Queens is located at the southwestern end of Long Island. It the largest of the 5 boroughs in New York City. Queens was one of the original 12 counties of New York. The large and diverse population has many options for outdoor fun, sports, festivals, and fairs in their parks.

When you talk about parks in New York City, you are not talking about small. Children’s playgrounds. While these parks have plenty of playground equipment, a park in New York is a major piece of real estate. The parks are the homes to major artistic and historical information. The parks are used by everyone and are multipurpose areas.

Flushing Meadows Corona Park

There is nothing not to love about this park. This park is a living testimony of what people can do if they choose to invest in the environment.

Flushing Meadows was once a swamp and ash dump. With much effort, it has been transformed into the beautiful park it is today. Flushing Meadows is the largest park in the borough of Queens (1255 acres) and it features museums, sports, and the New York City Zoo. There are plenty of hiking and bike trails. The park is used for fairs, major sporting events, and education. With multiple museums, two lakes, bicycle rentals, and miniature golf, there is always something new to see and do.

Forest Park

This is the third largest park in Queens. It is more than 500 acres with open fields in some sections and lush landscaping and forests in others. This is the site for band concerts, fairs, festivals, picnicking, hiking, biking, and sporting events. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s.

Forest Park offers a full 18-hole golf-course, off-road mountain biking and there are two places in the park where you can rent horses for horseback riding. There is also a concert bandshell in the park. Many annual events are scheduled here.

Astoria Park

Astoria Park is a great park for the citizens of Queens. The park has a lot going for it. Astoria Park is the site of the city’s largest outdoor pool, sports, tennis courts, and fields, picnicking, walking and running. The park is near the Queens shopping district which makes it a good place for families to get everything done on the weekends. Astoria Park is a very scenic and lovely place, as it has plenty of open space and trees and multiple play areas. This is the site of many fairs, arts and crafts fairs, and other annual events. Also, the view is extraordinary.

Gantry Plaza State Park

Gantry Plaza State Park opened in 1998. It follows the Long Island City shoreline. This site was an industrial site and a blemish on the view of Manhattan. The park now boasts an award-winning and unique design. Gantry Plaza State Park is another of the crown jewels of Queens and New York City.

Visitors and residents enjoy the fantastic park system of the city. The areas that are transformed into areas where people can enjoy nature and families can flourish. If you are not a native of New York, you would not expect to see these huge areas.