Prospect Park
TRAVEL DIRECTIONS
(For public transit or car)
Prospect Park Woodlands, Watercourse and Nature Trails
Prospect Park's Woodlands
Prospect Park is home to the only forest in Brooklyn. The incredible diversity of trees, along with the watercourse, has attracted a wide range of animal species, including thousands of migratory birds who stop here during their journey through the Atlantic Flyway.
Prospect Park has over 30,000 trees spread throughout its 585 acres. Eleven thousand of them are landscape trees, which require regular pruning and care, on the Park's meadows, paths, roadways and perimeter. The remainder are woodland trees in the Park's natural areas, 250 acres of which comprise Brooklyn's last forest.
The core area of the woodlands is the Ravine, an area defined by a steep narrow gorge lined with the diverse trees and foliage. The Ravine district features the Park's most rugged terrain and the cool whisper of flowing water is never far away.
The Ravine is located between the Long Meadow and the Nethermead, and is accessible from all sections of the Park, with the closest Park entrances being at 15th Street, 9th Street, and 3rd Street along Prospect Park West.
By Public Transportation: F Train to 15th St./Prospect Park station or 7th Ave. station 2 or 3 Train to Grand Army Plaza station. Q Train to 7th Ave. station B-41 or B-71 Bus along Flatbush Ave. to Grand Army Plaza B-69 Bus along Prospect Park West. B-75 Bus along 9th St. to 9th St. Entrance
Prospect Park's Watercourse
Prospect Park's watercourse features diverse bodies of water all connected through an intricate system of pools, streams and waterfalls, culminating in 60-acre Prospect Lake, Brooklyn's only lake. All the water in the Park flows from one source, beginning at Fallkill Falls, then feeding into the Pools, which flow into the Ravine. The Ravine carries the water into the Lullwater, which then meanders gently downstream, until it reaches the Lake.
Prospect Park Nature Trail System
The Prospect Park Audubon Center at the Boathouse serves as the trailhead for a 2.5-mile network of interpretive trails on land, plus a guided water tour through the Lullwater and Lake that is accessed via the electric boat Independence, a replica of the Park's original electric boat. The four trails are: The Lullwater Trail, the Midwood Trail, the Peninsula Trail and the Waterfall Trail.
Directions
To get to the Prospect Park Audubon Center and Visitor Center at the Boathouse, enter the Park at Lincoln Road & Ocean Ave., Parkside & Ocean Aves., or Flatbush Ave. & Empire Blvd. (Willink entrance) and follow the directional signs. By train: Q, S, or B to Prospect Park Station. By bus: B-16, B-41, B-43 and B-48 will bring you close to the Park's Willink entrance.
For more information on Prospect Park's nature trails, Audubon Center programs, events, membership and volunteering, call the Park Hotline at (718) 965-8999 or visit www.prospectpark.org