Pier 6 Playgrounds

You live in the city (probably Brooklyn) and you crave outdoor space since the average dwelling is ~750sf. You have a kid (or 2, maybe 3?)! You know what caged animals do and how they act because you’ve survived NYC winters where you only outdoor activity is walking to the subway with 30 mph gusts of wind in your face.
You. Need. To. Get. Outside.
Brooklyn Bridge park is your haven. It’s super close (if you live in the greater downtown Brooklyn area) and has 6 piers of excitement to choose from. Pier 6 is the southernmost and has a major assortment of enjoyable areas — including: Slide Mountain, Swing Village, Water Labs, Sand something and a fair amount of just open grassy knolls.
The goods:
— Really great setup with iron, closeable gates between the separate areas.
— Soft, spongy surfaces to prevent any major injuries from little (and big) spills.
— Well maintained where you don’t feel like the groundskeepers neglect anything.
— Shady zones for those blazing sun days where you don’t want to melt.
— Excellent water refilling stations and water fountains to keep you all hydrated for hours of play.
— A great assortment of climbable, slideable, buildable, splashable zones that will keep you and the kids coming back time and again.
The bad:
— It gets crowded on the weekends. It’s pure chaos on beautiful days. Almost like they bus people here (hint: they do sometimes).
— Like any place by water, by dusk it can be a bit mosquitoy.
They’ve really done an amazing job on the entire park and Pier 6 Playgrounds is no exception. Treat your family to this city gem and you’ll be happy and exercised!

Cool idea. Nice layout. Tons of kids and mosquitoes. Kids are getting filthy from wet sandy slides. Gotta wait in line for the cool swing. Can’t wait to leave and never come back.

My kid love it, especially the swing that can make you dizzy. Such a nice park. I highly recommend it for kid around10 years old.

place itself has great design. Unfortunately, way overcrowded, only went to there once because of it’s said its one of the best playgrounds in NYC, but experienced both adult bully and kids bully!!! Therefore it became the worst playground in NYC, never ever going there again!!!

The most amazing and awesome children’s summer park I have been to. A MUST see and play place for all children and as mentioned free!

Awesome park! I wish these were the kind of playgrounds I had when I was growing up. They need to make an adult version or have adults hours so we can play in there too.
On our visit of the park this past weekend, we mainly stayed in the Sandbox village since our daughter is only 1.5 yrs old. She was definitely amused by the wood train in the center of the play area as well as the little house structures that she was peaking in and out of.
The mountain slide looked so cool. If there wasn’t a line of kids I think the adults would have jumped at the chance to take a ride on it.
I can see that due to the awesome design of this park it probably gets super crowded on weekends and nice days. Everyone just needs to find a way to play nice together in the sandbox.

This place used to be wonderful. But now it is overcrowded, frequently unsafe for small kids, and increasingly dirty. We used to take our little one to the water park regularly, but no more.
First, there are quite a few older kids who run around haphazardly with no concern for the little ones who are playing. I get that everyone is trying to have fun and that there are limited water park options in NYC, but the space isn’t designed for crazed chases with water guns.
Second, during our last visit, we watched as persons from the soccer fields and volleyball courts wandered over and bathed themselves in the water park. Last time I checked, water parks weren’t public showers. Apparently, we were the only ones disgusted by this because when we complained to the parks person, we were told there was nothing they could do and that these poor guys had nowhere to clean up. Really? Nothing you can do? How about enforcing the law that adults without kids can’t enter the play area. Sorry, but I don’t want these guys showering next to my kid. As always, enforcement doesn’t exist in NYC until someone gets hurt.
Finally, there is so much garbage everywhere. Some kid pooped in the sandbox but rather than picking up after the kid, the parents left it behind for others to clean. For the love, pick up your kid’s poop!
And there were wrappers, food, cups, diapers, and papers strewn throughout the sandbox area, water park, etc. There are quite a few garbage cans situated in convenient locations, but the mentality at the park seems to be that garbage cans are optional.
The parks department had a great concept, which is why I’m giving the area two stars. Unfortunately, as I said above, this space has lost it’s appeal.

