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AccessibilityOrienteering at Parks
Take exploring our parks to the next level!
Orienteering is an adventurous map sport in which a participant uses specialized maps of a landscape to navigate to a series of locations on a course from start to finish. Combining hiking with outdoor skills and gamified adventure racing, orienteering is a great way to explore our parks while sharpening your navigation skills — and you don't need a compass nor your phone!
How Orienteering Works
In orienteering, one has to complete a course, from start to finish, navigating through a series of locations, called control points (or controls). These controls are located throughout the park and their exact locations are shown on a special map. In the terrain (meaning in the park), controls are marked by highly visible orange and white markers. You may choose any route to get from one control to another. However, to complete a course, you’ll need to find all the controls (indicated by circles on the map) in numerical order (1, 2, 3, 4...).
Example of an Orienteering Map (no controls)
Orienteering Control Point Marker
Orienteering at Alley Pond Park
Ready to start exploring? Whether you're new to the sport or a pro looking to take on a new challenge, join us at the city's first-ever permanent orienteering course at Alley Pond Park! Discover our forested areas, wildlife, wetlands, and scenic locations as you complete the course. All you need to start is one of our course maps. They are available for free download and printing.
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