# Free Things to Do in NYC With Kids: 15 That Are Actually Free *Plenty of 'free' lists in New York quietly include a $12 pretzel and a $30 parking spot. This one has 15 places that cost nothing to enter, with the fine print stated, and about half of them are ones most visitors never get to.* By Dan Fitzpatrick, Boroughs & Brood. Updated Monday, October 5, 2026. Canonical: https://boroughsandbrood.com/guides/free-things-to-do-in-nyc-with-kids.html Good for: All ages, Free. **The short answer:** The best free things to do in NYC with kids are the Staten Island Ferry (free every day), the High Line, Little Island, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Bronx Museum of the Arts and Queens County Farm Museum (free except on ticketed days). Wave Hill in the Bronx is free all day on Thursdays. Watch the fine print: skating at Bryant Park is free but skate rental is not. Checked October 5, 2026. Free means free to get in. It does not always mean free to eat, park, rent skates or use the restroom without a $4 coffee, and where something has fine print I've said so. New York is expensive in a way that makes British visitors do sums on a napkin. A family of four at a big attraction can spend serious money before anyone has seen anything, so the free things to do in NYC with kids are worth knowing properly, not as a throwaway list at the end of a $200 day. These 15 cost nothing to enter. Some are famous, and some are places I'd put ahead of the famous ones for a family with a six-year-old and a short temper. > The rule I'd apply to any free thing in this city: go early, bring snacks, find the restroom first. In that order. ## Free things in Manhattan Start here if you're short on time. Most are close to a subway stop, and most are good in any weather except the one that involves wind. ### Staten Island Ferry (Lower Manhattan, Manhattan) Arguably the best free boat ride in the world. NYC DOT says the ferry provides free service between Whitehall in Manhattan and St. George in Staten Island every day of the week, year-round. You get the Statue of Liberty and the harbor from the open decks, and children get a boat. Hold small hands on the outer deck, because it's open water and it's windy. For a first trip with a five-year-old, I'd ride across and straight back, which is the whole point. - Subway: 1 to South Ferry (accessible station); 4/5 to Bowling Green (accessible); R/W to Whitehall St (not accessible) - Cost: Free - Time: About an hour for the round trip - Check first: The schedule on the DOT page, and the MTA's elevator status - Website: https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/ferrybus/staten-island-ferry.shtml ### The High Line (Chelsea, Manhattan) A park built on an old raised rail line on the West Side, free to enter. The park's page lists elevators at four locations, including 30th Street at Hudson Yards and 31st Street and Dyer Avenue at the Moynihan Connector, and shows winter hours of 7am to 8pm from December 1 to March 31. It closes in severe weather, so check on the day. A stroller and a busy Saturday are an unhappy pair. I'd go on a weekday morning, when you can actually stop. - Subway: 7 to 34 St-Hudson Yards (accessible station); A/C/E to 14 St (accessible) - Stroller: Elevators at four locations per the park; weekends are crowded - Cost: Free - Time: 45 to 90 minutes - Check first: Elevator status and weather closures on the High Line's website - Website: https://www.thehighline.org/visit/ ### Little Island (Meatpacking District, Manhattan) A park on a pier in the Hudson with rolling paths and hills, free to the public. Only performances in The Amph need a ticket. Hours at the time of writing: 6am to 11pm until November 13, then 6am to 9pm from November 14 to March 12. You enter from the South Bridge near 13th Street or the North Bridge near 14th Street. The page lists closures for lightning within 10 miles, winds over 32 miles an hour, extreme heat and significant snow. In practice, that means it's a very good place on a calm day and a very bad one in a gale. - Subway: A/C/E or L to 14 St and 8 Av (accessible station) - Cost: Free; Amph performances are ticketed - Time: 45 to 60 minutes - Check first: Weather closures and hours on Little Island's site - Website: https://littleisland.org/plan-your-visit/ ### Grand Central Terminal (Midtown East, Manhattan) Free to walk into, and a good indoor stop if it's wet. The terminal at 89 East 42nd Street is open daily from 5:15am to 2am, and it has a Dining Concourse for lunch. The terminal's site lists the Whispering Gallery, an acoustic