This is a wonderful trail path, historic, and well-maintained trail for walking, running, and…read morecycling, which is a "hidden gem" offering a serene environment with ample tree cover creating a relaxing environment. Users will find it clean and a good spot for exercise. Vanderbilt Motor Parkway has been revamped and recently unveiled for cyclists and pedestrians to enjoy more green space in eastern Queens. However, I see some drawbacks, including poor lighting in some areas which raises safety concerns for evening use. While many users praise the path, some have expressed concerns about the behavior of other users, specifically cyclists who don't slow down for pedestrians.  The trail corridor is wide and welcoming. Unpaved paths veer into some of the wooded areas along the route. The trail is anchored by two parks: Alley Pond Park to the east and Cunningham Park to the west. The trail is about 3 miles from one end to the other which makes it a 6 mile trek out and back. I always enjoy walking this trail path.

Just this incredible place that is hidden behind homes. There are a few entrances like just on…read moreSpringfield Blvd and near Kingsbury Ave. The trail extends hidden away starting from Winchester Parkway until the Clearview Expressway. From there you can continue on to more areas. It's safe and clean, however there are no rest area along this stretch. You will see families, bikers, runners, walkers and just people relaxing along the trail. You feel like you are in the middle of some forest until you notice peoples backyards. It's so cool this trail exists.

Amazing. Saw lots of turtles lined up in the water. Shaded for walking. Peaceful. Worth a visit.read more

Great! Beautiful 9/11 memorial in the park, a few benches. Two nice little bridges to walk over…read morethe running water. Very peaceful here, lots of trees. Some little loops to walk, good walking workout with a few loops. Bathrooms, closed during day in January.

Great park for family. Small entrance that is easy to miss but enter after Hewlett road, see…read morephotos. There is a small parking lot. Basketball court, children's park, baseball and soccer field, camp grounds, grills, hiking trail that is flat and not challenging (walk in the park). I will be back with more family. Well kept!

A hidden gem, located in North Eastern Queens. This little place is full of wild life. 2 resident…read moreswans, plenty of ducks, an occasional hawk, and other birds that I don't know the names of. The walk around the lake is about 1/3 mile? Maybe 1/2 mile? And just about the entire walk is under shade. Walk toward the back side and you wouldn't know you were in NYC. No traffic noise. Great place to walk and sit and watch wildlife.

Oakland Lake is a peaceful, natural escape tucked right into the Bayside and Oakland Gardens…read moreneighborhoods of Queens, NYC. Review aggregators and local trailgoers generally highlight several key aspects of the park: The place offers a dramatic contrast to the urban surroundings. When you are in the area it feels like you have left the city, with a backdrop of mature trees and steep shorelines. The lake acts as a crucial rest stop for migrating waterfowl. Visitors commonly spot Canada Geese, Mallards, Trumpeter Swans, and Herring Gulls, making it a favorite destination for local birders. The Oakland Lake Path is a popular, sometimes busy route. It is relatively flat and easy, with trailgoers highly recommending a visit from March through October for the best scenery. The lake is noted for being somewhat deep (up to 20 feet) compared to other NYC ponds. It is stocked and known for its populations of bass, sunfish, and pickerel.

Really cool park! It's so big and has running tracks too. The view to the river is really nice as…read morewell.

10/10 would recommend and go to powells park again, sad that I didn't find my teacher Mrs Powell…read more me and my friend Alexia searched for hours looking, but sadly nothing. Other than that powells cove is a lovely park and would visit again . I don't recommend this park if you are searching for Mrs Powell as well, you will be disappointed as were me and Alexia :))

