Playgrounds

Central Park has 21 playgrounds to choose from.

East 110th Street Playground

The playground is located inside the park at 110th Street between Lenox (Malcom X Blvd) and Fifth Avenues, across from the Harlem Meer. It is the most popular playground in Central Park's north end, featuring the latest in playground design after a 10-month long renovation in 2013.

There are three areas in this playground, one which features an interactive water feature, one with a large wooden climber, and one featuring strap and tire swings. 

W. 110th Street Playground

The West 110th Street Playground is set in a small valley bounded on one side by dramatic rock outcrops and surrounded by mature trees.

Aimed at school-age children and organized into four distinct circular sections, the revamped play space has a water feature, three tire swings, six big-kid strap swings as well as a swing for children with special needs. There is also a wooden play structure with lots of things to climb, swing across and conquer. This playground is geared for older children.

Bernard Family Playground

Located in one of the most beautiful settings in the park - across from the Harlem Meer, this playground includes bucket swings, an enclosed sandbox and a play structure with a bridge, slides, climbing poles and multiple platforms. There is also a sprinkler in summer months.

Geared towards younger children, this playground is also located near the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, which offers additional recreational opportunities. 

Tarr Family Playground

Located on the West Side at 100th Street, this playground is divided by a central bridge that stretches over a "lake" of sand, creating an area for preschoolers and another geared towards older children. 

The playground was reconstructed in 2009 and now includes a large conical climber with a tunnel and slides; a modern net climber; a variety of swings for all ages; a wooden tree house; and a concrete maze. It also includes a water feature during the summer months.

Robert Bendheim Playground

Located on the East Side at 100th Street, the playground is considered a "playground for all children," and was designed to be accessible to children with and without disabilities. 

A large play structure features tunnels, slides, sound-generating play components, wheelchair-accessible ramps, a corkscrew water feature fit for wheelchairs, and a sandbox with elevated tables.

Rudin Family Playground

Located at 96th Street off of Central Park West, this playground's centerpiece is a large, wisteria-covered trellis that provides shaded seating. 

The playground includes a sandbox, bucket and tire swings, and three play structures for climbing and sliding. It has game tables for chess and checkers, which can also be used for picnicking. Three granite posts project an arc of spray for children to run and play through during the summer months.

E. 96th Street Playground

This is one of Central Park's largest playgrounds and is located near the northeastern corner of the Reservoir, in a landscape bounded by the East Drive, Fifth Avenue, and the 96th Street Transverse Road.

It features wide open space, a variety of equipment, bridges, slides, climbing structures, swings, a sandbox, and picnic tables. During the summer months there is a sprinkler.

Tarr-Coyne Wild West Playground

This western-themed playground full of wooden structures is located on 93rd Street just off of Central Park West. The Playground reopened in 2015, after a yearlong major reconstruction to upgrade play spaces and accessibility. 

Safari Playground

Set atop a hill close to 91st Street off of Central Park West, the Safari Playground feels secluded and also offers a great space for kids to run around. It features hippopotamus sculptures and tree houses, plus canoe and water spray features.

The Conservancy updated and enhanced the play experience in 2019, created a wheelchair-accessible route to the playground from the park perimeter, and better integrated the playground with the park.

Abraham and Joseph Spector Playground

Spector Playground, located at W. 86th Street, opposite the Mariners' Playground, is one of the largest playgrounds in the park. Several large oak trees are scattered throughout the site, providing greenery and shade.

It features an open space for running and playing, plus an expansive sand area consisting of a large area as well as a smaller enclosed sandbox ideal for younger children. There are also a variety of climbers constructed out of both wood and metal, as well as slides, poles, bridges and decks.

Arthur Ross Pinetum Playground

This playground is located off W. 85th Street within the Arthur Ross Pinetum, a small arboretum that is home to the largest collection of pine trees in the park.

This playground is unfenced and unpaved, and also includes picnic tables and open lawns, making it a great spot for picnicking and family outings. It is the remnant of a much larger playground that was built in the 1930s. 

Play equipment at this playground includes strap swings, bucket swings and chin-up bars. 

Ancient Playground

Despite its name, Ancient Playground is one of the Park's most recently reconstructed playgrounds. It is located on 85th Street right off of Fifth Avenue, just north of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, who's collection of Egyptian Art inspired the playground's climbing pyramids, obelisk and sundial.

In the main play area, pyramid-shaped climbers with slides and tunnels are linked by concrete bridges. Additional wooden climbers are ideal for older children who love to climb and explore. For younger children, the playground has an obelisk-shaped structure set in a sandbox. Bucket, tire and strap swings accommodate children of all ages.

It has an elaborate water feature during the summer months and was named the 9th best playground in NYC, by Time Out Kids, May 2015. 

