Golden Acre Park

The park opened as a privately run amusement park in 1932 with a miniature railway, swimming pool and boating lake, but closed during the Second World War to be used for military training. It was taken over by the Council in 1945. The lake was formed by damming Adel Beck and was larger than at present. The council filled in much of the lake up to the A660 with rubble from demolished buildings in the city and fly ash from Kirkstall power station.

The park has a lake with wildfowl, informal gardens, demonstration gardens, and woodland and open spaces. The gardens contain the National Plant Collections of Lilac, Hosta and Hemerocallis. Facilities include a cafe (with indoor and outdoor seating), a number of benches, a bird feeding shelter and numerous picnic benches. The park is usually well kept all year round. The Adel Dam nature reserve, owned by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, is adjacent to the eastern side of the park.