The best playgrounds in New York City, borough by borough
Our favorite NYC playgrounds in all five boroughs, famous and lesser known, plus every playground in the city on one map with spray showers and step-free subway stations marked.
The short answer
NYC Parks runs 1,012 playgrounds with dedicated children's areas: 204 in Manhattan, 288 in Brooklyn, 257 in Queens, 202 in the Bronx, 61 on Staten Island. 889 of them have spray showers (usually on from Memorial Day to Labor Day), and 426 are within a 10-minute walk (half a mile) of a subway station the MTA lists as accessible. Our top picks: Heckscher Playground in Manhattan, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 6 playground in Brooklyn, Playground For All Children in Queens, Playground For All Children in the Bronx and Willowbrook (Carousel) Adventure Station on Staten Island.
New York is very good at playgrounds and oddly bad at telling you where they are. NYC Parks runs 1,012 playgrounds with children's areas across the five boroughs and publishes every one of them as open data, then leaves you to work out which one has the sprinkler, which one has a restroom, and which one is close enough to the subway that the walk back won't end in a sit-down protest on the sidewalk.
So we did some sorting. Below are our favorites in each borough, the famous ones next to ones you've probably walked straight past, each checked against its own page. Then there's the map: every playground in the city, with a filter for spray showers and another for playgrounds within a 10-minute walk of a subway station the MTA lists as accessible, which matters a great deal when you're pushing a stroller and the alternative is carrying it up the stairs while someone small asks if we're there yet.
A word on how this works. We visit New York a lot, but we don't live here, so everything leans on what can be checked: the NYC Parks and MTA data, the official pages, and the practical bits parents ask about. If we couldn't verify a detail, it isn't here.
The best playgrounds in Manhattan
204 playgrounds in Manhattan on the NYC Parks list, 180 with spray showers, 149 within a 10-minute walk of an accessible station.
Heckscher Playground
The Central Park playground at the south end, and the one on every list, so expect company on a dry weekend.
Ancient Playground
Central Park again, this time on Fifth Avenue at 85th Street, a few blocks north of the Met, which makes a museum morning followed by a proper run-around easy to plan.
Imagination Playground
Not a slide-and-swing job.
Hippo Playground
A Riverside Park playground at 91st Street, on the Hudson side of the Upper West Side rather than inside Central Park.
Sol Bloom Playground
A small neighborhood playground between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West at 91st and 92nd Streets.
Seward Park Playground
Parks says Seward Park has the distinction of being home to the first permanent, municipally built playground in the nation, which is a good fact to deploy on a seven-year-old who is complaining about the walk.
Catbird Playground
Tucked into Carl Schurz Park on the East River, where the promenade looks out over Roosevelt Island's lighthouse, the Triborough Bridge and Gracie Mansion, per Parks.
Washington Market Park Playground
Parks describes a spacious, tree-covered playground with several smaller play areas, including one shaped like a ship called the S.S.
Vesuvio Playground
A small playground on Thompson Street between Spring and Prince, named (Parks says) after the Italian bakery on Prince Street that has been family run since 1920.
Pearl St Playground
A downtown playground on Pearl Street between Fulton and Beekman that NYC Parks reconstructed at a reported cost of $2.1 million, with a spray shower to cool off in.
All 10 in Manhattan, with a map and the subway Every Manhattan playground
The best playgrounds in Brooklyn
288 playgrounds in Brooklyn on the NYC Parks list, 253 with spray showers, 126 within a 10-minute walk of an accessible station.
Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 6 playground
The big waterfront playground at the south end of Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Third Street Playground
One of several playgrounds Parks lists inside Prospect Park, on the Park Slope side.
Fort Greene Park Playground
Fort Greene Park started as the site of forts built for the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, per Parks, which is a decent hook for a child who needs a reason to climb the hill.
Brower Park Playground
Right next to the Brooklyn Children's Museum, which makes it a natural pairing: museum first, burn off whatever is left second.
Imagination Playground at Betsy Head
Betsy Head Memorial Playground has been part of Brownsville for almost 100 years, per Parks, and this part of it is an Imagination Playground.
Coffey Park Playground
A Red Hook neighborhood park named for Michael J.
WNYC Transmitter Park Playground
A Greenpoint waterfront park opened in 2012 on the site of the old WNYC radio transmission towers, with an overlook, seating and a waterfront esplanade next to the play area.
Owls Head Park Playground
Owl's Head Park has rolling hills and, per Parks, views of the Manhattan skyline and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, with sledding mentioned for winter.
Asser Levy Playground
Part of the Coney Island complex, in the Coney Island area, handy for a child who has run out of patience for the beach.
Sunset Park Playground
Sunset Park is the one with the view: Parks says it looks out over the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty from the park's highest point.
