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    Fresh Kills Park

    4.3 (8 reviews)

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    Shuttle schedule service back to ferry. Free
    Helen Y.

    Can a 2,200 acres of park that is predominately landfill be a fun and fascinating place to visit? Absolutely, as I found out when I visited on Discovery Day. Fresh Kills is slated to be New York's biggest park when it finally is completed. For now, visitors have to discover the transformation in phases, during bus tours, kayak tours, and Discovery Day. And no, the park does not smell like garbage and is quite beautiful, offering spectacular views. On Discovery Day, visitors get to: 1) go on a Summit Tour, which provides 30 minutes of fascinating insights on the engineering of the landfills and how the garbage in the mounds are contained. The summit we were on is still decomposing and it was fascinating to see at about 150 feet up, how high up the garbage had been piled from the original marshlands of the area. We found out that plastic tarp is placed over the mounds, then soil of about 20 inches and grass is grown on top of that. All trees on the summit were grown from seed spread by the birds there. The summit, as garbage settles, loses about half an inch a year. Our guide, one of the engineers, imparted more fun facts. I encourage Yelpers to take the tour to learn them. There is a mini van taking you up and down, for those not inclined to hike up especially on a sweltering summer day. At the top, there were even demos on kite-making. 2) go on a Kayak tour. Boo hoo, I missed out on the registration as this went fast as sis told me about the event last minutes. The estuary is calm and all the kayakers looked like they were seriously enjoying themselves. 3) get free bicycles for the day. They go fast. Get your bike as soon as you get there, unless you want to take the tours. I did two tours and the bikes were all gone by then. Families take the bikes, and a designated sentinel guards them zealously as they wait for family members to return from hikes. 4) go with Audubon staff on bird walks. Sis and I and friends enjoyed this tremendously, despite the boiling sun. Sis, a birding enthusiast like her friends there, even knew some of the knowledgeable staff. If you don't have binoculars, Audubon thoughtfully provides them for the walks. You won't see much without them, despite avid birders calling out names like "indigo bunting!". Any small bird will resemble a flying blip. I had my own binoculars but noticed that non bird enthusiasts who didn't think to borrow dropped out of the tour fast. There is a huge osprey nest right by the bridge and it was a treat to see the fledglings popping their heads up from the nest crying for mom and pop to bring home their piscine meal. The birds you see will vary with the times of the events, due to migratory patterns. Seeing the gorgeous raptors soar is worth the trek to Staten Island. 5) hike the East Park. It's about 4 miles. If you don't have water, hope the mounted police come and collect your prostrate body before the vultures there do(Audubon staff told me the large feather I found was probably a vulture, though none of us spotted the bird). There were other activities, such as bookmaking, and book reading(NYPL was giving out free books). Tips: 1) There is no shelter from the sun. The hosts provide water but at 87 degrees, the water was warm after a few hours. Ice your own bottles and bring them. Bring sunblock and a hat. 2) Bring food to nosh on. There was one food truck, not trucks, as listed, and no vegetarian fare. 3) Bring insect repellant. Take the sign about ticks seriously. I stayed away from the tall grass as I was wearing shorts. 4) Fresh Kills does provides free buses on Discovery Day. They are school buses with no AC and the kind of suspension that makes you look at the ceiling to see if any school children are still plastered to the roof. If you have a bad back, ride towards the front. You will think you are on a mechanical bull if you take the back and have a driver who yearns to be in Nascar, as we did. If you take the free bus, you can not take your own bike on. And one last comment for Fresh Kills. The day was amazing but geesh, didn't any one of the planners feel that a real public bathroom should have been tops on the list to transform the landfill into a park? The porto sans were clean the two times I used them but sis and I would have preferred the real deal. All in all, this should be on any New Yorker's bucket list.

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    Greenbelt Conservancy - Last rays of sunshine

    Greenbelt Conservancy

    4.9(17 reviews)
    5.0 km

    The trails at Greenbelt Conservancy are always good to visit, but one of the best times to come is…read morein the Winter; that's because you'll pretty much have them all to yourself, and you'll be able to snowshoe. Tip: Another good activity to indulge in when you're here is trail running.  There's not a lot of elevation change on the trails, but there's enough distance to get the job done ;-) Once you get a ways inside the Greenbelt you won't hear a lot of car noise, which is a good thing in my book.

