Play structures inspired by Egyptian art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and sandboxes with tire and strap swings make this Upper East Side playground an attractive choice for families.
Battery Park City now has an eco-inspired playground featuring an eye-catching teardrop slide, numerous climbing structures, rock-climbing walls, and toddler play spaces reminiscent of nature.
John Jay Playground
Domino Park in Brooklyn boasts an innovative playground explicitly designed to be inclusive and accessible for children with disabilities, featuring short and steep slides, ladders to climb up, web tunnels to crawl through, and more for all ages of kids to enjoy. There is also a race track, an ADA-accessible splash pad, and a 12-foot suspension bridge–making it the ideal spot for family fun outdoors with breathtaking views of Brooklyn’s East River!
This playground is located beneath the F/G train overpass and provides a welcome respite for families with young kids. ADA-accessible equipment provides optimal learning environments for toddlers and preschoolers, while its colorful structures will stimulate imaginations – including pirate ships with dragon heads, shark jungle gyms, and lighthouses that kids love playing pretend on.
Brianne Manz of Stroller in the City cited this playground as her family’s favorite due to its variety. It boasts cabled climbing structures, a large sand pit, and swings suitable for all sizes, yet what stands out is its impressive geodesic climbing net – something like Mt. Everest for Tribeca grade schoolers!
Gantry Plaza State Park to the north and Hunter’s Point Park to the south provide this waterfront park with two playground-lover’s dream destinations: Gantry Plaza’s ADA-accessible equipment is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers while Hunter’s Point’s towering jungle gym with many slides keeps older children amused for hours. Both parks suit strollers and wheelchair users, making them excellent choices when visiting multiple playgrounds on one trip.
Seward Park
At Chelsea Waterside Park’s newly reimagined playground, children can scale the towering masts of a scalable pirate ship, peer through portholes, zip down an exciting twisting slide, and enjoy playing in a rowboat-shaped sandbox. Recently undergoing a major renovation, this playground offers kids endless fun on warm and sunny days (plan a visit after receiving your COVID-19 vaccination!). Plus, it provides breathtaking Hudson River views as they climb, slip, and slide around this impressive space!
Apart from being a unique and colorful playground, this place is also great for toddlers as there is a dedicated area with equipment tailored to them – including baby swings and an attractive splash pad that is just the right size to cool off with during summer days – as well as an enthralling sandbox that keeps little ones entertained for hours!
Named in honor of an EMT who died on the job, this peaceful oasis provides plenty of open spaces to run, climb, and slide. Recently updated in 2021 with the addition of the Sensory Playground explicitly designed to engage kids on the autism spectrum – kids can interact with signs that spell out alphabet letter depictions, sensory boards offering tactile feedback, metal drums, and more.
This playground will undoubtedly become one of your favorites on this list, with an experience so truly memorable that it justifies its price.
Tom Otterness Playground
Tom Otterness Playground (630 West 42nd Street) is an impressive bronze sculpture that doubles as a playground, providing children with a fun place to run, climb, and slide. Otterness has long been known for designing public sculptures that resemble gardens, such as his copper frog at 14th Street subway station or Silver Towers; in 2009, he created another whimsical structure at 42nd Street that also serves this purpose – Tom Otterness Playground was no different!
Toddlers flock to this shady park beneath the F/G train overpass, as its equipment is ADA-accessible, and there’s plenty of space for little ones to run around on the safety surface sprinkled with gentle spray showers activated at the touch of a button. Its sand play area features an easy climb structure and baby swings for even more entertainment!
Brianne Manz of Stroller in the City describes this pier as one of her family-travel blogs’ favorite destinations due to its variety of exciting features for children to test their balance on its wavy walkways, climb egglike saucers and explore jungle gyms equipped with cables for the adventurous explorers. Plus, you’re sure to catch some river breezes here.
Coney Island Cyclone – one of New York City’s top attractions! When the sand is fresh and clean, children love playing in it. This waterfront park is also home to one of New York City’s iconic attractions: its giant Ferris wheel, known as Coney Island Cyclone!
Brooklyn Bridge Park unveiled their newest feature in 2021 – a sensory playground explicitly tailored for children on the autism spectrum. Boasting features like sign language, alphabet letters, and boards that vibrate upon contact, this playground should become an indispensable resource for families with special needs children.
Tarr-Coyne Tots Playground
At this imaginative playground in Brooklyn, kids can unleash their creativity. Ocean-themed activities and structures like a shark jungle gym, pirate ship, and lighthouse add whimsical fun. When they leave, the spray tubs in this park can be activated with just a push of a button; also beautifully framed by London Plane trees make it easy to locate kids when they become lost in their worlds.
Tribeca Park and Battery Park City offer this breathtaking playground for children of all ages in Tribeca and Battery Park City. Tots enjoy their swing area while older children test themselves with two climbing walls or the vast geodesic dome-shaped structure nearby. A skate park for tweens and teens adds further entertainment. Plus, some self-acting fountains seem to move on their own!
Children will feel like they’re participating in an epic musical journey at this Astoria playground, formerly Steinway Community Playground. Its structures rise and fall like notes in harmony, providing a memorable musical experience, even for small children. Plus, since it’s safely separated from park pathways, kids don’t risk getting lost among all of its visitors and becoming overwhelmed quickly.
This playground offers an idyllic retreat from city life. Along with traditional playground equipment, this one features a splash pad, farm animal cutouts, bucket swings explicitly designed for toddlers, and water cannons that run through the playground to cool off kids when they become overheated. They can cool off by running water through water cannons or the mill stream that runs throughout, if necessary.
Slide Hill
With summer break over, now is an excellent opportunity for kids to be outside and burn off some energy! Thankfully, Toronto boasts some great playgrounds where toddlers can let their imaginations run wild!
Slide Hill at Governors Island provides an unforgettable experience. This breathtaking manmade park feature consists of four hills – Slide Hill, Grassy Hill, Discovery Hill and Outlook Hill) each offering unique family experiences and providing panoramic views of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and New Jersey with climbing structures to keep kids active!
But perhaps this playground stands out most because it was built specifically to accommodate children with disabilities. Ramps make climbing slides much simpler for crutches, walkers, or wheelchair users so that they can fully experience all of the fun attractions within this playground.
This playground also includes a sensory space designed to meet the needs of autistic children, featuring elements such as depictions of the sign language alphabet, sensory boards with tactile feedback, and metal drums for children to use during playtime. Its stunning views over New York Harbor make this park ideal for taking photographs!
Location: South end of Governors Island This playground was one of the original structures on Governors Island built before some of its more flashy additions, such as Slide Mountain and Swing Valley, were unveiled, so it often remains less crowded and provides children with ample space to climb pirate towers, peer through portholes, and take twisty slides down twisty slides.
