Best parks in New York beyond Central Park

Let me start with the one that might actually be my number one. Prospect Park was designed by the same people who did Central Park (Olmsted and Vaux, if you want to sound smart at brunch) and they considered it their masterpiece. Having spent significant time in both, I think they might have been right.

The thing about Prospect Park that makes it special is the Long Meadow. It’s a 90-acre open meadow that runs the length of the park and on a spring afternoon it looks like the English countryside somehow landed in Brooklyn. People spread out blankets, dogs run around off-leash in the mornings, and there’s enough space that it never feels packed even on the nicest days.

The Ravine is my secret weapon here. It’s a forested section in the middle of the park with an actual waterfall (the only natural waterfall in Brooklyn) and walking through it feels like being upstate. I have brought friends from out of town here and watched their faces do that thing where their mouth opens slightly because they cannot believe this is still New York City. It never gets old.

The Boathouse is beautiful for photos. The Prospect Park Zoo is small and sweet and perfect if you’re with kids. And the Grand Army Plaza entrance with the arch and the fountain is one of the most underrated photo spots in Brooklyn. My tip is to enter from the south side (Parkside Avenue on the Q train) and walk north. Most people enter from the north and it’s less crowded going the other direction.

I remember the first time I went to Brooklyn Bridge Park and thought okay, this is it. This is the most beautiful spot in New York. I was standing on Pier 1 looking back at the Manhattan skyline at sunset and the whole city was turning golden and I genuinely felt emotional about it. I had been living here for maybe six months at that point and it was the first time the city made me tear up a little.

The park stretches 1.3 miles along the Brooklyn waterfront and every section has a different personality. Pier 1 is the manicured section with rolling hills and the best skyline views. Pier 2 has the sports courts and roller skating rink. Pier 4 has the small beach (yes, there is a beach in Brooklyn Bridge Park). And Pier 6 has the playground and the ferry landing.

My favorite thing to do here is come around 6 PM on a summer evening, grab food from Time Out Market in DUMBO (which is a two-minute walk away), and eat it on the grass at Pier 1 while watching the sunset paint the Manhattan skyline. It sounds like I’m being dramatic but I promise you it is genuinely one of the most beautiful things you can do in New York for free.

The Jane’s Carousel inside the park is also magical. It’s a restored 1922 carousel inside a glass pavilion designed by Jean Nouvel and at night it glows like a lantern. It costs $2 to ride and it is worth it even as an adult with no children present. I have done this. I am not embarrassed.

I know the High Line gets a lot of tourist traffic and I know that some New Yorkers roll their eyes about it. But I still love it. The concept alone is wild. They took an abandoned elevated freight rail line on the west side of Manhattan and turned it into a park in the sky with native plants, art installations, and views of the Hudson River. Every time I walk it I notice something I didn’t see before.

The trick with the High Line is timing. On a Saturday afternoon in June it can feel like Times Square with better plants. But on a Tuesday morning in April or a Wednesday evening in September, it is genuinely peaceful. You can hear the plants rustling and smell the lavender and watch the city go by below you like you’re floating above it.

My favorite sections are the wildflower meadow near 26th Street and the viewing platform at 17th Street where you can sit on the bleacher-style steps and watch traffic on 10th Avenue like it’s a movie. The northern section near Hudson Yards is newer and less crowded. Start from there and walk south for the best experience.

In spring the High Line is at its absolute best. The plants are blooming, the art installations are new for the season, and the whole thing feels alive in a way that’s hard to describe. It’s free, it’s accessible (there are elevators), and it connects you to Chelsea, the Meatpacking District, and Hudson Yards all in one walk.

Hudson River Park is the park that surprises people. It runs five miles along the west side of Manhattan from Battery Park City up to 59th Street and most of it is a gorgeous waterfront path with piers, playgrounds, gardens, and some of the best sunset views in the city.

I run here (okay, I jog here, let’s be honest) and it has completely ruined running anywhere else for me. You’re on a wide path right along the water with the New Jersey skyline across the river and boats going by and the Statue of Liberty in the distance. It doesn’t feel like exercise. It feels like being in a movie about exercise.

The Pier 45 area in the West Village is my favorite stretch. There’s a big lawn at the end of the pier where people sunbathe and read and just exist. Pier 26 has a tide pool area and a garden. Little Island (the park on stilts that opened in 2021) is technically part of this stretch and it’s worth visiting for the architecture alone even if you skip the performances.

For visitors, I always recommend renting a Citi Bike and riding the whole path from the Financial District up to the Intrepid Museum. It takes about 45 minutes and you’ll see more of Manhattan’s west side than most tourists see in a week.

