Guest Best: Mayor R.T. Rybak

There is only one place in America where you can cross-country ski or mountain bike in deep woods, then turn a corner to find an urban skyline view: Theodore Wirth Park. In a city filled with great parks, this is the Big Kahuna: a quaking bog, wildflower gardens, golf course, children's vegetable garden, public swimming beach (plus a more "untamed," unofficial one), beach volleyball, and much more. Volunteers have built the region's best mountain bike trail, and the City of Lakes Ski Loppet starts here, coursing along beautifully maintained trails, with snowmaking in winter. Add a vintage chalet and a picnic shelter with a fireplace, and you have a gem among gems.

R.T. Rybak is the mayor of Minneapolis.