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The Great Outdoors: Prospect Park Edition

Prospect Park is the second largest public park in Brooklyn. Famous for its trees and manmade wetlands, the 596-acre park also contains the bulk of the borough's remaining indigenous forest. On this walk, The Great Outdoors: Prospect Park Edition, we'll guide you through the park's most leafy and green natural habitats, while also teaching you some history along the way.

ByProspect Park Alliance logoProspect Park Alliance
Start
9 stops•7.5km•1h 29min
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Prospect Park Rose Garden
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Prospect Park Rose Garden

The Rose Garden was originally intended by Olmsted and Vaux to be a Children's Playground, complete with the Park's first, horse-driven carousel. In 1885, as part of the City Beautiful Movement, the landscape was transformed into a rose garden, including three pools with goldfish and lilies, which became a popular Park attraction prior to the establishment of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in 1911.
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Camperdown Elm
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Camperdown Elm

Prospect Park's Camperdown Elm is one of the only surviving trees in the world grafted from an elm on the estate of the Earl of Camperdown in Scotland.
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Long Meadow
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Long Meadow

Long Meadow is almost a mile long of open green space that spans nearly the entire west side of Prospect Park.
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Binnen Falls and Bridge
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Binnen Falls and Bridge

Despite its "rustic" appearance, the Binnen Falls is a man-made waterfall.
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Prospect Park Lake
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Prospect Park Lake

The Prospect Park Lake is Brooklyn's only lake. It is man-made and spans 55-acres and 7' deep in size.
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Rustic Arbor
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Rustic Arbor

Olmsted and Vaux, the park architects, constructed rustic arbors like this one around Prospect Park to provide visitors with rest and shelter.
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Ambergill Falls
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Ambergill Falls

Ambergill Falls is part of Prospect Park's winding watercourse. It runs through the Ravine in a network of streams, pools and other handmade waterfalls– all which channel into the park's 55-acre lake.
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Breeze Hill
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Breeze Hill

Before the 1890s, a Camera Obscura stood at the top of Breeze Hill. As the structure rotated, images of the park landscape were projected onto a blank wall inside. Today, the site is home to the Old Fashioned Flower Garden.
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Lookout Hill
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Lookout Hill

Some of the best views in Prospect Park are to be seen atop Lookout Hill, located 177 feet above sea level.
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