Tag: Running + Walking

Hidden Winter Gems

January 20, 2016

Winter is a magical time in Prospect Park, Brooklyn’s Backyard. While thousands like to flock to the Park for sled riding and snowball fights, we encourage you to tap into the Park’s natural beauty and explore a path less traveled. Below, Prospect Park Alliance staff share how they would spend their perfect winter day in the Park. For best results, mix with lots of hot chocolate.

The Rose Garden:  Though no longer home to many roses, this picturesque landscape in the northeast corner of the Park is one of its less frequented areas. “After a snowfall, odds are yours can be the first set of footprints,” said Alliance Arborist Ryan Gellis. While exploring the area, keep an eye and ear out for songbirds perched in the snow-covered evergreen yews.

Lookout Hill: Aptly named for its spectacular vistas of Brooklyn and beyond, it is well worth the short hike to the summit, the Park’s highest point. “In the winter when all of the leaves are off the trees, you can see all the way to Coney Island,” notes Maria Carrasco, Vice President of Public Programs. “You can even make out the historic Parachute Jump.”

The Lullwater: This landscape takes its name from the calm branch of the Prospect Park Lake it encompasses. Tucked away amidst woodlands, and buffered from outside noise, a walk across its spectacular bridge “is about as peaceful and quiet as it gets,” recommends Jessica Jamhoury, Director of the Volunteer Program.

The Long Meadow: Director of Individual Giving Kate Davis loves “the experience of walking or running through untouched snow.” As one of the Park’s most popular destinations, the Long Meadow is hardly a secret; but start your morning with the sunrise following a snowstorm, and you might just leave the first footprints on this longest stretch of unbroken meadow in any urban park.

Boulder Bridge: A favorite spot of John Jordan, Director of Landscape Management, Boulder Bridge spans the bridle path, and offers great views of the surrounding woodlands. Tucked between the Ravine and Midwood, the bridge itself is also beautiful, especially following snowfall, when the boulders that make up the bridge become encased in snow.

PPA Profiles: Tom Meany

November 17, 2015

While many of the city’s runners are headed into the holidays with rest and rejuvenation on their minds, the same can’t be said for Prospect Park Track Club (PPTC) President and lifelong Brooklynite Tom Meany. With the help of a team of dedicated volunteers, Meany is busy preparing for one of the most beloved events on Brooklyn’s running calendar, the Turkey Trot, which has been organized by the PPTC since 1995 and takes place on Thanksgiving Day.

For many Brooklyn families, the five-mile Turkey Trot is a holiday tradition, with a dedicated—and diverse—core of annual runners. “You have a lot of kids home from college, local high school runners, people dressed up like pilgrims and turkeys, and even people who only run one race each year, this one,” says Meany.

While this year’s race is sold out, it is well worth coming out to watch the runners and enjoy the festive atmosphere. Meany recommends fans arrive before the 9 am start, and come prepared to cheer. “The best area for spectators is right around the LeFrak Center at Lakeside,” he advises, “where you can see the two-mile mark as well as easily watch the finish.”

A nine-time New York City one-time Boston marathoner (“New York City’s better, no contest”), Meany’s passion for both running and Prospect Park are infectious, especially when speaking about the Park’s transformation in the years since the founding of the Alliance. When Track Club was founded in 1970, its namesake park was rarely utilized as a training ground. “Guys were afraid to go into the Park but there weren’t pedestrian lanes on the surrounding streets, it was chaos,” recalls Meany.

After years of working with the Alliance, most notably as a member of the Park’s community committee and on a road-sharing taskforce, Meany says club members now delight at the running oasis the Park has become. Not only does the 3.35-mile Drive and its rolling hills challenge athletes, but also, he says, “it’s just beautiful.”

The PPTC hosts races, group runs, social outings and more. Meany encourages those interested in joining PPTC to visit their website. Members range in experience from beginning runners to elite-level marathoners, and all are welcome.

Learn more about running in Prospect Park.

Construction Update: East Drive

June 23, 2014

The reconstruction of the Park Drive at the new LeFrak Center at Lakeside represents the final phase of Lakeside, the restoration of the southeast corner of Prospect Park. The reconstruction will improve pedestrian access to Lakeside, and reduce vehicular traffic on East Drive.

As part of Lakeside, a former parking lot was transformed into nearly an acre of new parkland. In order to accommodate vehicles during the ice skating season at the LeFrak Center, the road reconstruction project converts an existing paved area on Breeze Hill, which was historically a carriage concourse, into a parking area. The new lot is significantly smaller than the former lot, and retains the footprint of the existing paving, with the lawn restored. Vehicles will only have access to the lot during the winter ice skating season, which runs from mid-to-late October to mid-to-late March, and only during operating hours.

In addition, the road reconstruction project adds new plantings to the landscape, such as Red Twig Dogwood, Winterberry and Grey Goldenrod, and creates a vehicular entrance to the new parking lot from Lincoln Road, which eliminates vehicular traffic along the East Drive (the former lot was accessed from the Parkside Avenue entrance, which required travel along the Park Drive). As an added bonus, the project will alleviate flooding issues along the Drive by adding new leaching basins across from Lincoln Road.

The project is scheduled to be completed at the end of July.