Governors Island is one of those places that makes you feel like you’ve left New York City entirely even though you can see the skyline from every angle. It’s a 172-acre island in New York Harbor that’s only accessible by ferry (a short 7-minute ride from the Battery Maritime Building in Lower Manhattan or from Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park).

The island is open seasonally from May through October and it has become one of my absolute favorite places in the city. You take the ferry over (it’s free on weekends before noon!) and suddenly you’re on this car-free island with rolling hills, historic buildings, art installations, and the most absurd skyline views I’ve ever seen.

The Hills on the south end of the island are the showstopper. They’re man-made hills built from recycled material and when you climb to the top of Outlook Hill you get a 360-degree panoramic view of the Statue of Liberty, Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the harbor. I took my parents here and my mom literally said “this is the best view I’ve ever seen in my life.” She has been to the Grand Canyon.

Rent a bike when you get there (they have Citi Bikes and rental shops). The island is big enough that walking the whole thing takes a while. There are food vendors, hammock groves, and usually some kind of festival or event happening. It is genuinely one of the best-kept secrets in New York even though it’s getting more popular every year.

Fort Tryon Park in Washington Heights is the most underrated park in Manhattan and I will defend this position with my whole chest. It sits on the highest natural point in Manhattan and the views of the Hudson River and the Palisades are genuinely stunning. On a clear day it looks like you’re somewhere in the Hudson Valley, not in New York City.

The Cloisters museum is inside the park and it’s the branch of the Met dedicated to medieval European art and architecture. The building itself is assembled from parts of actual medieval cloisters brought over from Europe and the gardens surrounding it are planted with species that were common in medieval monastic gardens. It sounds incredibly niche but it is beautiful and peaceful in a way that nothing else in New York matches.

The Heather Garden in the park is the largest public garden in the five boroughs and in spring and summer it is absolutely gorgeous. Winding paths through flowering bushes with the river visible through the trees. I come here when I need to feel calm. It has never failed me.

To get here, take the A train to 190th Street and take the elevator up (yes, there’s an elevator built into the rock). Walk through the park to the Cloisters. Budget at least two hours. Bring a book and sit on one of the benches overlooking the river. You will not regret this.

Domino Park is small but it packs an incredible amount of charm into its six acres on the Williamsburg waterfront. It’s built on the site of the old Domino Sugar Refinery (you can still see the refinery building, which has been converted into offices and apartments) and they incorporated pieces of the industrial history into the park design. There are salvaged syrup tanks and crane tracks and machinery remnants scattered throughout.

The main draw is the waterfront. You get an unobstructed view of the Manhattan skyline and the Williamsburg Bridge from the park’s edge and on a clear day it is postcard-perfect. The park has a nice playground area, a taco stand (Tacocina by Danny Meyer, and yes it’s good), and elevated walkways through the artifact area.

I like coming here on weekend mornings when it’s still pretty empty. Grab a coffee from one of the many excellent cafes on nearby Bedford Avenue and sit on the waterfront steps. It’s a quieter, more intimate alternative to Brooklyn Bridge Park and just as photogenic.

This is the park with the giant PEPSI sign. You’ve probably seen it in photos of the Queens waterfront. What photos don’t convey is how good this park is for just hanging out. It has fishing piers, beautiful landscaped gardens, playgrounds, and what I genuinely believe is the single best view of the Midtown Manhattan skyline from any public space in the city.

The gantries (the old industrial crane structures left over from when this was a landing dock for rail car floats) are lit up at night and create these dramatic frames for the Manhattan skyline behind them. The photo opportunities here are unreal. I have taken friends here specifically for golden hour photos and every single time someone says something like “how did I not know about this place?”

It’s easy to get here. The 7 train to Vernon Blvd-Jackson Ave puts you a five-minute walk away. Combine it with a visit to MoMA PS1 (a contemporary art space that’s part of MoMA) and you’ve got a perfect Queens afternoon.

I know this is technically a famous park. But I include it because the experience of Washington Square Park is so fundamentally different from what tourists expect. It’s not a nature escape. It is a living room. The whole neighborhood uses it as their backyard. NYU students study on the benches, chess hustlers trash-talk each other at the tables, street musicians perform under the arch, and on any given weekend there’s a mix of roller skaters, jugglers, dog walkers, and somebody doing something you’ve never seen before.

The fountain area on a warm spring afternoon is one of the purest expressions of New York energy I’ve ever encountered. Kids splash in the water, people sit on the fountain edge eating ice cream, someone is playing saxophone, and the arch frames Fifth Avenue behind it all like a postcard come to life. I never get tired of this park. It gives me energy every single time.

My advice is to go without an agenda. Sit down. Watch. This park performs for you. You don’t have to do anything but be present. It’s free therapy.