One of the larger municipal parks in the United States at 600-plus acres, Charles B. Whitnall Park (5879 W. 92nd St., Hales Corners, 414/425-7303, free) is the cornerstone of Milwaukee County’s enormous park system and the cornerstone of the state’s proposed Oak Leaf Birding Trail, which will eventually have 35 separate parks and forests to view crucial avian habitat.

Lush landscaped gardens are found inside the park at Boerner Botanical Gardens (414/425-1130, gardens 8 a.m.-sunset daily mid-Apr.-Oct., garden house till 7 p.m. in summer, hours significantly reduced the rest of the year, $5). Forty acres of roses, perennials, wildflowers, and more thrive here; the 1,000-acre arboretum surrounding the gardens includes the largest flowering crabapple orchard in the United States.

Also in Whitnall Park is the Todd Wehr Nature Center (9701 W. College Ave., 414/425-8550, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m., parking $3), designed as a living laboratory of eco-awareness, with nature trails and an ongoing mixed-grass prairie restoration.