Every subway station the MTA lists as accessible, on a map and borough by borough, which big family attractions have a step-free station nearby, and the honest rules for getting a stroller around New York.
In the MTA's station data, 125 station complexes are fully accessible and 15 more are partly accessible (one direction, or some lines only), out of 445 in all. The rest are stairs only. Elevators do break, so check the MTA's elevator and escalator status before every trip, and the Staten Island Ferry is step-free.
Before every trip, check the MTA's elevator and escalator status. Elevators go out of service, and a station on this page is only step-free when its elevator works. The MTA's accessibility pages have the full picture.
New York with a stroller is perfectly doable, it just takes a bit of planning, because most subway stations have stairs and nothing else. The trick is to plan your trip around the ones that don't. Here's every station the MTA lists as accessible, on a map and as a list, and the big family days out with a step-free station within a short walk.
The nearest station the MTA lists as accessible to each place, measured as the crow flies from the main entrance, so the real walk can be a little longer.
| Attraction | Nearest accessible station | Distance | Within 10 minutes? |
|---|---|---|---|
| A car-free island with hills, hammocks and a $5 ferry Manhattan | South Ferry (1) | 0.9 mile, about an 18-minute walk | Not within a 10-minute walk |
| A free 1.1-mile walk over the East River Manhattan | Fulton St (2/3) | 0.6 mile, about an 11-minute walk | Not within a 10-minute walk |
| A free stop: the whispering gallery and the concourse Manhattan | Grand Central-42 St (4/5/6) | under 0.1 mile, about a 1-minute walk | Yes |
| American Museum of Natural History Manhattan | 72 St (1/2/3) | 0.5 mile, about a 9-minute walk | Yes |
| Central Park Zoo Manhattan | Lexington Av/63 St (M/Q) | 0.4 mile, about a 7-minute walk | Yes |
| Four floors of hands-on play for ages 0 to 6 Manhattan | 72 St (1/2/3) | 0.5 mile, about an 11-minute walk | Not within a 10-minute walk |
| Intrepid Museum Manhattan | 34 St-Hudson Yards (7) | 0.6 mile, about a 13-minute walk | Not within a 10-minute walk |
| Playground, carousel and zoo, all within a short walk Manhattan | 57 St (M) | 0.3 mile, about a 7-minute walk | Yes |
| Staten Island Ferry, Whitehall Terminal Manhattan | South Ferry (1) | under 0.1 mile, about a 1-minute walk | Yes |
| Statue of Liberty ferries, Battery Park Manhattan | Bowling Green (4/5) | 0.2 mile, about a 4-minute walk | Yes |
| The 86th Floor view, with kids under 6 free Manhattan | 34 St-Herald Sq (N/Q/R/W) | 0.1 mile, about a 3-minute walk | Yes |
| The High Line, Gansevoort Street end Manhattan | 14 St (A/C/E) | 0.3 mile, about a 6-minute walk | Yes |
| The Metropolitan Museum of Art Manhattan | 86 St (4/5/6) (Uptown local only) | 0.4 mile, about an 8-minute walk | Yes |
| The rink opens October 10; the tree is lit December 2 Manhattan | 47-50 Sts-Rockefeller Ctr (B/D/F/M) | 0.1 mile, about a 3-minute walk | Yes |
| Two islands, two museums, one boat ticket Manhattan | Bowling Green (4/5) | 0.2 mile, about a 4-minute walk | Yes |
| Boardwalk, beach and roller coasters at the end of the line Brooklyn | Coney Island-Stillwell Av (D/F/N/Q) | 0.3 mile, about a 5-minute walk | Yes |
| Brooklyn Botanic Garden Brooklyn | Eastern Pkwy-Brooklyn Museum (2/3) | 0.2 mile, about a 4-minute walk | Yes |
| Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 1 Brooklyn | Borough Hall (4/5) | 0.6 mile, about a 12-minute walk | Not within a 10-minute walk |
| Brooklyn Children's Museum Brooklyn | Crown Hts-Utica Av (3/4) | 0.7 mile, about a 14-minute walk | Not within a 10-minute walk |
| Coney Island boardwalk and Luna Park Brooklyn | Coney Island-Stillwell Av (D/F/N/Q) | 0.2 mile, about a 5-minute walk | Yes |
| New York Aquarium Brooklyn | Coney Island-Stillwell Av (D/F/N/Q) | 0.4 mile, about an 8-minute walk | Yes |
| Prospect Park Zoo Brooklyn | Prospect Park (B/Q/S) | 0.3 mile, about a 6-minute walk | Yes |
| Hands-on science museum in Queens, with rocket mini golf Queens | Junction Blvd (7) | 0.9 mile, about an 18-minute walk | Not within a 10-minute walk |
| New York Hall of Science Queens | Junction Blvd (7) | 0.9 mile, about a 19-minute walk | Not within a 10-minute walk |
| Queens Museum Queens | Junction Blvd (7) | 1.2 miles, about a 24-minute walk | Not within a 10-minute walk |
| Bronx Zoo The Bronx | E 180 St (2/5) | 0.6 mile, about a 13-minute walk | Not within a 10-minute walk |
| New York Botanical Garden The Bronx | Pelham Pkwy (2/5) | 0.7 mile, about a 15-minute walk | Not within a 10-minute walk |
| Yankee Stadium The Bronx | 161 St-Yankee Stadium (4) | 0.1 mile, about a 2-minute walk | Yes |
| Snug Harbor and the Staten Island Children's Museum Staten Island | St George (SIR) | 1.5 miles, about a 31-minute walk | Not within a 10-minute walk |
AccessiblePartly accessible
Jump to: Manhattan · Brooklyn · Queens · The Bronx · Staten Island
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.
No spam, no ads. Unsubscribe from any email with one click. Privacy
In the MTA's station data, 125 station complexes are fully accessible and 15 are partly accessible, out of 445. Partly accessible usually means one direction only or some lines only.
Use the MTA's elevator and escalator status page (https://new.mta.info/elevator-escalator-status) before you leave and before you change trains.
Yes. Use the service entrance gate beside the turnstiles where there is one, and plan around stations with elevators. At stations with stairs only, you'll be carrying it.
No, you don't have to fold it on MTA buses. At busy times, folding it or keeping it out of the aisle is a courtesy.
Yes. The Staten Island Ferry is step-free and free, so you can roll a stroller on and off.
Of the 29 big family attractions on our list, 17 have a station the MTA lists as accessible within a 10-minute walk. The table on this page names the station for each.
