to explore year round, from dry land or via a rapid.

• Our walk rec: There's no wrong walk to take among the 600-acre park, but this time of year, we love the Flood Wall loop in Flood Wall Park. Park at the south side of the Mayo Bridge and follow the trail.