There will be a two-mile round-trip kayak tour on August 25 at 12:30 p.m., while the site is closed to the public. Apparently that program fills really quickly and it's seldom offered. Here's the link to register, and the suggested donation is $20: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/freshkills-park-kayak-tour-tickets-965043740807?utm_source=Freshkills+Park+Newsletter&utm_campaign=4962e3413d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_02_07_03_20_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-242a9a8171-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&mc_cid=4962e3413d&mc_eid=78209e05be There will also be a sunset photography tour on August 20 at 6:00 p.m., when the site is closed to the public. Here's the link to register, and the suggested donation is $10: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sunset-photography-tour-tickets-957302887707?utm_source=Freshkills+Park+Newsletter&utm_campaign=4962e3413d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_02_07_03_20_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-242a9a8171-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&mc_cid=4962e3413d&mc_eid=78209e05be read more

5 stars for the potential awesomeness of this park! It's not completely open to the public yet but they occasionally open parts of it up for events and tours. I've been kayaking there (amazing!!!) and also came for one of their Discovery Days which was well organized and had very friendly staff, free bike rentals, birdwatching tours, information stands, etc. It really doesn't feel like you're still in the city--no city noises like sirens or construction, just grass and scrub around, and tons of interesting birds. The views are great since the landfill site is pretty hilly. It'll be amazing when the entire park is open. I mean, 3x the size of Central Park?! Wow. I love that they're keeping most of it as a nature preserve since NYC and its native wildlife definitely need it. Imagine going to this park and seeing deer! Even just on a birdwatching tour, we saw osprey, turkey vultures, gulls, a kingfisher, herons, and tons of other interesting birds. It isn't easy getting here, but totally worth it. NYC needs more parks and nature preserves like this! read more

Very interesting! A small loop to walk and check out the views. Not a whole lot to do but it is something new and nice to have more outdoor space. Bathroom, albeit a 5 star port potty, but much more space and very clean - like a very exquisite porta potty. Right near a ballfields, parking is on the street. Great if you're a bird watcher. read more

Great protected bike path nice trail until I wiped put on the metal foot bridge on my bike. Needs some nonskid would of saved me 30 stiches in the face and a broken elbow. Otherwise a good time read more

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. read more

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Oh, come on; Fresh Kills will only ever be a dump, as far as I'm concerned. (The name itself, "Fresh Kills," is oddly evocative.) Much of New York City is built on landfill, actually; my neighborhood is, and the World Trade Center (now Freedom Tower) was. The scary thing is, there's a park in Harlem where they give concerts and host cultural events; I've actually heard of people at the concerts becoming ill from sitting there for an extended period of time. Hope they have some damage control going on here. read more

Amazing scenery from every angle. The bike trails along could take you all day if you went at a leisurely pace. Kayaking is a must since the estuary has so many hidden nooks and crannies to offer. The volunteers are helpful. It's a shame NYC's biggest park isn't open more often. read more

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I went on a bus tour of the place. I liked the part where we stood on the trash mound--definitely not something I do every day! You can't smell the garbage because it's deep under ground and it's covered by an impermeable layer of plastic. My skull is thicker than this plastic but don't worry, the rats and moles can't even get to the trash no matter how much they gnaw. There are cute deer and eagles. A deer family ran by and I got happy. You have to sign a waiver on the bus, but don't let that scare you; the place is pretty safe. The parks bus driver, on the other hand, thinks this is nascar. As I am from a Strong Island suburb I am used to drivers who don't follow the rules, but my cherub/boyfriend was terrified. read more