summer

Where to Grill or Barbecue in New York City Parks

updated May 12, 2022
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Post Image
(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

As we told you yesterday, July is Grilling Month here at the Kitchn. And we realize that we may have lost many of you with that sentence — all of you who lack any outdoor space, even for a tiny charcoal grill.

Well, many of us editors are in the same position. But we are also surrounded by beautiful public parks in this city. The trick is knowing where you can grill in them. We have some information below, but we also want your suggestions…

The list below is direct from the horse’s mouth: the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. The bad news is that there are no official locations in Central Park! That really bums us out, because it’s our closest green space and we’re dying to take a grill and a cooler over there.

So, here’s the list of designated barbecuing areas. There are several in Prospect Park for those of you in Brooklyn and a few locations we hadn’t thought of, like Morningside Park.

Bronx
Crotona Park: Crotona Park East & Charlotte Street (Indian Lake)
Ferry Point Park: North and South End of Park
Orchard Beach: North and South Lawn
Pelham Bay Park: Arnow Place & Bruckner Boulevard
River Park: 180th Street fence line and along Boston Road entrance side
St. Mary’s Park: 146th Street & St. Ann’s Avenue
Van Cortlandt Park
– Allen Shandler Recreation Area: Jerome Avenue, South of 233rd Street
– in front of the pool, Broadway and 242 st.

Brooklyn
Coffey Park: At Verona, Richards, and Dwight Streets
Fort Greene Park: Along Myrtle Ave. between North Portland Ave. and St. Edwards St.
Kaiser Park: at W33rd Street
Manhattan Beach
– Northeast of Promenade, Median adjacent to Parking Lot
– Oriental Boulevard & Hastings St.
Prospect Park
– Both Sides of Bandshell
– North Area of Long Meadow
– Area near PPSW and 10th Avenue
– Area near Vanderbuilt Street and PPSW
– Grecian Shelter Area
– Area north of Picnic House
– Area south of Wollman Rink

Manhattan
East River Park: Along FDR Drive at E. 10th Street
Fort Washington Park: North of W. 158th St. on the Hudson River
Highbridge Park: W. 177th Street and Amsterdam Avenue
Inwood Hill Park: Dyckman Ballfields at Dyckman Street & Hudson River
Morningside Park: Morningside Ave. & W. 121st St.
Randall’s Island: At the far end of Sunken Meadow ballfields
Riverside Park: West 145th Street on the Hudson River
St. Nicholas Park
– St. Nicholas Terrace at West 128th Street, and
– St. Nicholas Avenue between W. 133rd -135th Streets
Thomas Jefferson Park: First Avenue between E. 111th-114th Streets
Wards Island: East River & Hell Gate (near the children’s playground)

Queens
Alley Pond Park: Winchester Boulevard & Grand Central Parkway
– Alley Athletic Field: Union Turnpike & Winchester Boulevard
– Alley Springfield: Springfield Blvd and 76 Avenue
Bayswater Park: Beach Channel Dr, B32 Street
Brookville Park: Brookville Boulevard & South Conduit Avenue
Corona Park: Jewel Avenue and Van Wyck Exwy
Cunningham Park: Union Turnpike and Francis Lewis Blvd.
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
– off Lake West and off Lake East
– Jewel Avenue and Van Wyck Exwy
Forest Park: Woodhaven Blvd. and Forest Park Dr.
Highland Park: Upper Highland, Jamaica Avenue
O’Donohue Park: Boardwalk between Beach 20-17 Street
Springfield Playground: 147th Ave. and Springfield Blvd.

Staten Island
Clove Lakes Park: Clove Road & Victory Boulevard
Willowbrook Park: Eaton Place Entrance
Wolfe’s Pond Park: Cornelia Ave. and Luten Ave.
Midland Beach: Midland Ave. and Lincoln Ave.

We have lots of questions we’d love your help with. Are most of these areas concrete pads with bolted-down grills? Or is it easy to set up your own spot? Which of these are the prettiest and least crowded? And what about Central Park? Anyone got some tips for us there?

(Image: Flickr member Kilgub, licensed under Creative Commons)