Parks on the Big Screen

We love it when parks and green spaces get a roll on the silver screen. We here at the Conservancy know people have such strong connections to their neighborhood and city parks so it makes sense those same parks would show up in the movies.

Central Park is New York City could win an Oscar for all its movie rolls. This post from CentralPark.org highlights 10 movies filmed in this iconic green space. We’re particularly fond of “When Harry Met Sally,” “Enchanted” and “Home Alone 2.”

Some of the country’s 397 national parks also have played significant roles in movies, particularly in films looking for desert settings or with Western plots. “City Slickers II” and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” both used Arches National Park in Utah. “Dances With Wolves” was filmed in Badlands National Park in South Dakota.

Even out-of-this world movies like “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” used Yosemite National Park in California as a backdrop.

Check out this lengthy list of movies using national parks from the National Park Service.

What’s your favorite movie that uses a park as a setting? Do you immediately recognize the park and feel a connection, especially if you’ve been to that particular spot?

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