Very crowded even on weekday mornings, but the other reviews are spot on. Tons of awesome stuff for kids to do. I brought my 1.5 year old and she spent 2 hours completely happy in the sand area alone; we didn’t even try out the other areas. The slides are too big for her and the water park was too busy, but frankly I was totally jealous of the kids there. I wanted to ride the slides and go play in the water.
The water park area is absolutely mobbed on warm days — I can’t even imagine the disaster this place becomes on a nice weekend. My advice would be to steer clear on Saturdays and Sundays even though I’ve never been on the weekends.
There’s a little park café just nearby towards the river that lets you sit down and eat in the shade. The shade is rare along the pier, so this is a godsend. I ordered an iced coffee but took out a homemade lunch for my daughter and I, and we were left alone to enjoy it.
The whole pier area is beautiful and clean, with great views of Manhattan and Governor’s Island.

Gets very crowded but we love it! My kids love the swing park! We love to hang out the whole day in Brooklyn Bridge Park… Staring at pier 6 and then heading to pier 1 for ice cream and the Jane carasouel…

Gets crowded on the weekend, but the kids love slide mountain, swing alley and the water lab. The Tarzan swings are cool too. It’s a little oasis where you can hang with the kids. You also have the ferry that takes you to governors island right there.

awesome

As a parent of four kids, ages 5 to 12, this park is a hit for our family. The designers did an amazing job of creating a place that inspires active and imaginative play.
And now I would like to rant for a moment.
The water section of the park is awesome. It is also clearly marked with a sign at the gate as being appropriate for children ages 5 to 12. That is five YEARS, not 5 months. There is a toddler section of the park with water play and sand just a few steps away. This is where the toddlers and babies are meant to be. Time and time again, we have been in the big kid area only to have mothers of infants and toddlers scold and reprimand our kids for what is age appropriate, active play. We are not negligent parents. Our kids are good kids. It’s very sad they can hardly move without some mother snipping at them they are endangering their 14 month old.
There are boulders, large fountains, pools and slippery surfaces. These are a thrill for a 9 year old boy who wants to jump and dart with his best friend and pretend he is a super hero. This is NORMAL, safe behavior. When your 2 year old is 9 he will want to do the same thing and isn’t it nice the city built a park with a special section for HIM? So please, if you wish to bring your barely walking babes into a part of the park that is designed for the big kids, do so at your own risk, not at the cost of other children’s growth and exploration. Rule of thumb — if your kid needs a swim diaper, you might want to head over to the toddler section, especially on the weekends and when school is out.
And by the way, I am sitting right there, nearby, watching and making sure my kids are not in any danger too and that they are being respectful and mindful of the rules of the park. I ask that you do the same. I was also there when they were 6 mos., 1 and 3. I was conscious of keeping them in the little kids’ section of Carroll Park after the big kids got out of school rather than acting as if having a child entitled me to set them down in the middle of a busy thoroughfare to play. Interestingly, our friends’ sitter pointed out to me you won’t see sitters telling off the big kids — they know better than to put their charges in danger. We watched more than one sitter minding her toddler closely whereas many of the mothers let their babies wander freely and then snapped at the big kids if they came close.
If elementary age children cannot safely and freely play in a park designed and designated for them, then where I ask?

Aside from Running, Sand Vball, Romantic View… THERE’s a Place for KIDS!
Water Fountains, Playground for kids is awesome!, things that you don’t need to involve with technology and appreciate mother nature.
Best part about this is Free!, bring your kids to play and connect with others!