feature, and it's the thing small children tend to like: one person whispers into a corner and another hears it across the arch. The terminal is a commuter station at the busiest hours, so avoid rush hour with a stroller. - Subway: 4/5/6/7/S to Grand Central-42 St (accessible station) - Cost: Free to enter - Time: 30 to 60 minutes - Check first: Shop and restaurant hours vary; check the MTA's elevator status - Website: https://www.grandcentralterminal.com/ ### New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building (Midtown, Manhattan) Free to enter at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, and fully accessible according to the library. The Polonsky Exhibition of the library's treasures is free with timed tickets, and the Rose Main Reading Room is open for quiet study with daily guided tours. Hours at the time of writing: Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm (until 8pm Tuesday and Wednesday), Sunday 1pm to 5pm. The library says midtown renovation work on building systems may cause temporary disruptions. A quiet room is a hard sell for a six-year-old, so this suits older children best. - Subway: B/D/F/M to 42 St-Bryant Pk (not accessible); 7 to 5 Av (not accessible); Times Sq-42 St (accessible station) - Cost: Free; the exhibition needs free timed tickets - Time: 45 to 90 minutes - Check first: Hours and exhibition tickets on the library's page - Website: https://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman ### Belvedere Castle (Central Park, Manhattan) A little stone castle in the middle of Central Park at 79th Street, free to visit, open daily 10am to 5pm (the terrace closes at 4:55pm) except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. The Central Park Conservancy says you can climb to terraces for views, and it still measures temperature, wind and rainfall. Turtle Pond is next door. No restrooms at the castle, so plan ahead. - Subway: B/C to 81 St-Museum of Natural History (not accessible), then a walk across the park - Stroller: Stroller-friendly access to the terraces per the Conservancy - Restrooms: None at the castle - Cost: Free - Time: 30 to 45 minutes - Check first: Closures on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day - Website: https://www.centralparknyc.org/locations/belvedere-castle ### National Museum of the American Indian (Financial District, Manhattan) A Smithsonian museum in the old Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House at One Bowling Green, and its page says admission is always free, no tickets required. It has an imagiNATIONS Activity Center for hands-on learning and free audio guides through QR codes. It's open daily 10am to 5pm except December 25. It's a free place to spend an hour on the way to or from the ferry, and the building itself is worth looking up at. Wheelchairs are available on request, and the ground floor and all exhibitions are accessible. - Subway: 4/5 to Bowling Green (accessible station); 1 to Rector St or South Ferry - Stroller: Ground floor and exhibitions are accessible - Cost: Always free - Time: 45 to 60 minutes - Check first: Activity Center timing; hours on the museum's page - Lesser known: yes - Website: https://americanindian.si.edu/visit/newyork ## Free things in Brooklyn and Queens ### Pier 6, Brooklyn Bridge Park (Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn) Free playgrounds at the southern end of Brooklyn Bridge Park: Slide Mountain, Sandbox Village and Swing Valley, with views of New York Harbor. The park is open 6am to 1am daily, public restrooms are available, and the Water Lab is seasonal. The pier has a wood-fired pizzeria, which is not free, obviously. The water is right there, so keep small children well back from the edge. - Subway: Borough Hall 2/3/4/5 (accessible station); Clark St 2/3 (not accessible); York St F (not accessible) - Restrooms: Public restrooms on site per the park - Cost: Free - Time: 1 to 2 hours - Check first: The Water Lab is seasonal - Website: https://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/places-to-go/pier-6/ ### Central Library, Brooklyn Public Library (Youth Wing) (Prospect Heights, Brooklyn) Free and fully accessible, at Grand Army Plaza next to Prospect Park, with a Youth Wing for children and a grand lobby worth the ride. Posted hours: Monday to Thursday 9am to 8pm, Friday and Saturday 9am to 6pm, Sunday 1pm to 5pm. The library has been renovating in phases, so check the page for any closed areas. A library is a strong free rainy-day plan, and your child will probably find a book they want. - Subway: B/Q to