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       Many people shun high summer in the D.C. area. And yet summer is a time like no other to explore and appreciate Rock Creek Park.

       In our nation’s oldest urban national park, as old as Yosemite and twice the size of Central Park, many trees have been able to grow unchecked since 1890, creating a canopy so dense that the sun’s rays barely touch the forest floor. To step into this urban woodland is to receive a welcome from nature’s air-conditioning. Although Rock Creek Park is a remarkable refuge in all seasons, during the heat of summer, you can truly understand the power of its layered canopy.

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       Rock Creek Park is hardly the only place in D.C. where one can appreciate the cooling capability of trees during the summer months. Our city is blessed with protected parkland, gardens, landscaped buildings and memorials, and tree-lined streets, the legacy of generations committed to green space. We are situated at the confluence of two rivers, with their many wooded tributaries.

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       Walking to Nationals Park for a recent game, I was uplifted by the young trees lining nearby residential streets, most of them in seemingly vigorous health. The city has a goal to increase the tree canopy from 37 percent to 40 percent by 2032, and these healthy young trees spoke of the dedication to that mission.

       Anyone doubting the importance of urban trees and the city’s canopy goal need only choose a hot summer morning or evening to visit Rock Creek Park. If you walk among the tall trees in July, you might still catch the ethereal song of the wood thrush, D.C.’s official bird.

       Melanie Choukas-Bradley, Chevy Chase

       The writer is the author of “A Year in Rock Creek Park,” “City of Trees” and “Finding Solace at Theodore Roosevelt Island.”

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