Parque Villarino, Protected park in Zavalla, Argentina.

Parque Villarino is a protected natural reserve in Zavalla spanning about 100 hectares filled with dense forests and roughly 160 tree species from different botanical families. The terrain shows a mix of thick stands of trees, open areas, and marked paths that form the main structure of the grounds.

José Víctor Villarino died childless in 1928, leaving his 500-hectare Granja Estrella in Zavalla to his sisters Joaquina and Mercedes, with instructions that it pass to the national government to fund a park named after his father. The Ministry of Education declined the bequest in 1937, so Joaquina offered it to the Ministry of Agriculture. Presidential decrees of 29 November and 14 December 1938 accepted the donation, and the state took possession of the first 100 hectares on 31 May 1939. Planting began in 1940.

The park's name honours José Félix Villarino, father of the donor José Víctor Villarino, as set out in the 1925 will. The legacy also provided for the Escuela N.º 6371 Joaquina Villarino de Soage, named after the executor, and a branch of Jardín Nucleado 280. In the 1960s the park drew up to 30,000 people from Rosario and Pérez for Spring Day, arriving by train, bus and truck.

The park welcomes visitors throughout the day and rewards those who spend time walking the available trails through different forest sections. It helps to stay on marked paths and be prepared for ongoing research activities you may encounter.

The park's planting design survives intact on about half its area; elsewhere, over more than 20 years, species such as glossy privet, box elder and the native Bauhinia forficata have spread on their own. Among the trees are specimens rare in pampas park design, including coast redwood, wild persimmon and Cedrela fissilis.