    My husband and I had our wedding ceremony and reception (~65 people) at the Greenbelt Nature Center…read moreand it was great. We found it while doing an online search for intimate, outdoor wedding venues and were surprised to find such a nice space for a reasonable rate. Christina, the onsite coordinator, was very helpful in getting us started and working with our requests and ideas. Our wedding day was rained out so we had to move our ceremony indoors, in an exhibit room next to the reception area, but it worked out well (the outdoor terrace is really nice though and once the rain cleared, our guests were able to take their photos backed by the nice fall foliage). The center accommodated the move and it was the perfect space for the amount of guests that we had. The site is beautiful and well-maintained. It has a naturally built-in rustic decor, so we didn't need to go above and beyond for decorations. Their staff helps with set up and breakdown of tables and chairs and there's a good-sized kitchen/service area. We had a lot of guests complimenting our choice and asking how we found this place (Staten Island is sort of the forgotten borough, sorry!). It was the perfect space for our special day and we'd definitely recommend it to other couples seeking an intimate wedding venue.

    Photos
    Greenbelt Conservancy - Fall is here

    Fall is here

    Greenbelt Conservancy - First look on the bridge at the nature center

    First look on the bridge at the nature center

    Greenbelt Conservancy

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    Wheeler Park - The bigger slides

    Wheeler Park

    4.7(7 reviews)
    6.5 km

    This review is for the awesome splash pad that is located in Wheeler Park. Every time we go we…read morehave a blast! I am also so happy that Wheeler park welcomes everyone from all over NJ (and elsewhere). Coming from out of the county will cost you a bit more, but not much. If you live outside of Union County it is $4.00 for kids ($2.00 in county) and $6.00 for adults ($3.00 in county). This splash pad has every water feature a kid could ever need - from bigger twisty water slides, to a small dragon water slide. Also, water guns that you can shoot each other with, a pirate boat, water shooting up from the ground, and much more. My kids spent a little over 2 hours here and had an absolute blast. We've been here about 3 times and it never disappoints. Just be sure to bring some sort of shade covering. There isn't much cover at the splash pad so we usually bring our small beach tent with us. There is also a dry playground in the splash pad gated area where kids can play too. They have staff who help keep the kids safe and to make sure everyone goes down the water slides safe and sound. I highly recommend Wheeler Spray Park on a hot summer day.

    Came to the waterpark for my niece bday. The park is clean and gets plenty of sun. Cute small…read morewaterslides and water sprays everywhere!!! They allow you to bring food and lay blankets of the grass! Great day to bring the kids for a fun in the sun day and to wear them out lol! Its a county park so u have to pay a small fee at the gate. Under $10

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    Wheeler Park - Small dragon slide

    Small dragon slide

    Wheeler Park - Water features galore!

    Water features galore!

    Wheeler Park

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    Fort Wadsworth

    Fort Wadsworth

    4.6(54 reviews)
    10.9 km

    Very nice location. I was able to visit for the 2025 5 boro bike tour event. Great views of the…read moreVerrazano bridge. Next time I visit SI, I will plan to explore Fort Wadsworth better. Alot of information surrounding Fort Wadsworth.

    Before artillery and ordinance became too powerful, coastal defenses were a critical part of…read morenational war efforts to protect our young cities from naval bombardment. The Narrows dividing Upper and Lower New York Bay were the best spot to position those military efforts and the Fort Wadsworth complex on northeastern Staten Island was selected to build those primary fortifications. As we know, the British occupied New York City and Staten Island early in the Revolutionary War. The Reds were aware of the value of this locale, but did not fear the fledgling American Navy. It was not until after independence that our weak central government began to take steps to utilize the area for defense of what became our most important harbor. First sandstone, later granite, were set to allow over 200 cannon to be placed facing the lower harbor to repel invaders. The War of 1812 and the Civil War saw the most activity and growth, until Fort Wadsworth was the largest and most formidable redoubt on the Atlantic seaboard. By the early 20th Century coastal defenses were no longer relevant due to the firepower on ships and the birth of the modern Air Force. Today, the fort has been decommissioned and become part of the Gateway National Recreation Area run by the National Park Service. The 226 acres bracketing the north end of the Verrazano Bridge is now a great place to walk, explore the old naval station and see a spectacular view of Lower Manhattan from the promontory facing Upper New York Harbor that sits directly under the bridge. This whole stretch of eastern Staten Island is mostly deserted in winter, making an ideal time to visit and allow your imagination to run wild with how different this spot was earlier in our national history. I have driven over the VNB hundreds of times, remarked on the fantastic view of city and harbor from the steel span, but never realized Fort Wadsworth was there beneath me. I guess getting onto the Belt Parkway required all my attention. Now that I know and have visited its historic granite walls, I will at the very least acknowledge its stony presence and tip my cap in passing to thank all who served there in defense of our young nation.

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    Fort Wadsworth
    Fort Wadsworth
    Fort Wadsworth

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    Fresh Kills Park - parks - Updated May 2026

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