Tags: recreation

Explore the native grasslands, restored wetlands, and natural woodlands of South Mound at Freshkills Park like never before.  This video leads you through a 2.5 mile loop through the back hills of South Mound, virtually on foot! 

Before there was the Draft Master plan in 2001, South Mound was the first of 4 mounds capped in 1996. 

Each year at Discovery Days and during Transportation Alternative’s annual Staten Island Bike The Boros event, thousands of people ride bikes around Freshkills Park’s East Mound.

Join us to explore the grasslands of East Park on this virtual bike ride that takes you on a 3.5 mile loop.

Join us for a kayak tour on Freshkills Creek. See the shoreline grasses and mounds of Freshkills Park and experience the water while someone else paddles!

Support the Freshkills Park Alliance

Return to Discovery Week @ Home

With temperatures climbing into the 80s this weekend, over one thousand visitors flocked to Freshkills Park for a warm edition of Discovery Day, a chance to experience the world’s largest landfill-to-park project as it continues to undergo development. Though the park is normally closed, events such as Discovery Day give visitors a chance to see what this former waste dump now has to offer in the way of passive and active recreation, wildlife habitat, and innovative engineering.

Are you new to Freshkills Park and want to learn a little bit more about the exciting changes occurring at what was once the world’s largest landfill? Freshkills Park is excited to announce the release of new videos that introduce newcomers to the park in three themes: “Welcome”, “Freshkills Park Science and Research Program”, and “Landfill Infrastructure at Freshkills Park”.

Freshkills Park will offer a Discovery Day on Sunday September 30. This free event is a chance to explore normally closed areas of the park and experience the landscape and views the landfill-to-park project has to offer. Hundreds of acres and and miles of trails will be open for a day of bicycling, tours, and activities for all ages.

Freshkills Park will offer a Discovery Day event on Sunday June 3. This free event is a chance to explore normally closed areas of the park and experience the landscape and views the landfill-to-park project has to offer. Hundreds of acres and and miles of trails will be open for a day of bicycling, tours, and activities for all ages.

In November of 2017, Freshkills Park celebrated the groundbreaking at North Park. The event signaled the start of construction on the 21-acre project, which will be the first section inside the Fresh Kills Landfill boundaries to become public parkland. This milestone was possible thanks in part to the growing community that is engaging with the project and participating in scheduled programs. 

This summer, New York Road Runners (NYRR) organized two free coach-led group runs at Freshkills Park. Nearly 400 people of all ages came out to run or walk the 3.1 mile and 6.2 mile courses.

The scenic routes took participants along waterways and over the rolling hills of the former Fresh Kills Landfill.

Freshkills Park will offer a Discovery Day event on Sunday October 1. This free event is a chance to explore normally closed areas of the park and enjoy the landscape and views the landfill-to-park project has to offer. Over 700 acres and eight miles of trails will be open for a day of photography, bicycling, tours, and activities for all ages.

This calendar of public tours and events offers unique opportunities to visit normally closed sections of the landfill-to-park project. Whether kayaking through the creeks, photographing the landscape, or hiking and bicycling along miles of meadows, these free programs invite the public to learn about the project and enjoy large sections of the park before they open.

Did you know that the month of May is dedicated to celebrating the importance of wetlands? Back in 1991, the EPA and its partners designated May as American Wetlands Month to educate Americans about the value of wetlands as a natural resource.

Freshkills Park will offer a Discovery Day event on Sunday June 4. This free event is a chance to explore normally closed areas of the park and enjoy the unique landscape and spectacular views the landfill-to-park project has to offer! Over 700 acres and eight miles of trails will be open for a day of photography, bicycling, activities, and tours.

This past year marked the fifteen-year anniversary of the Fresh Kills Landfill closure. In March of 2001, the final barge of household garbage arrived at the landfill. Later that year, the City of New York announced an international design competition for the development of a plan for Freshkills Park.

Dear Friends:

This year’s $30 million funding for the Mayor’s Anchor Parks initiative is a wonderful recognition of the progress we’re making as Freshkills Park continues to take shape. The Anchor Parks project, now entering design, will focus on South Park.

This November, Staten Island Athletic Club (SIAC) will return to Freshkills Park for their fourth annual Championship Cross-Country Races. Last year’s 10k and 5k races were a huge success with a record number of registered runners, including clubs like the Prospect Park Track Club, Team In Training, NYC Runs, and Central Park Track Club.

The park will receive $30 million in funding for major capital advancements.

On August 18, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Council Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito, and NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver announced that the City will invest $150 million in major improvements at five large parks under the new Anchor Parks initiative.

Freshkills Park will offer a Discovery Day event on Sunday, May 15th from 11am to 4pm. Thanks to the support of program partners, sponsors, and collaborators, there will be lots of ways to discover the landfill-to-park project.

5K Run/Walk
Just before Discovery Day begins, the Mid Island Rotary Club of Staten Island will host a 5K Run/Walk at the park starting at 10:30am.

Transportation Alternatives’ April 17th “Bike the Boros: Staten Island” event will include special access to Freshkills Park. Those who enjoyed the popular Tour de Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island series will love the new “Bike the Boros” series. This series is built on the same premise, to celebrate NYC streets by biking on them with gusto, with each event covering a different borough.

The New Springville Greenway on the eastern edge of Freshkills Park is included in the New York City Department of Transportation 2016 NYC Bike Map. This 3.2-mile fitness path is part of the seven new miles of off-street bike lanes in New York City.