Kadıpınarı Nature Park

Overview

Guide

Kadıpınarı Nature Park is a small forest recreation area on the edge of Akdağmadeni, in the eastern part of Yozgat province, and it takes its name from the village around it. The protected area covers nine hectares. The Directorate General of Nature Conservation and National Parks gives two different declaration dates on the same page: the area record reads 11 July 2011, while the descriptive text says the park was declared on 5 July 2011.

The woodland is a mixed stand of Scots pine and oak, with black pine appearing in places. Growing among them are prickly juniper, field maple, wild service tree, rock rose and milkvetch. The mammal list compiled for the area is unusually full for a park this size: alongside wild boar, red squirrel, fox, hedgehog, martens and mole, the directorate records brown bear, lynx and red deer. Buzzards, sparrowhawks, kestrels, swifts, blackbirds, goldfinches, magpies, jays and little owls are listed among the birds, and Greek tortoise, lizards, snakes and frogs among the reptiles and amphibians.

This is a day-use park rather than a wilderness destination. There is a picnic ground, a set of walking routes that also serve cycling, photo safari and hiking, two bungalows and a country restaurant. The directorate lists picnicking, walking, trekking, orienteering, open-air events and children's activities as the things people come to do, and describes the park as the place Akdağmadeni residents themselves use for recreation, mostly in spring and summer. Stated capacity is 120 visitors and 30 vehicles; the gate is given as open from 00:01 to 23:59. The lease is held by Akdağmadeni Municipality.

The park lies 2.5 kilometres from the centre of Akdağmadeni, which is reached by road. Distances given from the larger cities are 127 kilometres to Sivas, 180 to Kayseri and 330 to Ankara. The nearest airport is Kayseri, 142 kilometres away. The site office is the Yozgat provincial directorate in the 9th Regional Directorate.