✈️ TRAVEL MODE · METRO AREA

New York City Metro Area

Top things to do for visitors, each linked to its official source.

METRO AREA

New York City Metro Area

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850 things to do in New York City. Best for visitors first. Want a day-by-day plan? Build a visit itinerary.

outdoorsFREE

American Veterans Memorial Pier

📍 Bay Ridge

Bay Ridge fishing pier just south of Owl's Head Park that juts into the Upper Bay, with views of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline.

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outdoorsFREE

Archie Spigner Park

📍 St. Albans

Southeast Queens neighborhood park (formerly St. Albans Park) with a lawn called Musician's Oval that honors local musicians, paved constellation markers showing when each is best seen, a flagpole that works as a sundial

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outdoorsFREE

Astoria Park

📍 Astoria

A big waterfront park under the Hell Gate and RFK bridges, with trails, a track, tennis courts and the city's oldest and largest pool.

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outdoorsFREE

Baisley Pond Park

📍 South Jamaica

A South Jamaica park around Baisley Pond, with fishing, a running track, cricket fields, shady picnic spots and natural habitat to explore.

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outdoorsFREE

Bennett Park

📍 Hudson Heights

Small, quiet Hudson Heights park on land bought by newspaper publisher James Gordon Bennett in 1871 and opened as a park in 1929, with a playground and public restrooms.

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outdoorsFREE

Bensonhurst Park

📍 Bath Beach

One of the bigger parks on the Brooklyn waterfront, with a round central lawn, busy handball courts, ballfields, eight tennis courts near the water and a playground. It's also a starting point for biking the Shore Parkwa

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outdoorsFREE

Blue Heron Park

📍 Annadale

A South Shore nature park with a nature center, a meadow boardwalk, woodland trails and great old trees.

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outdoorsFREE

Bronx Park

📍 Bronx Park

Large park along the Bronx River with forest, natural areas, hiking trails, a greenway and a kayak and canoe launch. The river runs through a gorge here, and it is home to plenty of birds and wildlife.

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outdoorsFREE

Brookville Park

📍 Rosedale

Southeast Queens park with natural areas on the Atlantic Flyway bird migration route, a greenway path, barbecue areas, bocce and tennis courts, ballfields and a playground.

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outdoorsFREE

Brower Park

📍 Crown Heights

Crown Heights park that is home to the Brooklyn Children's Museum, with a grassy picnic lawn, play areas, a skate park and two full basketball courts, plus a dog-friendly area.

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outdoorsFREE

Bush Terminal Piers Park

📍 Sunset Park

Quiet waterfront park on a former port complex, with an esplanade past tide pools and restored wetlands, a nature preserve, ballfields and views of the Bay Ridge Channel. Enter at 43rd St.

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outdoorsFREE

Bushwick Inlet Park

📍 Williamsburg/Greenpoint

A waterfront park on the East River with a big multipurpose field, a green-roofed building, a viewing platform and Manhattan skyline views.

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outdoorsFREE

Calvert Vaux Park

📍 Gravesend

A Gravesend Bay park built from soil dug out for the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, with a restored waterfront, water views, birds, trails and sports fields.

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outdoorsFREE

Canarsie Park

📍 Canarsie

A large park between Paerdegat and Fresh Creek basins, with natural areas and trails, cricket and soccer fields, a skate park and barbecue areas.

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outdoorsFREE

Claremont Park

📍 Claremont

Hilly neighborhood park in the West Bronx with lawns for picnics, barbecue areas, two playgrounds, a gazebo, ball courts, a dog-friendly area and an outdoor public pool in summer.

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outdoorsFREE

Coffey Park

📍 Red Hook

Shady neighborhood park in the middle of Red Hook, named for 19th-century local political leader Michael J. Coffey, with a playground, basketball and handball courts, barbecue areas, spray showers and a dog-friendly area

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outdoorsFREE

Concrete Plant Park

📍 West Farms

A former concrete plant turned riverside park on the Bronx River, with re-established salt marsh and a kayak and canoe launch.

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outdoorsFREE

Conference House Park

📍 Tottenville

NYC's southernmost park: 265 acres with four historic buildings, Raritan Bay views, hiking and biking trails and a visitors center.

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outdoorsFREE

Crocheron Park

📍 Bayside

A Bayside park on Little Neck Bay with a scenic pond, winding paths, a footbridge to the waterfront and good fall color.

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outdoorsFREE

Crotona Park

📍 Crotona

A 127-acre Bronx flagship park with a 3.3-acre lake full of turtles and ducks, 28 tree species, a nature center and the borough's largest pool.

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outdoorsFREE

Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park

📍 Hamilton Heights

Multi-level 28-acre park built 69 feet above the Hudson, with a river promenade, playgrounds, a running track, courts and picnic areas. Pool, skating and the carousel charge small fees. No pets.