Prospect Park (accessible station); 2/3 to Grand Army Plaza (not accessible) - Stroller: Fully accessible per the library - Cost: Free - Time: 45 to 90 minutes - Check first: Hours and any renovation closures - Lesser known: yes - Website: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/locations/central ### Lefferts Historic House (Prospect Park, Brooklyn) A small historic house museum inside Prospect Park, free to enter, open Saturday and Sunday 12pm to 5pm and on school breaks from September to November. The park's page describes hands-on activities, performances and imaginative play, a working garden, and exhibits that explore the lives of the Lenape people and of enslaved Africans. It's a good short stop for children who have had enough of the playground. It isn't open every day, so a weekday visit won't work. - Cost: Free - Time: 30 to 45 minutes - Check first: Open weekends and school breaks only; hours change after November - Lesser known: yes - Website: https://www.prospectpark.org/visit-the-park/places-to-go/lefferts-historic-house/ ### Gantry Plaza State Park (Long Island City, Queens) A 12-acre riverside park on the East River with views of the midtown skyline, free and open from dawn to dusk. There are playgrounds including a tot lot, a seasonal spray pad, a fishing pier, a mist fountain and the old industrial gantries that give it its name. The park hosts nature programs, art classes and fishing events, listed on its page. The pier is right on the water. In my opinion it's the best free skyline view for a small child, because you can see the whole thing and still be near a slide. - Subway: 7 to Vernon Blvd-Jackson Av (not accessible), then a short walk toward the river - Cost: Free - Time: 1 to 2 hours - Check first: Spray pad is seasonal; check the state parks page for events - Lesser known: yes - Website: https://parks.ny.gov/parks/gantryplaza/details.aspx ### Queens County Farm Museum (Glen Oaks, Queens) A working farm at 73-50 Little Neck Parkway, free year-round except on ticketed admission days and for groups. It's open daily 10am to 5pm and has hens, steer, alpacas, sheep, goats and pigs in designated areas, plus a seasonal farmstand. Fall events include the Amazing Maize Maze and an agricultural fair in October, and hayrides run daily (1pm to 4pm on weekdays, 11am to 4pm on weekends, weather permitting). The page doesn't list this fall's event prices, so check the events calendar. Strollers are allowed but there is no stroller storage. Street parking on Little Neck Parkway is free. - Stroller: Allowed; no designated storage - Restrooms: Accessible facilities on site - Cost: Free except ticketed days; event and hayride prices not listed on the visit page - Time: 1 to 2 hours - Check first: Ticketed admission days and fall event prices on the events calendar - Lesser known: yes - Website: https://queensfarm.org/visit/ ## Free things in the Bronx, and one free-ish classic ### The Bronx Museum of the Arts (Concourse, The Bronx) Admission to the museum and all of its exhibitions and events is, in its own words, always free for everyone. It's at 1040 Grand Concourse, open Wednesday to Sunday 11am to 6pm. The page lists public areas, galleries and restrooms as wheelchair accessible, with complimentary wheelchairs in the lobby. The museum says it closes on federal holidays and during exhibition changeovers, so check the page before you go. It's the kind of art museum where your child can stand in front of a very big painting and say what they actually think, which is the right way to do it. - Subway: 4 to 161 St-Yankee Stadium (accessible station); B/D to 167 St (not accessible), two blocks north - Stroller: Public areas and restrooms accessible per the museum - Cost: Always free - Time: 45 to 60 minutes - Check first: Closures between exhibitions; enter via the north entrance if the page says so - Lesser known: yes - Website: https://www.bronxmuseum.org/visit ### Wave Hill (Riverdale, The Bronx) Public gardens and an old estate above the Hudson, at 4900 Independence Avenue. The page says free admission is offered all day on Thursdays (not for organized groups). Other days are $10 for adults, $6 for students and seniors, and $4 for children aged 6 and up. The grounds are open Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 5:30pm, and parking is $13 for non-members, so take a bus or Metro-North and skip that. It's a garden, not a playground, so it suits children who can look at things quietly and parents who can carry the ones who can't. - Cost: Free on Thursdays; otherwise adults $10, children 6+ $4 - Time: 1 to 2 hours - Check first: Free Thursday applies all day but not to groups; the page links getting-here directions by bus, subway and Metro-North - Lesser known: yes - Website: https://www.wavehill.org/visit ### The Rink at Bryant Park's Winter Village (Midtown, Manhattan) NYC's largest free-admission ice rink, per the park, October 28, 2026 to February 28, 2027. Free means free to skate. Skate rental runs $18.72 to $64.48 depending on date, so bring your own skates if you want it to be properly free. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. The rink is the big draw, and the Winter Village shops around it are the trap. Decide on the shops before you walk in. - Subway: B/D/F/M to 42 St-Bryant Pk (not accessible); Times Sq-42 St (accessible station) is a couple of avenues away - Cost: Free to skate; rental $18.72 to $64.48 - Time: 45 to 90 minutes - Check first: Opening date, rental prices and hours on Bryant Park's page - Website: https://bryantpark.org/activities/bank-of-america-winter-village-at-bryant-park/ice-skating ## How to keep a free day free - Bring your own food. A pretzel, a drink and a small treat can cost more than most of these places charge, which is to say nothing. - Check the page on the day. A free thing that's closed for renovation is the most expensive kind. - Look at the free playgrounds and sprinklers list for anything near where you're staying. - Ask your local branch about the free passes some library systems offer; eligibility depends on where you live, so check the library's page. ## Questions people ask **What are the best free things to do in NYC with kids?** The Staten Island Ferry, the High Line, Little Island, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, Belvedere Castle in Central Park and Queens County Farm Museum are all free to enter. **Is the Staten Island Ferry really free?** Yes. NYC DOT says it provides free service between Whitehall in Manhattan and St. George in Staten Island every day of the week, year-round. **Which museums in NYC are free for kids?** The National Museum of the American Indian and the Bronx Museum of the Arts are always free. Wave Hill is free to all visitors on Thursdays. Other museums offer pay-what-you-wish or free evenings that change, so check each one's page. **Is ice skating free in NYC?** Skating at Bryant Park's Winter Village is free to enter (October 28, 2026 to February 28, 2027), but skate rental is not, at $18.72 to $64.48. **What can you do for free in NYC when it rains?** Grand Central Terminal, the Brooklyn Public Library's Central Library, the New York Public Library's main building and the National Museum of the American Indian are all free and indoors. **Is Queens County Farm Museum free?** Admission is free year-round except on ticketed admission days and for groups. Hayrides and fall events can cost extra, and the page doesn't list this fall's prices. **Are there free things to do with babies and toddlers in NYC?** Yes. Playgrounds, library story times and the Pier 6 playgrounds in Brooklyn Bridge Park are free, and the Staten Island Ferry is a good first boat ride. ## Sources - NYC DOT, Staten Island Ferry: https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/ferrybus/staten-island-ferry.shtml - The High Line: https://www.thehighline.org/visit/ - Little Island, plan your visit: https://littleisland.org/plan-your-visit/ - Grand Central Terminal: https://www.grandcentralterminal.com/ - New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building: https://www.nypl.org/locations/schwarzman - Belvedere Castle, Central Park Conservancy: https://www.centralparknyc.org/locations/belvedere-castle - National Museum of the American Indian, New York: https://americanindian.si.edu/visit/newyork - Pier 6, Brooklyn Bridge Park: https://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/places-to-go/pier-6/ - Central Library, Brooklyn Public Library: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/locations/central - Lefferts Historic House, Prospect Park Alliance: https://www.prospectpark.org/visit-the-park/places-to-go/lefferts-historic-house/ - Gantry Plaza State Park: https://parks.ny.gov/parks/gantryplaza/details.aspx - Queens County Farm Museum: https://queensfarm.org/visit/ - The Bronx Museum of the Arts: https://www.bronxmuseum.org/visit - Wave Hill, visit: https://www.wavehill.org/visit - Bryant Park Winter Village, ice skating: https://bryantpark.org/activities/bank-of-america-winter-village-at-bryant-park/ice-skating - MTA accessible stations: https://new.mta.info/accessibility/stations