All 10 in Brooklyn, with a map and the subway Every Brooklyn playground
The best playgrounds in Queens
257 playgrounds in Queens on the NYC Parks list, 230 with spray showers, 41 within a 10-minute walk of an accessible station.
Playground For All Children
One of eight playgrounds Parks lists in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Jurassic Playground
Named for a geological period, with a neighbor called Triassic Playground in the same park, so a dinosaur-minded child can tick both off.
Hunter's Point South Playground (North)
On the Long Island City waterfront, in a park Parks describes as a former abandoned post-industrial area, now with a central green, playgrounds, a promenade and a 30-foot cantilevered platform for viewing the skyline.
Charybdis Playground
Astoria Park sits on the East River between the Triborough and Hell Gate bridges and has the oldest and largest pool in the city, per Parks.
Rockaway Beach Playground
A playground on the Rockaway boardwalk, which Parks says comes alive each summer from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.
Hallets Cove Playground
Parks says it has one of the best views of any playground in the city: from the benches grown-ups can look out over Hallets Cove toward the Manhattan skyline while children climb and run.
Travers Park Playground
A Jackson Heights park rebuilt with a great lawn, play equipment and a performance area with stadium seating, per Parks.
Rufus King Park Playground
The playground shares a park with King Manor Museum, the historic house of Rufus King, so you can fit a short history lesson in between swings if the mood allows.
Bayswater Playground
A Far Rockaway playground with a wheelchair-accessible restroom, ground-level and water-based play and accessible swings for both under-5s and ages 5 to 12, per Parks.
Fort Totten Playground
The playground is inside Fort Totten Park, which Parks describes as a preserved Civil War fortress with natural areas, historic buildings and an outdoor pool in summer.
All 10 in Queens, with a map and the subway Every Queens playground
The best playgrounds in the Bronx
202 playgrounds in the Bronx on the NYC Parks list, 183 with spray showers, 107 within a 10-minute walk of an accessible station.
Playground For All Children
Pelham Bay Park is more than three times the size of Central Park, per Parks, so the walk from wherever you left the car or bus is part of the day.
Orchard Beach Playground
The playground at Orchard Beach, in Pelham Bay Park on the Long Island Sound shoreline.
Van Cortlandt Classic Playground
Van Cortlandt Park is over a thousand acres and the city's third largest park, per Parks, with playgrounds scattered around its edges.
Playground Of The Stars
One of nine playgrounds Parks lists in Crotona Park, which has a 3.3-acre lake that is home to turtles, ducks and fish.
Poe Park Playground
The park is named for Edgar Allan Poe, who rented the white farmhouse that is now Poe Cottage for $100 a year from 1846 to 1849, per Parks.
Barretto Point Park Playground
A small East River park where, per Parks, people fish from the piers and take canoes and kayaks out.
Starlight Park Playground
A reconstructed 13-acre park on the Bronx River that, per Parks, has two playgrounds with spray showers, a floating dock and a link to the Bronx River Greenway across the pedestrian bridge at East 177th Street.
Seton Park Playground
The park stands on the site of Seton Hospital, a tuberculosis hospital that opened in 1895 and closed in 1955, per the Parks sign text.
Spuyten Duyvil Playground
Shares its name with the adjacent public school, the nearby creek and the neighborhood, per Parks, so you will need to say Spuyten Duyvil often enough to master it.
Paul's Playground
One of the playgrounds in Henry Hudson Park, a small park with a monument to the explorer and some very old trees, per Parks.
All 10 in the Bronx, with a map and the subway Every Bronx playground
The best playgrounds on Staten Island
61 playgrounds on Staten Island on the NYC Parks list, 43 with spray showers, 3 within a 10-minute walk of an accessible station.
Willowbrook (Carousel) Adventure Station
In Willowbrook Park, one of Staten Island's most popular Greenbelt parks, per Parks.
Clove Lakes Park Playground
Clove Lakes Park is a protected Forever Wild site with lakes and ponds, per Parks, so there is more to do than swing.
Wolfe's Pond Park Playground
Wolfe's Pond Park is a beach, a wildlife preserve and a recreation area, per Parks, so it suits a day with a mixed-age group.
Silver Lake Park Playground
Silver Lake Park was created as Staten Island's answer to Central Park and Prospect Park, per Parks, with a lake loop to run or push a stroller around.
Walker Park Playground
A plain neighborhood playground on the north shore.
South Beach Playground
On the FDR Boardwalk and Beach, so it fits easily into a boardwalk walk.
Midland Beach Playground
Another playground on the FDR Boardwalk and Beach, with water-based play and a wheelchair-accessible restroom listed by Parks.
Seaside Wildlife Nature Playground
Parks calls it one of the city's most inventive playgrounds: entirely nautical, with a lighthouse, a shark to climb on, play units that resemble the Staten Island Ferry and a large shipwreck feature, surrounded by nearly 20 acres of salt marsh and native plants.
