Top 6 Park Slope Playgrounds Your Kid Will Love

Park Slope is packed with fantastic kid-friendly things to do — from puppet shows to play cafes to live music. But you can’t go wrong with the classic kids’ attraction: Playgrounds! We’d love to share our Park Slope playground round-up, plus some tips we’ve picked up while visiting these spots with our toddler over the last couple of years…

1. J.J. Byrne Playground

Washington Park, Fifth Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets

Arguably the most popular playground in Park Slope, J.J. Byrne Playground is beloved for good reason: It’s loaded with swings (for both toddlers and school-age kids), water features that include a stream and spray jets, challenging climbing structures (again, for both toddlers and school-age kids), picnic tables and benches in the shade, and turf for sports or spreading out for lunch.

Throughout the spring and summer, you can also find family music series hosted on the turf, like Lalo-palooza in the Park. Check out the Washington Park events page for updates.

2. Park Slope Playground, aka 282 Playground

Berkeley Place and Lincoln Place between 5th and 6th Avenues

Park Slope Playground, often referred to as 282 by locals, is adjacent to PS 282 Park Slope School and is a buzzing place — especially in the afternoon after school gets out. The playground itself is popular for its variety of play structures, toddler swings, water features with spray jets, benches, game tables, and a tire swing. There’s also a turf for ball play and a track that loops around the turf where kids can ride scooters and bikes. And it’s not just a wonderful place for kids; you’ll find the basketball courts used by teenagers and adults year-round.

3. Harmony Playground

162 Prospect Park West, between 10th & 11th Streets

At this music-theme playground, you’ll find giant metal musical notes that you can play with, like a xylophone, harp, and massive trumpet that sprays water in the summer. For toddlers, there are two play structures with tunnels and slides, swings, and a large sandbox with curvy walls that provide a sitting area for adults. For older kids, there’s an expansive structure with alcoves, tunnels, twisty slides, monkey bars, and wobbly bridges, as well as swings. Harmony Playground is just inside Prospect Park near the Bandshell, so you can hit up the playground for a while and then stroll around the park.

4. Donald and Barbara Zucker Natural Exploration Area, aka The Natural Playground 

Nellie’s Lawn in Prospect Park, between East Drive and the Flatbush Avenue side of the park

There are other, equally cool playgrounds in Park Slope, but only this one has structures and “equipment” made with trees damaged by storms and other natural materials from Prospect Park. Designed with the intention to encourage unstructured play in nature, New York Magazine voted this nature-based playground one of the Best of New York. We spend hours and hours at the Natural Playground every week. From the expansive sandpit to the hollowed-out stumps to the balancing logs, the play is endless for both younger and older kids.

5. Third Street Playground

Prospect Park West, at 3rd Street

On any given day, you’re bound to find kids playing with a collection of donated toys at the Third Street Playground. While a toy or two might linger for a few days at other playgrounds we visit in the neighborhood, this bevy of toddler toys is unique to Third Street. (In fact, if you have any toys to donate, they’ll be used a ton if you drop them off here.) We started bringing our daughter here before she turned one, and it was a hit, but the play structures, sandbox, slides, monkey bars, and water features are great for older toddlers and preschoolers as well.

6. Garfield Tot Lot

Prospect Park, 20 West Drive

Located just inside Prospect Park at the Garfield Place-Prospect Park West entrance, the Tot Lot was designed exclusively for toddlers. So if you’d rather not mingle with older toddlers and school-aged kids, this is the place for you. We took our daughter here a lot until she was about 18 months old and rarely saw kids over two hanging out. The mini-jungle gym has a ramp, a short slide, and a shop window that kids love. Plus, there are a ton of benches for snack time and for adults to chill.

What’s your favorite playground in Park Slope? Any playground tips to share? I’d love to hear!

PS. Seven Wonders of Park Slope.

(Top J.J. Byrne Playground photo by Al DiIngeniis, second by Sara Frazier. First Harmony Playground photo by NYCparks, second by Sara Frazier. Garfield Tot Lot photo by Sonam Bagul. All other photos by Kelley MacDonald and Dan O’Brien.)