Alley Pond Park

Union Tpke, Oakland Gardens, NY 11364, USA

Address:	Union Tpke, Oakland Gardens, NY 11364, USA
Phone:	+1 212-639-9675
Site:	nycgovparks.org
Rating:	4.4
Working:	6AM–9PM 6AM–9PM 6AM–9PM 6AM–9PM 6AM–9PM 6AM–9PM 6AM–9PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 8

O Camacho

Giving it one star cause I dont want crowds of people ruining my peaceful walks in the trails of the park. Just last Sunday on a beautiful day, my usual adventures in photographing birds was ruined due to the amount of people that showed up and yapping their mouths away. They talked up a storm and scare the wildlife away. Why? do that at home or at work. You come to nature, be with it or stay away from the trails! I say this partially in jest but look, if you come to a park and walk in the wooded trails to enjoy nature, dont come and scare them away. Go where the concrete pavement is. Dont talk out loud in the trails, keep your voices down. People come up to me to ask what I shoot and when I tell them mostly birds, they say they dont see any. I want to tell them that if you shut the hell up and stop making so much noise then maybe you will! Honestly, I would give it 4 stars if I wasnt afraid of the crowds. the one thing that prevents a 5 star is the highway noise. Ive barely ever see a bird near the highway. So if you want to run your mouth and complain about this or that then go to the trails that are near the highway or stay on the concrete walkways. Youll be away from the birds, dog walkers and an angry photographer!

H. DuBon

The park has been around linger than me, and ive been going since i was 5. Unchanged, in a good way. There are picnic tables and they provide BBQ grills. Large parking lot, big baseball fields , soccer field, childrens playground with slides, swings and monkey bars etc. Surrounded by beautiful woods and nature trails. Dog walking, Bike riding, roller blading, all permitted . Clean. Although also lately it seems more and more people from outside thw neighborhood arw coming to use the picnic and bbq areas, and arw not cleaning up as they should. Same goes for the baseball fields, they come to watch games and are leaving behind more and more trash. It reallyis a shame. The park service does an excellent job of cleaning up usually, but thats really not acceptable for folks to do. His and hers bathrooms - this is where this park loses me- the restrooms are disgusting and literally falling apart. I would take off 3 stars for this alone. Children and families come here, bathrooms should NOT look/smell like some gross biker bar.

Matt Binetti

Ok, this needs to be a long review because this location on Google Maps is one of the most confusing. There are many things located here that are not well labeled on the map. To clarify, heres what you can find in this pretty cool area of NYC: 1.) The Alley Pond Environmental Center with tidal marsh flats, hiking trails and educational things for kids 2.) Alley Park Playground (aka "Alley Park"), which should not be confused with Ally Pond Park. Alley Park Playground is right next to P.S. 213 The Carl Ullman School and has great playground equipment, a water spray feature and good toddler areas too. 3.) Alley Pond Park with athletic fields, an adventure course and two different playgrounds -- one of them is updated with new play equipment. (And note, there are two separate and distinct parking lots for just Alley Pond Park alone, not to mention these other attractions Ive listed). Phew! See what I mean? Theres a lot going on here and you can visit each of these different things all on different days. Lots to explore.

Mayra Cornier

This park has a lot of potential but the dogs got to go. There is poop EVERYWHERE!! I am not a dog hater and am aware that its not the dogs fault but the owners. As my family was about to sit by the picnic table to eat there was a pile of poop 1 foot away. When I tried to remove it with a stick there were about 20 flies that started to bother us. Just gross. Every time we try to enjoy this park one of us manages to step on poop. It doesnt fail as much as we try not to. ITs just everywhere. My family calls this park "the dog park" Also, one time we were getting out of the car at the parking lot when a huge dog came running towards my 4 year old son that did not have a leash. Thank God it did not bite my son but it was so big it scared me and my son to death. I wish there was a designated place for the dogs like a dog run or something to keep them out of where people eat. I am looking for another park because I just cant take the amount of dogs that take over the park.

Bernard J Fortin

One of the best kept secrets in Queens. Ive been coming here since I was years old. Whether its to collect pond water to study organisms under a microscope, walking the trails, observing different botanical specimens, dog walking, sun bathing, or playing my bagpipes. This place has everything and its not crowded. Different sport teams use the grounds. The park is a lot cleaner than it was when I was growing up. The cops maintain a 9:00 pm curfew. So theres little loitering after dark. The grounds and even the bathrooms are kept clean. A great place to take the family for a day outing. The park has different levels, and I prefer level 1. Thats the one on Winchester boulevard. I dont feel safe at the Springfield level after dark because too many people hanging out. The lighting up there is also poor at night. Overall, its a great park....

A Private User

I spent my childhood (1940s) playing baseball and fishing in the southern part of the park. It was the best! Very fond memories. I go back there once a year or so and it has been surprisingly well maintained, although I do miss the original Nature Trail signage. Unfortunately most of the kettle ponds where I fished (for goldfish) are either dead from duckweed or taken over with swamp reeds. I contribute to the AP Environmental Center, which helps todays kids appreciate the park.... and nature in general. When the economy gets better, maybe theyll get funds for cleaning out the ponds and restoring them to their original state.

alex rimal

This is an amazingly beautiful park, I used to ride a Bicycle from 251st hillside avenue to this park and go through the trails from the union turnpike entrance and up that beautiful big steep hill there, it got me into pretty good shape then I would practice handball in the courts, it is such an amazing place to power walk, walk, relax, get into shape and play I have not been here in a little over a year but I intend to go back and utilize this place because I love it here so much now and get back into shape. I hope the Parks department always takes care of this place and I absolutely am in love with it there.

Gemini Genesis

I love the park. I love the dense woods there. Very beautiful during the day time, it is so nice to take a stroll in there, but at night, the park and dense woods gives me the creeps! There is absolutely no lights inside the park and woods at night! It is pitched black in there! You have to make sure you leave the park before sundown or you will be caught in that pitch blackness! I like to ride past the park and woods at night to look at the creepy pitch blackness of it, but I dont dare get out of my car!