Earlier this spring when I was riding the train to Astana, I noticed a park beside the tracks in Almaty that seemed to be a forest riddled with walking trails. When I returned from my trip I scoured google maps and finally decided that the park I saw must be the one labeled "Baum's Grove" on the map. Today, I set out to find Baum's Grove.
I did my public transit research, so to be honest there isn't much of a story to go along with finding Baum's Grove. I took a bus down Abay street and then transferred to the #2 bus going down Furmanova street. Once I got to the bottom of town, I kept my eyes peeled for the park. Sure enough, it appeared on the left hand side of the road so I crossed the street and went exploring.
"Baum's Grove" is actually the Almaty Canal Park. The canal area (currently holding only a small layer of water that is home only to algae and frogs) has been developed for summer water fun. a set of four water slides line the park and one side has a very shallow grade to allow for wading or even swimming. The park also has an extensive, largely un-groomed, forest area to the north of the canal which is what I saw from the train window. This forest has many walking (or biking) paths, some planned, others not so much. It is the perfect place for a quite walk, or a long bike ride.