Mariners' Playground

This nautically themed playground is located just north of Summit Rock, near the Park's Mariners' Gate entrance, off of Central Park West at 85th Street, opposite The Abraham and Joseph Spector Playground. 

It provides a variety of play experiences for younger children, and features three play structures with steering wheels, decks, slides, and ladders. There are also sea horse spring rockers, a large, enclosed sandbox and a wooden "boat" platform that sways. During the summer months there is a sprinkler system. 

Diana Ross Playground

Situated at the base of Summit Rock, the highest elevation in the park, the Diana Ross playground features a verdant backdrop of mature canopy trees. It is located on West 81st Street off of Central Park West.

The playground features a large, wooden play structure with a variety of interconnected play elements, including a climbing net, bridges, firepoles, slides and ladders. The entire structure is set in a large area of sand. It also includes bucket swings and has a sprinkler during the summer months.

In July of 2012, DNAinfo, named this playground best playground for adventure seekers. Funding for this playground was provided by the singer Diana Ross after her historic concert on the Great Lawn in 1983.

Pat Hoffman Friedman Playground (aka Three Bears Playground)

This playground is located at 79th Street right off of Fifth Avenue. Visitors won't be able to miss the Group of Bears statue (commonly referred to as the "Three Bears") surrounded by a large circular seating area at the entrance.

The playground underwent a $1.2 million makeover, which included renovations to make it more appropriate for younger children now as well, such as new slides, swings, sandboxes and sprinklers.

James Michael Levin Playground

Play features of this playground include colorful pipe frame equipment and bucket swings geared toward toddlers. This playground has experienced a major renovation and is located inside the 76th Street entrance off of Fifth Avenue.

In the center of this playground at East 76th Street is a whimsical water spray fountain featuring characters from Alice in Wonderland. Originally the Sophie Loeb Drinking Fountain that stood between the Heckscher Playground and Heckscher Ballfields, it was moved to the present location to better serve children as a water play feature. The sculptor - Frederick George Richard Roth - also did Mother Goose and Balto.

E. 72nd Street Playground

The East 72nd Street Playground underwent a recent eight-month renovation. The facelift brought in a brand-new push-button water fountain, a new sandbox, a climber that connects to a pyramid climber, new slides and tire and strap swings. 

In the 1970s, the space was remodeled as an "adventure style" playground, which gave kids small walls to climb and tunnels to hide in. The idea is the same with the new facelift, but the new upgrade follows current safety standards and handicap accessibility.

Adventure Playground

Adventure Playground now has new versions of old play features from the original playground that were lost over time, as well as fun new additions for children to enjoy.

In the surrounding landscape, paths were rebuilt, and new plantings were added to improve its infrastructure and accessibility. The playground re-opened summer of 2015.

Tarr-Coyne Tots Playground

This completely rebuilt playground includes a sprinkler for the very first time, two sandboxes and elevated sand tables, swings, and landforms. The landforms provide the youngest users with many opportunities for crawling, climbing, and exploration. Located at West 68th Street off of Central Park West.

The Tarr-Coyne Tots Playground features play equipment designed for the Park's youngest visitors and was rebuilt as part of the Central Park Conservancy's Central Play campaign.

Billy Johnson Playground

This playground’s most popular feature is the granite slide, which is nestled into a rocky hill that echoes the nearby rock outcroppings. Additional features include bucket swings and a small amphitheater, ideal for picnics and other gatherings, as well as a sprinkler in the summer months. The playground is located inside the park at 67th Street and Fifth Avenue. 

Constructed in the mid-1980s to replace a Robert Moses-era playground, Billy Johnson Playground was the first one reconstructed under the administration of the Central Park Conservancy. Designed by M. Paul Friedberg, who created the first adventure-style playground in New York City at the Jacob Riis Houses in 1966, it was the result of a design competition to create a “rustic playground” inspired by the park’s picturesque heritage. 

Heckscher Playground

Heckscher Playground is not only the oldest playground in Central Park, but also the largest at nearly three acres. In addition to the typical park attractions, such as a variety of slides, swings, and seesaws, Heckscher Playground features both a water fixture and giant rocks for climbing. It is also famed for its kickball games, which are popular during the summertime. 

Located at 7th Avenue and Central Park South, Heckscher Playground runs from 61st to 63rd streets and is open from 7:30am until dusk. The Playground opened in 1926, when it was named for August Heckscher Sr., the grandfather of Parks Commissioner August Heckscher III.

Complete with its own restrooms and snack carts, the Playground is best suited for children ages 6 to 12. Heckscher Playground is most populated during the spring and summer months. Time Out Kids Magazine, May 2015, named this playground #12 on their top 25 playground list.