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outdoorsFREE

Ferry Point Park

📍 Throgs Neck

A mile and a half of Bronx waterfront with views of the East River, Long Island Sound, the Manhattan skyline and the Whitestone and Throgs Neck Bridges.

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outdoorsFREE

Fort Greene Park

📍 Fort Greene

A historic hilltop park shaped by Olmsted and Vaux, with sloping hills, majestic trees, a visitor center and the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument.

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outdoorsFREE

Fort Totten Park

📍 Bayside

Waterfront park on the Long Island Sound side of Bayside, built around a preserved Civil War fortress, with historic buildings to explore, natural areas, a nature center and a summer pool. Winter is a good time to watch

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outdoorsFREE

Fort Washington Park

📍 Washington Heights

A 160-acre ribbon of cliffs, meadows and woods on the Hudson, with the Little Red Lighthouse under the George Washington Bridge and views of the Palisades.

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outdoorsFREE

Francis Lewis Park

📍 Whitestone

Whitestone waterfront park on land the British granted in 1765 to Welsh-born merchant Francis Lewis, with a kayak and canoe launch, bocce, basketball and pickleball courts and a playground.

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outdoorsFREE

Grand Ferry Park

📍 Williamsburg

Small waterfront park on the site of the old Grand Street ferry landing, with East River and Manhattan views and a quiet spot to sit by the water.

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outdoorsFREE

Great Kills Park

📍 Great Kills

A 523-acre national park on the South Shore with a beach, a multi-use path, hiking and biking trails and fishing spots.

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outdoorsFREE

Harlem River Park

📍 East Harlem

Riverside greenway strip along the Harlem River in East Harlem, with a bike and walking path, natural areas, a playground and a soccer field.

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outdoorsFREE

Hermon A. MacNeil Park

📍 College Point

Waterfront park at the tip of College Point with a promenade for walking, running or biking, old shade trees, a kayak and canoe launch onto the East River and Flushing Bay, and low-flying planes heading to and from LaGua

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outdoorsFREE

Highbridge Park

📍 Washington Heights

Cliffside woods along the Harlem River, home to the High Bridge (the city's oldest standing bridge) and its water tower, plus the city's first mountain-bike course and a skate park.

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outdoorsFREE

Highland Park

📍 Cypress Hills

Hilly park on the Brooklyn–Queens border with hiking trails and natural areas, plus playgrounds, ball fields, tennis courts and barbecue areas.

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outdoorsFREE

Hunts Point Riverside Park

📍 Hunts Point

Former dumping ground turned Bronx River waterfront park, with a fishing pier, a kayak and canoe launch, barbecue areas and a link to the Bronx River Greenway.

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outdoorsFREE

Isham Park

📍 Inwood

Hillside Inwood park on ground that played a part in the Revolutionary War battle of Fort Washington, with an outcrop of Inwood marble and a large ginkgo tree. Urban Park Rangers lead restoration work here with local stu

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outdoorsFREE

Jacob Riis Park

📍 Rockaway

A national park beach with a 1932 bathhouse, picnic area and playgrounds. Lifeguards Memorial Day–Labor Day.

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outdoorsFREE

Juniper Valley Park

📍 Middle Village

A busy neighborhood park in Middle Village, with a running track, tennis, bocce and shuffleboard courts and wide lawns.

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outdoorsFREE

Kissena Park

📍 Flushing

A 237-acre Flushing park around Kissena Lake, with weeping willows, trails, and a historic grove of exotic trees that began as a 19th-century nursery.

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outdoorsFREE

Leif Ericson Park

📍 Dyker Heights

Long neighborhood park running between 66th and 67th Streets, with ballfields, tennis, pickleball and volleyball courts, fitness equipment, playgrounds and a dog-friendly area.

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outdoorsFREE

Lemon Creek Park

📍 Prince's Bay

A 105-acre South Shore waterfront park with natural areas, trails, fishing, a kayak launch, a marina and birdhouses.

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outdoorsFREE

Macombs Dam Park

📍 Concourse

Sports park beside Yankee Stadium. Its southern ballfield sits on the footprint of the original stadium, so you can bat where the Yankee greats once did, and the Joseph Yancey Track and Field has a 400-meter track, a tur

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outdoorsFREE

Marcus Garvey Park

📍 Harlem

A Harlem park with the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater for summer plays and concerts, playgrounds built for all kids, a pool and great old trees.

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outdoorsFREE

Marsha P. Johnson State Park

📍 Williamsburg

Seven-acre East River waterfront park with Manhattan skyline views, native meadows among old rail-yard remnants, a play area and picnic spots. Entry and public programs are free.

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outdoorsFREE

Msgr. McGolrick Park

📍 Greenpoint

Quiet, tree-shaded Greenpoint park with a historic 1910 central pavilion, World War I and USS Monitor monuments, a gated playground with spray showers and a Sunday farmers market. NYC Parks lists dog-friendly areas.

