Summer Fun Guide: Garden Oases, Animal Encounters, And Good Learnin’

Green Thumbs Up

Arguably the most famous in the city, the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx makes a perfect summer outing. Some of our favorite spots here include the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, the country’s largest Victorian glasshouse, and the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, featuring mazes and wetlands. New to the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden is a year-round Edible Academy learning center, with a greenhouse, demonstration kitchen, and much more.

All the way down in the hip part of New York, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is home to the country’s longest operating Children’s Garden—it opened in 1914! More importantly, its 52 acres are the perfect size to explore with young ones. This month, when the Cranford Rose Garden’s blooms are at their most magnificent, is a gorgeous time to visit.

Of course, apropos for our urban jungle is the beloved High Line, the defunct-railroad-turned-urban-park in Chelsea. Families can delight in food trucks, stargazing, dance parties, funky art installations, and all sorts of walking tours. Don’t miss the carnival-inspired summer party on the 11th if you love a hoppin’ good time.

We also have to give a green thumbs up for Liz Christy Garden in the Lower East Side. As the city’s oldest community garden house, it’s home to a pond full of adorable turtles, wooden furniture that’s perfect for storytime, and all sorts of greenery from a grape arbor to vegetable gardens to weeping birch tree groves. Your family can earn access by putting in 20 hours of volunteering.

All About Animals

You don’t need to visit wild caves or drive upstate to spot furry bats and brilliant birds—the city’s green pastures are great for that, too. Brave critter lovers can seek bats on warm summer nights close to home at The Great Hill in Central Park, The Gerritsen Creek Nature Trail at Marine Park, and Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens—or venture out to Blue Heron Park’s Spring Pond on Staten Island. Not that there isn’t plenty of daytime animal fun to be had. At New York Harbor Parks in Lower Manhattan, spy on birds like long-legged waders such as egrets, herons, and blue grosbeak song birds.

Another pastoral playground brimming with educational animals: Alley Pond Park is a 635-acre nature center that opened in the ‘70s in Queens. Weekly workshops give children of all ages a chance to pet animals, take nature walks, create science and crafts projects, and tons more. That’s not to mention animal care training and stargazing workshops. Just don’t miss the Animal Room in all your excitement; you’ll want to get up close and personal with creatures like Loke the Prairie Dog, Henry the Ring-Necked Dove, and, if you’re feeling brave, Bernie the Corn Snake.

But it has to be said that summer weather can be fickle, which is why we really love the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center. There, you’ll find a plan for rain or shine. Indoors, participate in educational workshops, seasonal exhibits, and holiday celebrations. Outdoors, borrow a fishing pole and join the catch-and-release fishing program at the 11-acre Harlem Meer.

More from our SUMMER FUN GUIDE:
11 Top Water Parks Within Driving Distance
Local Fishing, Kayaking, And Sailing
Our Favorite Beaches Around NYC
Editor’s Picks: Camping For Families
(Inter)Active Fun In Parks & Zoos