My list of hidden places in New York to discover away from the tourist crowds is a constant work in progress, and today I’m adding this secret playground in Manhattan to it. It’s called Teardrop Park and it looks fun to hunt out.
“When you walk into Battery Park City, you see rows of tall apartment buildings,” writes New Yorker, Joanna Goddard on her blog. “But if you walk behind the building 22 River Terrace, there’s a cluster of big trees. They don’t look like much, but if you head into them…
…you’ll reach a clearing with a sandbox, splashy fountains, and giant slide! It feels like you’re in the middle of a forest, and the 14-foot-tall slide feels surprisingly steep,” she says.
This two-acre hidden haven is home to around 15,000 species of plants and trees and is designed out of rocks from upstate NY to make you feel like you’re hanging out in the Catskill Mountains. “The park’s centerpiece is a 27-foot tall bluestone wall that resembles a mountainside,” write New Yorkers Laura and Ryan on their blog. “In the summer, cool water cascades down it, while in the winter, it freezes, creating lots of icicles.”
It sounds like the perfect little secret garden spot in New York.
(Photos via Smith and Ratliff)
Also: New York’s secret restaurant, a hidden garden in Tribeca and 29 best hidden parks.