NYC Arts: The Complete Guide to Art and Culture

Prospect Park is one of the finest creations of the landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, whose other notable achievements include Central Park, the National Zoo in Washington, DC and the Emerald Necklace in Boston. The 585-acre park, begun in 1866, has a 60-acre lake on its east side, the 90-acre Long Meadow on the west and Brooklyn's last remaining original woodlands (the Ravine) in between. The park is the site of one of the Revolutionary War's fiercest battles. 

The bandshell near the 9th Street entrance of Prospect Park West is home to the summer Celebrate Brooklyn festival. The Boathouse, designed in the Italian Renaissance style and constructed in 1905, is home to the only urban Audubon Center in the United States. Other attractions include the Wollman Ice Skating Rink; Prospect Park Zoo; and Lefferts Homestead.

A replica of an old-time trolley offers a full-circuit ride from Wollman Center, with stops at the Carousel, the Prospect Park Zoo, the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Grand Army Plaza (which holds the Memorial Arch and, on Saturday, a greenmarket).

Click here for an interactive map of the park.

• Directions: Subway: 2, 3 to Grand Army Plaza; F to 15th Street; Q to Parkside

• Disability Access: Partially accessible (i.e., Lefferts Homestead and certain areas of the park)
• Gift Shops: At Kate's Corner in the Skating Center: T-shirts, mugs, cards
• On-Site Food: At Kate's Corner
• On-Site Parking: Parking is available around the park's perimeter. Please be aware of any parking restrictions and street cleaning signs. Wollman Rink: Free public parking, Litchfield Villa: Public parking area in the back half of the lot in marked spaces only Picnic House: Limited parking is available for Picnic House events only with a permit.

Get involved with Prospect Park

• Volunteer Opportunities: Volunteer groups that meet weekly are open to all on a drop-in basis.