Brooklyn Bridge Park: The East River's Front Yard

Brooklyn Bridge Park runs 85 acres along the East River, from the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge in DUMBO down to Atlantic Avenue by Brooklyn Heights — about 1.3 miles of former shipping piers turned into lawns, sport courts, playgrounds, and gardens. It's built on six numbered piers plus the connecting uplands, and it opened in phases starting in 2010 on what used to be a working cargo terminal. Entry is free, every day, 6 AM to 1 AM. If you're coming from Manhattan, it pairs naturally with a walk across the High Line earlier in the day, or a ferry ride over from Governors Island — both are on the same NYC Ferry network.

The six piers, and what each one is actually for

The park isn't one continuous lawn — it's six distinct piers, each built around a different use:

• Pier 1 — the main entrance near the Brooklyn Bridge, with the biggest open lawns, the Bridge View Lawn, and a pavilion with restrooms. This is also where the Squibb Park Bridge comes down.
• Pier 2 — five acres packed with recreation: six basketball courts, ten handball courts, bocce and shuffleboard, an inline skating (roller) rink, ping pong, pickleball, and the dock where free public kayaking launches.
• Pier 3 — quieter grass uplands and gardens, less programmed than the piers on either side of it — a good spot if you want to skip the crowds.
• Pier 4 — home to the park's small beach and a protected marine habitat, not a swimming beach but a good lookout point.
• Pier 5 — sports fields, a picnic peninsula with first-come, first-served grills, and restrooms. (The Boathouse and free kayak launch are at Pier 2, not here.)
• Pier 6 — the playground pier: Slide Mountain, Sandbox Village, and Swing Valley, plus the Water Lab splash area, sand volleyball courts, and a seasonal uplands garden planted with hundreds of thousands of bulbs each spring.

Jane's Carousel and Empire Fulton Ferry

Jane's Carousel sits inside a glass pavilion near the Brooklyn Bridge, right in the Empire Fulton Ferry section of the park. The carousel itself dates to 1922 — a hand-carved, 48-horse ride built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company for an amusement park in Youngstown, Ohio. Jane and David Walentas bought it at auction in 1984 in rough shape, and Jane spent decades restoring it by hand before it reopened here in 2011 inside a transparent enclosure that lets it run through the winter. It's one of the few things in the park you pay for — $4 per ride as of our August 2026 check, closed Tuesdays — confirm current hours at janescarousel.com.

The DUMBO photo spot and the Brooklyn Heights Promenade

A couple of blocks from Empire Fulton Ferry, the corner of Washington and Water Streets in DUMBO is the single most photographed intersection in the neighborhood — the Manhattan Bridge lines up perfectly between the buildings, with the Empire State Building peeking through beneath it. It gets crowded fast, so early morning is your best shot at an empty street. It's technically outside the park boundary but close enough that most visitors fold it into the same walk. Above the park's southern half, the Brooklyn Heights Promenade runs along the bluff with an uninterrupted view of the Lower Manhattan skyline and the harbor — free, open-air, and usually far less crowded than the piers below it.

Squibb Park Bridge and the greenway

The Squibb Park Bridge is a roughly 400-foot zigzagging walkway that connects Squibb Park in Brooklyn Heights down to the Greenway at Pier 1 — a way to reach the park without taking the stairs. It's had a rocky history: the original wooden bridge, built in 2013, closed more than once over structural issues before being demolished and replaced with an all-steel structure that reopened in May 2020. It's been open since, but it's worth a quick check that it's running before you count on it. The Greenway itself is the paved path that threads all six piers together, popular with runners and cyclists heading toward DUMBO or south toward Atlantic Avenue.

Kayaking at Pier 2

Free public kayaking launches from the Pier 2 dock through the summer, run by the Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse. Sessions run in 20-minute timed slots with life vests and basic instruction included — no experience needed. General sessions typically run Wednesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday daytime through the end of August, switching to Saturdays only in September, plus a dedicated family paddle session on Sundays for kids seven and up. Registration opens about two weeks ahead through the Boathouse's own site, and it fills up, so don't count on walking up and getting a spot.

Getting to Brooklyn Bridge Park

By subway: A/C to High St, F to York St, or 2/3 to Clark St, all a 5–10 minute walk from an entrance. By ferry: NYC Ferry stops right inside the park at DUMBO/Fulton Ferry (north end) and Brooklyn Bridge Park/Pier 6 (south end), with routes connecting to Manhattan and other Brooklyn stops — schedules shift, so check ferry.nyc before you go. Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan drops you right at Pier 1 — figure 30 to 40 minutes on foot from the Manhattan side. Driving isn't recommended; parking near the park is limited and metered, and the same congestion-pricing math that applies to Manhattan parking makes it not worth the hassle.

Best time of day for the skyline view

Sunset is the obvious answer and it's obvious for a reason — the light hits the Lower Manhattan skyline directly from Pier 1 and the Promenade above it. Golden hour in the hour before sunset draws the biggest crowds at the popular lookout points, so if you want the view without the elbow-to-elbow crowd, go an hour earlier or come back after dark once the skyline lights up. Weekday mornings are the quietest time to have any of the piers mostly to yourself.

Frequently asked questions about Brooklyn Bridge Park