Green Lake Park

One of the most popular spots in the city for recreationalists and sunbathers, scenic Green Lake Park surrounds Green Lake, a small natural lake created by a glacier during the last ice age. In the early 1900s, city planners lowered the lake’s water level by 7ft, increasing the shoreline to preserve parkland around the lake. After the lowering, however, Ravenna Creek, which fed the lake, no longer flowed through. Green Lake became stagnant and filled with stinky green algae. Massive dredging efforts to keep Green Lake a lake (instead of a marshy wetland) continue. The lake is prone to algae blooms, which can cause an unpleasant condition called ‘swimmer’s itch’ to anyone venturing into the water. Warning signs are usually posted on the beach if this is a risk. Two paths wind around the lake, but these aren’t enough to fill the needs of the hundreds of joggers, power-walkers, cyclists and in-line skaters who throng here daily. In fact, competition for space on the trails has led to altercations between speeding athletes; the city government now regulates traffic on the paths. Green Lake also has a soccer field, bowling green, baseball diamond, basketball and tennis courts, and boat, bike and in-line skate rentals. Two sandy swimming beaches line the north end of the lake, but on sunny days the entire shoreline is massed with gleaming pale bodies.