Put down that glass of Champagne; take off those uncomfortable shoes. It’s time for a walk in the woods. No, not at your country house: in Prospect Park, perhaps the most beautiful urban park in the world.

Setting the example yesterday were the park’s administrator, Tupper Thomas, who this year celebrates her 25th year in the post, and the city’s commissioner of parks and recreation, Adrian Benepe, who is expected to be appointed in January to a second four-year term. The two champions of nature go way back – Mr. Benepe became a parks employee first, as a park ranger, in 1979. Both were hired by Gordon Davis, who served as parks commissioner from 1978 to 1983 and who obviously had an eye for talent.

Under a brilliant sun, Ms. Thomas and Mr. Benepe ambled along the Midwood Trail, blanketed with leaves of every color. They passed by red and black oaks, lichen-coated logs, and brand-new log benches. Crickets chirped, signalling that the freeze hasn’t come yet. The experience was rustic, but not too much so. Like the three other trails that opened yesterday, this one is paved and level, with light reading provided on trail signs along the way (audio and printed guides are in the works).

Just past the trailhead, Ms. Thomas noted that in 1980, when she arrived at the park, the area on the left was a dumping site. She had it cleared, only to discover that 40 trees had died, suffocated by mounds of dirt and clay. For years afterward, the area was left alone, allowing indigenous plants to grow. Then invasive plants were removed.

Throughout Ms. Tupper’s tenure, the tulip trees have stood tall. Mr. Benepe held up a bright yellow leaf larger than his own hand to show how the tree got its name: The leaves are tulip-shaped.

These trail buddies are most familiar with the rejuvenation nature provides. Asked how she has stayed in the same job for 25 years, Ms. Thomas, originally from Minnesota, said, “It’s the park; I love it. When I get bored, I take on a new project.” She bicycles or walks in the park every morning, usually accompanied by her daughter, Phaedre, who is the director of the Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation. When Ms. Thomas finally sequesters herself in her office, she looks out on her park from a small balcony.

Mr. Benepe, whose office is in Central Park, said Prospect Park is even more beautiful that Manhattan’s crown jewel. “The thinking goes, when they designed Prospect Park, Olmstead and Vaux corrected all the mistakes they made in Central Park,” he said.

As for the positive effects of nature, Mr. Benepe cited naturalist John Muir: “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, overcivilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home.” Mr. Benepe added, “You don’t have to go to the mountains. You can just go to Brooklyn.”

The fall ramble wasn’t entirely spontaneous. Earlier in the day, park volunteers and supporters gathered at a ceremony on the lake to mark the opening of the trails and, more significantly, the completion of the Campaign for Prospect Park. The campaign raised $116 million for major projects such as the renovations of the parade ground and the boathouse, and the creation of a science-oriented high school in collaboration with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Still to come is a new ice-skating facility.

“Prospect Park hasn’t been this beautiful and this clean in 50 years,” Mr. Benepe said.

The city contributed $81 million to the campaign, with the remaining $36 million coming from private donors, 95% of whom live in Brooklyn. These included the chairman of the board of the Prospect Park Alliance, Henry Christensen III, and board members Albert Garner and Gina Ingoglia Weiner.

“And that doesn’t include all the fabulous volunteer hours contributed,” Ms. Thomas said. More than 6,000 volunteers contribute 25,000 hours a year.

Under Mayor Bloomberg, financial support of parks has increased by leaps and bounds. This year’s capital budget for the parks and recreation department is $900 million, which is 3.5 times what it was the year prior, Mr. Benepe said.

The creation of the new 2.5-mile trail system at Prospect Park cost $3.37 million, with funding coming from the city and state, as well as the Kresge Foundation, the KeySpan Foundation, the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, the New York Community Trust, the Starr Foundation, the Booth Ferris Foundation, and the Independence Community Foundation.

The Lullwater Trail winds along a lake, and includes a replica of a rustic arbor originally designed by Vaux. The Midwood Trail goes through a historic forest. The Peninsula Trail passes a picnic spot and shelter overlooking the lake, while the Waterfall Trail leads to the Fallkill and Ambergill waterfalls. Each takes about half an hour to walk at a leisurely pace, with detours available on unpaved terrain.

“I’ve been working two years cleaning up the trails after school. I’ve seen fish and tadpoles and gone bird-watching,” 10-year-old Anissee Alves-Willis told the crowd, which included state Assembly members Joan Millman and Jim Brennan; the chairman of the Prospect Park Community Committee, Dany Cunningham, and Prospect Park Alliance board members Joe Fishman and Fidel Del Valle.

On any day, whether jogging, picnicking, or throwing a Frisbee, the park reflects the community it serves.

“In many ways, Prospect Park is Brooklyn, a melting pot of immigrants and longtime residents, athletes and readers, artists and bankers. It is a place for our quietest reflections and our happiest celebrations,” the director Spike Lee said in the report, “The Plan for Prospect Park,” distributed at yesterday’s event.

The ceremony drew a spectrum of happy souls braving the cold weather. A cake from the Two Little Red Hens bakery on Eighth Avenue, as well as trail mix, sweetened the occasion.

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ODDS & ENDS

The “Desperate Housewife” Eva Longoria was the heavyweight celebrity at the American Museum of Natural History’s gala Wednesday night, but not everyone there knew of her television persona. The chairman of the museum, Lewis Bernard, confessed he hasn’t seen the hit ABC show.”The only show I watch is ‘The Simpsons,'” he said. Ms. Longoria dined at Table 48, next to Seth Meyers and other “Saturday Night Live” comedians. (That show’s creator and producer, Lorne Michaels, is a board member and served as one of the gala’s chairmen.) The event raised $2 million. … Scarlett Johansson, Keira Knightley, Wyclef Jean, and Reese Witherspoon are among those who autographed pairs of jeans to be auctioned on eBay, with proceeds going to the National Hemophilia Foundation. The auction kicks off at a party Saturday at the Great Hall at FIT. … Marshall Curry’s film on the brilliant, ambitious Cory Booker’s failed run in Newark’s 2002 mayoral race, “Street Fight,” is under consideration for an Academy Award in the category of Best Documentary Feature, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced Wednesday. (Mr. Curry, who lives in Brooklyn and is the brother of the generous and social Boykin Curry, made a splash at the Tribeca Film Festival last spring.)