Patterson Park and the Pagoda

137 acres at the eastern edge of Baltimore's core neighborhoods. Used as a military fortification in the War of 1812 — the battle that inspired the Star-Spangled Banner was visible from this hill. The land has been public ever since.

The Patterson Park Observatory — everyone calls it "the Pagoda" — is a 60-foot octagonal tower from 1891, painted in cheerful colors that look like San Francisco not Baltimore. Open Sundays for a climb to 360-degree views: harbor south, downtown west, rowhouse grid everywhere, Chesapeake Bay on the eastern horizon on clear days.

The lake has territorial geese and committed sunbathing turtles. The boat lake regulars treat fishing with the seriousness it deserves in a city that considers it meditation. Community gardens on the north end produce tomatoes that remind you what vegetables should taste like. October for maples around the Pagoda. Free, dawn to dusk.