Myers Park

I’m a huge fan of Myers Park.
Not only does it provide a beautiful scenic route from Queen Street to St. Kevin’s Arcade (another gem), entering this park provides a piece of serenity amidst the bedlam.
It’s in an a bit of a valley — from this you can expect hilly bits, but also total peace and quiet due to its sheltered nature.
It never seems to be very crowded, making it a lovely spot for a picnic, nice stroll, and/​or a break from the commotion of the CBD.

Myers Park has a bad reputation as a place where slightly shady people might hang out, and let’s not be cute about it: it’s in the middle of city, it provides cover in some places, and it’s close to a few places that provide low cost food and the like, so of course there’s sometimes a few unsavoury characters hanging about. However, I’ve spent a lof of time here: I’ve walked through, sat around and read a book, had a picnic, and been to shows here, and I’ve never once been bothered by anyone; people don’t usually bother you if you don’t bother them. It’s a scenic wee park, and a great respite from the smoky roads of the CBD. It also has some slightly odd statues in it,.

I’ve had mixed experiences in Myers. Some deep and meaningful conversations with friends away from the loud, impersonal crowds of the city were had sitting underneath palm trees. Then there were the night walks with creepy people hanging about — you know, the kind who will either ask for money, yell at no one in particular or seemingly stalk your shadow. Well, you get both at Myers Park, which is fairly typical for any part of the city really.
I love the location of this place, and the ancient-​style stairs are extremely picturesque. Speaking of stairs, there’s also a fascinating apartment building in sight with steel stairs that can only be related to a very large slinky. I think it makes a visit worth it, even if you just plan to use it for an intriguing facebook profile picture.

Myers Park is a relatively unknown central city gem — a place where you can immediately escape the bustle of city life for a little while. It’s managed to remain unknown because it sits at the bottom of a small valley behind buildings and so isn’t immediately visible from the surrounding streets. For this reason, there’s rarely any more than a few people in it so it’s genuinely quite relaxing and serene. The paths simply meander along, the grass is expansive, the palms majestic. The park also plays host to a few harmless homeless drunks and pot smoking teenagers, which along with a slightly unkempt feel leave the park with an oddly pleasant ‘morning after’ feel.
For me, it’s a favourite walking route between Aotea Square and K Road — you walk up stairs at the end and enter K Road through St Kevins Arcade. A much more pleasant walk than the hike up the top end of Queen Street.

Myers Park, a mowed green valley between upper Queen Street and Greys Ave, is the scenic route from mid town to K’ Rd.
One of my favorite places to eat lunch when I was a student. Considering that it is a giant park in the middle of the city it is surprisingly quiet, and even on a sunny day you can find a private bank of grass without any trouble at all. I would even go as far to call Myers park peaceful, which is a remarkable adjective for an inner city park. There is a shady element — drunk homeless people, chain smoking teenagers, all littered about in the various corners, but they never bother me much, plenty of space to go around.
It is also the vastly superior alternate route if you are walking between mid town and K’ Rd. Take it from me, there is a refreshing contrast between the noise of Queen Street and the quiet of Myers Park.