Explore NYC parks — Central Park & beyond
From the trails of Central Park to the quiet of the 9/11 Memorial — a local's guide to NYC's parks, tours and events.
Where are NYC parks?
New York City protects more than 30,000 acres of parkland across all five boroughs — Central Park in Manhattan, the wild forests of the Bronx, the coastal greenways of Staten Island. This NYC parks guide skips the fluff and gives you the best parks in NYC with what you actually need: hours, directions, and what's worth your time once you get there.
Take the subway — every major park is within a 5-min walk of a station.
Six parks worth your morning
Central Park
843 acres of meadows, lakes, bridges and trails in the heart of Manhattan.
9/11 Memorial Park
Twin reflecting pools and the Survivor Tree honoring the lives lost.
Prospect Park
Brooklyn's 526-acre green heart by Olmsted & Vaux, designers of Central Park.
The High Line
An elevated rail line reborn as a 1.45-mile linear garden above Chelsea.
Bryant Park
A pocket of lawn behind the public library — winter market, summer films.
Washington Sq. Park
The famous arch, the fountain, the chess players — Greenwich Village's plaza.
Every park guide on the site
Every park and practical guide we've published, grouped by borough.
Manhattan
- Central Park: things to do
- Central Park tours
- Central Park Zoo
- Central Park events
- How big is Central Park?
- Where is Central Park?
- The High Line
- Little Island
- Hudson River Park
- Riverside Park
- Bryant Park
- Madison Square Park
- Washington Square Park
- Battery Park
- 9/11 Memorial Park
- Fort Tryon Park & The Cloisters
- Governors Island
The Bronx
Staten Island
Practical NYC
Top NYC park tours & tickets
Hand-picked experiences near NYC's parks. Prices and each operator's cancellation terms are shown on the tour's own page.
Affiliate disclosure: the cards and live listings below link to GetYourGuide. If you book through them we may earn a commission — never at extra cost to you, and it never changes which tours we recommend.
Central Park Bike Tour
A guided ride past the park's landmarks — a fast way to see a lot of Central Park in one outing.
9/11 Memorial & Ground Zero Guided Tour
A guide walks you through the Memorial pools and Ground Zero history in person.
Central Park Guided Walking Tour
Two hours on foot with a guide — Bethesda Terrace, Bow Bridge, Strawberry Fields and the history behind them.
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Ferry
Round-trip ferry access to Liberty Island and Ellis Island's immigration museum.
A Central Park sightseeing option
Check current booking details on the specific provider product page.
A Central Park sightseeing option
Compare a guided pedicab ride through Central Park. Check the route, accessibility, current price and cancellation terms on the product page before booking. This is a sightseeing tour, not a Zoo admission ticket.
View pedicab tour on Viator →Sponsored · We may earn a commission from Viator bookings.
Five boroughs, five green stories
The things everyone asks
Plan your perfect NYC park day
Get curated routes, event picks and tour deals — straight from locals who actually walk these paths.
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