We all know the City of New York as one of the largest cities of the world, teeming with people and full of buildings, some of them tall enough to touch the sky. But despite its reputation for being a sprawling urban jungle, New York City is also home to great and impressive parks and open spaces.
There are actually around 1,700 parks located in New York City, many of them clustered in the island of Manhattan.
Below are the best five of these great parks that can be found in New York City.
Central Park
Central Park in Manhattan is the park that is most identified with New York City, and has risen to become one of the city’s icons. Being a feature in so many movies and so many television shows, Central Park is also one of the most famous parks in the world as well as one of the most visited open spaces in the United States. Within Central Park are located various gardens, museums and recreational areas such as skating rinks and enclosed playgrounds, lakes, picnic areas and natural woodland.
Prospect Park
Prospect Park is the wide open space that serves as the oasis for the residents and visitors of Brooklyn. In Prospect Park are found the Long Meadow, the largest meadow in the United States, as well as Prospect Park Lake, the only freshwater lake in Brooklyn. The Prospect Park Lake is the main feature of the park’s watercourse, a chain of various bodies water all fed by waters from the Fallkill Falls all connected to each other. Many migratory birds make this lake their temporary home for part of the year, which makes Prospect Park an excellent place for bird viewing.
Madison Square Park
Another park located in Manhattan, along Madison Avenue, the Madison Square Park is a lush field of green in the Manhattan urban jungle. It was named in honor of James Madison, the fourth President of the United States. The current look of the Madison Square Park is the result of a massive rehabilitation project done in the last decade, after the park fell into disrepair. Today, the park contains gardens, statuary and a reflecting pool amidst green lawns and trees.
Hudson River Park
And yet another park located in the Borough of Manhattan, the Hudson River Park is a 550-acre waterside park along the Hudson River, featuring miles upon miles of walking paths and connecting various places and landmarks in Manhattan such as the World Trade Center site, Battery Park City and the Winter Garden. The park is a popular place to go during summer, for activities such as running, walking, skateboarding and other outdoor activities.
Washington Square Park
The Washington Square Park is another park located in Manhattan, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood. Once used as a field for public burials, the Washington Square Park saw its transformation as a park in the 1820s. The park is famous for the Memorial Arch, erected in 1888 to commemorate the centennial of George Washington’s inauguration as the president of the United States.
