Pelham Bay Park covers roughly 2,772 acres in the northeast corner of the Bronx — more than three times the size of Central Park's 843 acres. It is, by a wide margin, the largest park New York City owns. Ask most New Yorkers to name the city's biggest park and they'll guess Central Park; it doesn't even crack the top five. Pelham Bay just doesn't get talked about, partly because it's a trek from Midtown and partly because the Bronx generally gets skipped on a first trip to the city. That's the whole case for going: a 13-mile saltwater shoreline on Long Island Sound, a real beach, a landmarked mansion, salt marsh, woodland trails, two golf courses and bridle paths, and on a summer weekend you'll still find quiet corners of it.
Orchard Beach — the "Bronx Riviera"
Orchard Beach is the park's best-known feature and the only public beach in the Bronx. It isn't natural — Robert Moses had it built in the 1930s, filling around 110 acres of bay shoreline with sand, and it opened to the public in 1937. Locals have called it the Bronx Riviera ever since, for the crescent shape of the beach and the crowds it still pulls on a hot Saturday. Swimming is seasonal, with lifeguards on duty in summer; the promenade behind the beach has concession stands and picnic areas that stay open through the season. It's a different scene from anything in Manhattan — more neighborhood cookout than tourist stop, which is part of the appeal.
Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum
On Shore Road, a short walk from the Orchard Beach traffic circle, the Bartow-Pell Mansion is a restored 1842 stone manor house with formal gardens, run today as a house museum. It's one of the few surviving reminders that this whole stretch of the Bronx was once private country estates before the city took the land for parkland. As of this check, the house is open Wednesdays and weekends, noon to 4pm, with guided tours on the quarter-hour and admission of $15 for adults and $12 for seniors and students; the gardens and grounds are free daily from 8:30am until dusk. Hours and pricing shift seasonally, so confirm at bartowpellmansionmuseum.org before you go.
Hunter Island, the salt marsh and Turtle Cove
Hunter Island is a 166-acre peninsula on the park's north shore — a true island once, now connected to the mainland by landfill, and protected since 1967 as the Hunter Island Wildlife Sanctuary. The self-guided Kazimiroff Nature Trail loops through its interior forest and along its wetland edge before coming out at Orchard Beach. Southwest of there, Turtle Cove holds a 25-acre salt marsh that the Parks Department has spent years restoring — clearing invasive plants, reopening tidal flow that an old rail berm had blocked off, and letting native saltmarsh grass take back the shoreline. It's tucked right next to the Turtle Cove Golf Center on City Island Road, so you can watch herons working the marsh a few hundred feet from a mini-golf course, which is a very Pelham Bay juxtaposition.
How Pelham Bay compares to NYC's other big parks
Once you start looking past Central Park, the city's other large green spaces open up too. Staten Island has its own oversized, underrated park system — the Greenbelt runs nearly 2,800 acres of its own woodland. In Brooklyn, Prospect Park is a fifth of Pelham Bay's size but gets a fraction of the crowd overflow you'd expect. None of them get the visitor numbers Central Park does, which is exactly why they're worth the trip.
Bridle paths, horse stables and golf
Pelham Bay has a real bridle trail network, a holdover from Robert Moses's 1930s overhaul of the park, when stables were added along with the roads and beach. Riders still use the trails today. The park also holds two public 18-hole golf courses, including the Split Rock course, which dates to the same Moses-era rebuild. Between the trails, the stables and the fairways, this is the one park in the five boroughs where you could plausibly spend a full day without setting foot on pavement.
Hiking and birdlife
Beyond the Kazimiroff loop, Pelham Bay has miles of woodland and shoreline trails crisscrossing its salt marshes, forests and meadows — enough that the Parks Department lists it among the city's real hiking destinations, not just a walk-in-the-park stroll. The mix of salt marsh, woodland and open water makes it one of the better birding spots in the city: the National Audubon Society designates it an Important Bird Area, and birders have logged well over 260 species here, from wading herons and egrets in the marsh to hawks and owls in the woods.
Getting to Pelham Bay Park
The 6 train ends its run at the Pelham Bay Park station — it's the last stop, so you can't miss it. From the station, the Bx29 bus (City Island-bound) picks up right at the subway overpass and drops you at Orchard Beach; in summer, Memorial Day through Labor Day, some Bx12 buses run directly from the subway to Orchard Beach without the transfer. If you're driving, there's parking near Orchard Beach and at the golf courses, though it fills up fast on summer weekends. Either way, budget more travel time than you would for Central Park — this is the outer edge of the Bronx, not Midtown.
Frequently asked questions about Pelham Bay Park
Is Pelham Bay Park really the biggest park in New York City?
Yes. At roughly 2,772 acres it's the largest park the city owns, more than three times the size of Central Park's 843 acres. It just doesn't get the visitors, because most of the Bronx isn't on the usual tourist map.
How do you get to Pelham Bay Park without a car?
Take the 6 train to its last stop, Pelham Bay Park. From there, the Bx29 bus (City Island-bound) connects to Orchard Beach at the subway overpass. In summer, some Bx12 buses run directly from the subway station to Orchard Beach, Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Is Orchard Beach open to swim?
Yes, seasonally, with lifeguards on duty in summer. It's a human-made beach — Robert Moses had it built in the 1930s by filling roughly 110 acres of the bay with sand — and it's the only public beach in the Bronx.
What is the Bartow-Pell Mansion?
A restored 1842 stone manor house on the park's Shore Road, once a private estate, now a museum with period rooms and formal gardens. As of this check it's open Wednesdays and weekends, noon to 4pm, with guided tours ($15 adults, $12 seniors/students); the grounds are free daily until dusk. Confirm current hours and pricing at bartowpellmansionmuseum.org before you go.
Can you hike in Pelham Bay Park?
Yes — the Kazimiroff Nature Trail loops through Hunter Island's forest and salt marsh, and there's a separate Bridle Trail network for horseback riding. It's the closest thing to real woods you'll find inside city limits.
Are there golf courses in Pelham Bay Park?
Two, including the Split Rock course, both open to the public. Split Rock dates to the 1930s and was redesigned as part of Robert Moses's overhaul of the park.
What birds can you see at Pelham Bay Park?
A lot of them — the National Audubon Society lists it as an Important Bird Area, and birders have logged over 260 species between the salt marsh, the woodland and the shoreline.