Jonathan Douglas

Wonderful public playground on the south side of Central Park. There are numerous play areas with swings, jungle gyms and other more natural play structures with sand and wood chip base. The feature in the summer has to be the enormous water play area that starts up high near Umpire Rock and follows a series of viaducts and turrets that kids can walk along with the flow of water all the way down to the ground, where there are more sprinklers and fountains to play in. The rubber surface is nice, but due to the extreme volume of kids it is a bit worn in places. There is lots of seating for parents and caregivers, and a decent amount of shade around the periphery of the play areas. There are also public restrooms at the main entrance to the playground, and most of the entire area is fenced in. That said, being so large and with so many people, it's important to always have an eye on your kids here.