Schmul Park Playground
Parks describes a brightly colored playground with a spray shower, swings and a sandbox, at the Travis entrance to Freshkills Park.
Blue Heron Tot Lot
A tot lot inside Blue Heron Park, which Parks lists with natural areas and a nature center.
All 10 on Staten Island, with a map and the subway Every Staten Island playground
How to use the map
The map shows every playground NYC Parks lists with a children's area. Tap a borough to narrow it down, tap Spray shower for the ones with water, and tap Near an accessible station for playgrounds within half a mile (about a 10-minute walk) of a subway station the MTA lists as accessible. Nearest to me sorts the list by distance from where you are; your location stays on your phone. The list under the map works without any of that, borough by borough, if your phone is having a day.
Pushing a stroller? Our subway with a stroller guide has every accessible station on a map, which big family attractions have a step-free station nearby, and the honest rules (elevators break, so check before you go).
Every playground
The map
All 1,012, with filters and nearest to me.
Open the map →Summer
Sprinklers
0 spray shower sites by borough and park.
Find the water →Rainy and freezing days
Indoor play
15 places to run about with a roof on.
See the list →Getting there
Subway with a stroller
Every accessible station, and the honest rules.
Read it →Get the weekend email
Free, one short email a week. Thursday, 7am: the weather call, one proper day out and the family events worth leaving the apartment for this weekend, checked with the organizer. See the archive.
- Thursday, 7am: the weather call for the weekend, made for you.
- One proper day out: with the subway stop, the stroller verdict and where the restrooms are.
- The family events worth it: each one checked with the organizer and linked, famous and lesser known side by side.
No spam, no ads. Unsubscribe from any email with one click. Privacy
Questions people ask
How many playgrounds are there in New York City?
NYC Parks lists 1,012 playgrounds with dedicated children's areas: Manhattan 204, Brooklyn 288, Queens 257, The Bronx 202, Staten Island 61. Playgrounds inside big parks count separately, so Central Park alone has 22.
When do the sprinklers turn on in NYC playgrounds?
Spray showers usually run from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day. In 2026 that's Monday, May 25 to Monday, September 7. Individual showers can be out of order, so check with NYC Parks before a special trip.
Which NYC playgrounds have sprinklers?
889 playgrounds on the NYC Parks list have spray showers, and NYC Parks lists 0 spray shower sites in all. Our sprinklers page lists them by borough and park, and the map has a spray shower filter.
Are NYC playgrounds free?
Yes. NYC Parks playgrounds are free and you don't need to book. Indoor play spaces are a different story, and our indoor list says which ones charge.
Which playgrounds are near an accessible subway station?
426 of the 1,012 playgrounds are within half a mile, about a 10-minute walk, of a station the MTA lists as accessible. Turn on that filter on our map. Elevators do go out of service, so check the MTA's elevator status before you set off.
Do NYC playgrounds have restrooms?
Some do, many don't. The bigger parks usually have a comfort station somewhere, but not always next to the playground, and seasonal hours vary. Each of our picks says what's there.
Where can kids play indoors in NYC when it rains?
Our indoor list has 15 places across the city, from free library play rooms to paid play spaces, with prices and hours where they're published.
Sources
- NYC Parks: Playgrounds with Dedicated Children's Areas (NYC Open Data)
- NYC Parks: Spray Showers (NYC Open Data)
- MTA: Subway Stations (data.ny.gov)
- NYC Parks: playgrounds
- NYC Parks: spray showers
- Heckscher Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Ancient Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Imagination Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Hippo Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Sol Bloom Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Seward Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Catbird Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Washington Market Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Vesuvio Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Pearl St Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 6 playground: brooklynbridgepark.org
- Third Street Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Fort Greene Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Brower Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Imagination Playground at Betsy Head: nycgovparks.org
- Coffey Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- WNYC Transmitter Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Owls Head Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Asser Levy Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Sunset Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Playground For All Children: nycgovparks.org
- Jurassic Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Hunter's Point South Playground (North): nycgovparks.org
- Charybdis Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Rockaway Beach Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Hallets Cove Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Travers Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Rufus King Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Bayswater Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Fort Totten Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Playground For All Children: nycgovparks.org
- Orchard Beach Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Van Cortlandt Classic Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Playground Of The Stars: nycgovparks.org
- Poe Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Barretto Point Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Starlight Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Seton Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Spuyten Duyvil Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Paul's Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Willowbrook (Carousel) Adventure Station: nycgovparks.org
- Clove Lakes Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Wolfe's Pond Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Silver Lake Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Walker Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- South Beach Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Midland Beach Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Seaside Wildlife Nature Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Schmul Park Playground: nycgovparks.org
- Blue Heron Tot Lot: nycgovparks.org