Parks and Recreation in New York City

For a city of its size, New York has a surprisingly rich list of parks of all kinds. From the amazing Central Park to smaller parks scattered about the city, you'll always find something to do in New York's outdoor public spaces.

Central Park:  This 843-acre park, designed by Frederick Law Olmstead and Culvert Vaux, was constructed between 1859 and 1870. Today, it features several activities, including hiking, swimming, ice skating, inline skating, people watching, enjoying nature and jogging. There are food carts and vendors throughout the park, as well as horse-drawn carriage rides, playgrounds, and boat rides (gondola rides and rowboat rentals). Highlights at Central Park include the Dairy, the Carousel with 58 hand-carved horses, the Mall, Bethesda Fountain and Terrace, Loeb Boathouse, the Conservatory, Sheep Meadow, Strawberry Fields, Bow Bridge, the 38-acre woodland known as the Ramble, Belvedere Castle, Henry Luce Nature Observatory, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Jacqueline Kennedy O'Nassis Reservoir.

Battery Park:  This 21-acre park, on the southern tip of Manhattan, was named for the cannons built here during the Revolutionary War. This park houses many statues and memorials, including the 22-ton bronze sphere that once stood between the Twin Towers, and now serves as a tribute to the 3,000 victims of the September 11 tragedy.

Bowling Green Park:  This historic park has played a number of roles, and is supposedly where, in 1626, a Dutchman "bought" Manhattan from local Indians. Bowling Green Park was also the site of a King George III statue, which was knocked over by a crowd, and then melted down to make 42,000 Revolutionary War bullets. Today, this park houses the 1907 beaux arts U.S. Customs House which holds the National Museum of the American Indian.

Bryant Park:  East of Times Square, this 4-acre park is a nice place to enjoy a brown bag lunch in the city, to take a spin on one of Le Carrousel's 14 animals.

Central Park Zoo & Tisch Children's Zoo:  This zoo features animals large and small, including polar bears, monkeys, boa constrictors and penguins. Notable exhibits include the Tropics Zone, Polar Circle and Temperate Territory. The Tisch Children's Zoo is especially delightful for those 5 and younger, and features pigs, llamas and other gentle creatures.

Union Square Park:  Located in the Flatiron and Gramercy neighborhoods, this park has an equestrian statue of George Washington and a bronze statue of the Marquis de Lafayette. Union Square is also the site of the Greenmarket, where vendors offer fruits & vegetables, baked goods, cider, wine, seafood, fresh flowers and plants, as well as books and postcards. There is space for inline skating, as well as a pavilion featuring live music during the warmer months.

Washington Square Park:  The focal point in Greenwich Village, and near the charming carriage house neighborhoods of MacDougal Alley and Washington Mews, this park has a morbid past as both a burial ground and the site of public hangings at the Hanging Elm:  Today, the park is more cheerful, with lots of chess games being played, skateboarding, students hanging out and street musicians performing their acts.

Though New York is the nation's largest city, visitors won't be shortchanged when it comes to parks. Providing places for recreation, as well as historic monuments and museums, New York City's Parks have it all!