Lee Valley Regional Park is a 10,000-acre (40 km2) 26 miles (42 km) long linear park,[citation needed] much of it green spaces, running through the northeast of Greater London, Essex and Hertfordshire. The park follows the course of the River Lea (Lee) along the Lea Valley from Ware in Hertfordshire through Essex and the north east of Greater London, through the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to East India Docks Basin on the River Thames. The park is managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority and is made up of a diverse mix of countryside areas, urban green spaces, heritage sites, country parks, nature reserves and lakes and riverside trails, as well as leading sports centres covering an area of over 10,000 acres (40 km2). It is crossed by a number of roads and railways.
There are major reservoirs and water courses (rivers and canals) within Lee Valley Park, both to carry the river flow, and provide navigable waterways and flood relief channels.
Olympic Park
From London's Olympic bid success in summer 2005 until summer 2012, much of the southern half of the Lee Valley Park was developed to form the Olympic Park for the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics. Lee Valley Park was extended through the Olympic Park down to the River Thames, adding a further 2 miles (3 km) of open space.