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outdoorsFREE

Pugsley Creek Park

📍 Castle Hill

Quiet South Bronx park of wetlands and salt marsh with hiking trails, a kayak and canoe launch, and wildlife in largely untouched natural areas.

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outdoorsFREE

Ralph Demarco Park

📍 Astoria

Small East River waterfront park on Shore Boulevard in Astoria, created to open up the river to the neighborhood. NYC Parks lists a dog-friendly area.

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outdoorsFREE

Sakura Park

📍 Morningside Heights

Small, peaceful park between Riverside Church and International House, named for the Japanese cherry trees gifted to the city in 1912.

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outdoorsFREE

Sara D. Roosevelt Park

📍 Lower East Side

Long, narrow green strip running from Houston Street down to Canal on the Lower East Side, the neighborhood's biggest open space, with playgrounds, a turf soccer field, a running track, ball courts and a roller-skating r

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outdoorsFREE

Seton Falls Park

📍 Edenwald

Northeast Bronx park with more than 30 acres of protected woods and wetlands. Hiking paths follow a stream from a small man-made waterfall through the forest, where about thirty bird species live, and there's a playgroun

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outdoorsFREE

Seward Park

📍 Lower East Side

One of the largest parks on the Lower East Side, named for the New York statesman behind the 1867 Alaska purchase. It holds the first permanent city-built playground in the country, plus basketball and volleyball courts.

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outdoorsFREE

Sherman Creek Park

📍 Inwood

Five small street-end parks on the Harlem River from W 202nd to W 206th St, with waterfront seating, picnic tables, fishing access and a kayak launch.

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outdoorsFREE

Shirley Chisholm State Park

📍 Spring Creek

A 407-acre park on Jamaica Bay with 10 miles of car-free bike and hiking paths, piers and skyline views. Free loaner bikes Thu–Sun in season (Apr 30–Nov 1 in 2026). No pets.

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outdoorsFREE

Soundview Park

📍 Soundview

The 'Gateway to the Bronx River,' where the Bronx River meets the East River, with waterfront views, fishing, trails, a kayak launch and sports fields.

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outdoorsFREE

St. Catherine's Park

📍 Upper East Side

Busy Upper East Side block park on First Avenue with a playground, running track, basketball and handball courts and a tennis wall. Its layout copies a church in Rome, down to elephant-shaped sprinklers.

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outdoorsFREE

St. Mary's Park

📍 Mott Haven

The largest park in the South Bronx, with picnic lawns, a running track, ballfields, tennis and handball courts, a recreation center with an indoor pool, and a dog-friendly area.

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outdoorsFREE

St. Nicholas Park

📍 Hamilton Heights

A long, sloping park between Harlem and Hamilton Heights, running from W 128th to W 141st St, with playgrounds, courts and barbecue areas.

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outdoorsFREE

Starlight Park

📍 West Farms

Rebuilt 13-acre park on the Bronx River Greenway with floating docks and a kayak launch, a picnic area, playgrounds and paths linking to nearby riverside parks.

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outdoorsFREE

Udalls Park Preserve

📍 Little Neck

Quiet nature preserve on the edge of Little Neck Bay, with hiking trails through protected natural areas and the boulder-strewn North Shore landscape that local legend credits to battling giants.

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outdoorsFREE

Valentino Pier

📍 Red Hook

Red Hook pier on the old shipping waterfront with harbor views toward the Statue of Liberty, plus fishing and a kayak and canoe launch.

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outdoorsFREE

West Harlem Piers

📍 Manhattanville

Landscaped Hudson River waterfront on the old Manhattanville shoreline, with fishing piers, a kayak and canoe launch and free Wi-Fi.

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outdoorsFREE

WNYC Transmitter Park

📍 Greenpoint

A small Greenpoint waterfront park on the site of the old WNYC radio towers, with a lawn, nature gardens, an esplanade and a fishing pier with skyline views.

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food giveawaysFREE

Arthur Avenue Retail Market

📍 Arthur Avenue

LaGuardia's 1940 covered Italian market in Bronx Little Italy: cheese, cured meats, cigars, a beer hall and Gene Bean's ices. Free to wander.

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outdoorsFREE

Bryant Park

📍 Midtown

Midtown's lawn and reading room behind the library, with free programs most of the year.

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outdoorsFREE

Central Park

📍 Midtown to Harlem

843 acres of lawns, lakes, bridges and paths. Bethesda Terrace, Bow Bridge and the Ramble are free anytime.

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outdoorsFREE

Central Park off-leash hours

📍 Central Park

Dogs may run off-leash in designated areas early morning and late night; leash them 9 AM–9 PM. Some spots, like the Ramble and Conservatory Garden, are always leash-only.

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Things to do only: no hotels or places to stay. Every listing links to its official source.