Gölkay Park is a recreation ground laid out around a reservoir on the edge of İzmit, in Kocaeli. It is not a heritage site; it is where the city goes to spend a day outdoors. The circuit around the water carries a walking path and a separate cycle path, and around them are playgrounds, sports grounds, rest areas, viewing terraces, fishing platforms, lawns, a social facility building and a jetty. The unusual feature is a cable water-ski installation set up on the reservoir itself, and the park hosted an international youth and sport event in 2010.
The park lies at the third kilometre of the Kandıra road. The park is about 6.5 km from the city centre, and the Cayirkoy and Sepetci Köyü public buses from central İzmit run out to it.
Getting there
- Access
- The park is 6.5 kilometres from the city centre, reached by the Çayırköy and Sepetçi Köyü public buses.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Kocaeli as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from 6.3 °C in January to 24 °C in August; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in May, June, July, August, September and October; rainfall is heaviest in December (108 mm) and lightest in August (42 mm). Long-term means for 1929-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