The Pat Dolan Trail, also known as the Willow Lake Trail, seems to be unknown and unused. I am the…read morefirst reviewer here on Yelp. I added an entry separate from Flushing Meadows, because this is the swampy area to the south of the developed part. People coming here would be someplace very different than there, and vice versa of course. This is heavily wooded and runs across Willow Lake. The first time I tried to access this trail, when I moved to Queens, I was not able to find it. The foliage had grown up around the path. My phone map also did not offer the best directions. But somebody must have cleared out or trimmed back what was obscuring my view, and perhaps the phone has acquired more data. The directions were clear. At either entry point, there is a pedestrian bridge over the respective highway. Basically, if you don't know where you are headed, you will need your phone, these notes, or persistence. Now that I am familiar with it, I anticipate using this regularly. I could see hiking this for fun. I used it as a walker trying to make my way from Kew Gardens Hills, where I live, over to Forest Hills, where the subway, LIRR, and restaurants are. It took a good 40 minutes, but if you value the exercise and break, with an opportunity to be far enough into the wilderness you can neither see nor hear traffic, this is worthwhile. I saw one other person. The path was muddy from rain, but not impassable; you would not do this in nice clothes. There is another route for me from Kew Gardens Hills to Forest Hills (and the other way around), which is on Jewel. From where I work, that is closer. But from my home, it would be another half mile, and while I enjoy running, this is utilitarian, about commuting on foot. Jewel also has lots of traffic and two dangerous moments with highway on/off ramps. I'm also a biker. I believe you could bike this. It wouldn't be the best route. By bike, I'd still use Jewel. The last note concerns safety. When I got lost, I wandered around Willow Lake. There was evidence of a couple of encampments, probably in active use. So I am led to believe there may be a few people living in these environs. I also would assume if you were jumped, it would be a real problem given how isolated it is. So you should be aware of your surroundings, and if you are nervous then this is not for you.

The Pat Dolan Trail: Where Butterflies Go to Die ​You see…read morethis sign, right? "Pat Dolan Trail." Sounds nice, sounds like a place where families go on a Sunday to forget they're poor. It's even got a website on it, in brass, like the city really cares. Brass and chain-link fences. That's New York for you. Wrapping a little nature in wire and giving it a dead person's name. I looked at the sign, felt the sun on my neck, and I knew this wasn't going to lead to a quiet brook and a bottle of gin. ​I kept walking, and there's another sign. This one tries harder. It's got a little story about a World's Fair and freshwater wetlands and, would you look at that, monarch butterflies. They painted them right on the sign, like they could keep them there. And some kid named Paul scrawled his name on it, too, right next to "Pam," and some other garbage about butterflies. Good for Paul. He's immortal now. A monument to some sweaty afternoon, scratched onto a sign that tells you to watch your step because it might get wet. As if life doesn't always manage to get wet and muddy when you least expect it. "We strongly recommend hiking boots," the sign says. Yeah. Or a strong stomach and a disregard for where you end up. ​Then you hit the bridge. This ain't no golden gate. It's a cage. A tunnel of shadow and wire, arching over nothing you want to see. The shadows on the concrete look like the ghosts of all the good intentions that died trying to build this place. A brown dog is standing there, he's my dog Philip and he's in the middle of it all, not moving, just waiting. A good dog. He knows. There's a red metal wall blocking his view, or maybe my view. Doesn't matter. It's a red wall in a cage, and the sun is trying like hell to burn through the mesh, and it feels like the kind of place where a man could stand and write bad poetry for an hour until his last beer runs warm. ​And finally, you get there. You walk through the cage, past the butterfly sign and Paul's legacy, and you get to the end. The real destination. A view of the subway trains, all lined up like silver coffins waiting for the morning rush. They're behind a massive fence, of course. Everything is. Barbed wire, concrete, a bright orange plastic barrier looking like a lonely, plastic tongue stuck out at the world. The sun is hot, reflecting off the metal, making you squint at a city that doesn't care that you're looking. It's a yard for the machines that move people to jobs they hate. It's beautiful, in a godforsaken kind of way. It's honest. No monarchs, just metal and dust and the long, slow rumble of everything breaking down. ​It's a good trail. If you like cages, broken dreams, and the smell of hot cities. It will show you the truth, if you can stand it. Most people can't. They want the butterfly sign to be real. This trail, the Pat Dolan Trail, it knows they're lying. I had another beer, my dog at my side, lifebis good, but the sun kept burning.

Quaint little park in the heart of Forest Hills. Lots of benches and foliage. It's long, narrow,…read moreand clean. Iconic Queens, World's Borough sign. Nice place for a pause from NYC life.

On in this park he had a....... MacDonald Park is a nice green area in Forest Hills, NY…read more A large triangular strip is is located right alongside Queens Blvd. The park has paved paths with lots of lawn and trees. Heck there were even multiple chess games going on when I walked through. The park was actually quite clean and it is amazing how relaxing even a few minutes strolling through it is.

This is a tiny park with a few benches, some trees and shrubs, and a gazebo. Definitely easy to…read moremiss. It's not a place you would plan to visit, and there aren't a lot of businesses nearby. It's mainly for residents in the area.

I guess it's the best place you could see the Long Island…read more Railroad and the view on the bridge is nice