I loved this place when it opened. We probably went there every day the summer it opened. I had not been there for a long time until recently. I was not impressed anymore. I felt like I was walking through a rain forest.
The greenery in some areas is WAY to overgrown to the point that as an adult I felt like it was the perfect way to end up missing. No one would see a thing!
The slide area had swarms of bugs crawling in the sand. i know there isn’t much they can do about bugs but no kid wants to play in that.
Dear Park staff, blind spots and kids don’t mix… we parents would like to be able to view our kids if they walk a few steps ahead of us. Preferably without the threat of a giant Venus Flytrap.
Thanks

I was attracted by this place after seeing picture of the playgrounds on the Time Out NY Kids page, and couldn’t wait for the opportunity for us to present, so that we could visit.
The Truth is that yes it is located (almost) on the water, and the idea of the several playgrounds grouped by the themes or the age groups, (, separated by the tall green grass,) looks very appealing.
However there no shade in the entire park whatsoever, which can make your visit on a hot sunny day highly uncomfortable. we visited it on memorial wknd Monday (which is today) and even though my son enjoyed (overly crowded) water park, we just couldn’t wait to escape the park as soon as we could.
Right now we are enjoying the breeze in the shade of Brooklyn Hight’s playground at Promenade and everything feels much better. And we still have that Manhattan view…
I doubt I will be back to Pier 6 playgrounds before the fall– early spring next year.

Pier 6 Park by the Brooklyn Bridge is the long stretch of land that we’ve all seen when zooming by on the BQE. But what was ten years ago barren land, is now a growing and developing family park. From beach volley ball courts, to NYC’s largest sandbox pit for toddlers, to a truly amazing water play area for kids of all ages.
Here’s where it all takes a turn for the bad… overcrowding. No wait. overcrowding is an understatement here. Kids on top of toddlers on top of babies on top of, well… you. Its hard for your little one to not get hurt here. While the ground is not slippery, its the older kids running around like caged wild animals that can make life for your baby, much like a battlefield. And guess who needs to play defense.

I absolutely love this playground. Kids have it good these days, I have to say. My kids love Swing Valley — I like how the swings are tucked away in amongst the trees/​shrubs, which I am happy to say are finally growing up! The part with the disc swings is amazing and I love the view of Manhattan here — it just kind of pops up from the trees.
In the warmer months the water section is so fun, but always insanely crowded. The slides are CRAZY — very fun, kind of steep, definitely a good challenge for older kids. The sandbox area, with the little train and tons of different play areas is really fun as well.
Love that Bark is here with dogs and burgers — wish there was a little more shade up there!
This is an amazing playground — I miss it!

I’m not a kid, I don’t have a kid, but I occassionally act like a kid (my friends would giggle and point here). Pier 6 Playgrounds is the place for kids. It’s the most awesomest playground, like, ever!
Head up to the roofdeck at Bark Dogs, grab a beer and a dog and enjoy the breeze, the views of downtown Manhattan, the scene at the volleyball court, get drunk and don’t fall off the pier!
It’s located at the foot of Atlantic/​Columbia St, so it attracts a wonderfully diverse crowd, it’s well kept and one of Brooklyn’s gems.

One of the best, most recent discovery I’ve made is the Brooklyn Bridge Park. Although I could’ve made my travel to the park much easier, I decided to get off at the Hoyt-​Schermerhorn G train stop for a nice walk down Atlantic Ave.
I only got to check out the Pier 6 playgrounds before the angry clouds started to take away my precious time with the sunshine, but I was very impressed with everything. The playground has two or three different sections, all filled with wonderfully crafted slides, trains, mini houses, spider web, etc. It’s all very artistic, fun and functional at the same time.
I plan on tackling the other parts of the park this Summer. I was very pleased with Pier 6 so I am sure that the other areas of BBP will deliver as well.

Prelude– I was so impressed by these four playgrounds and each design that I felt this place deserve its own review thread instead of mixing it in the general «Brooklyn Bridge Park» reviews. Over all this new section call Pier 6 is not at all complete; I’m disappointed but the four themed playgrounds are completed and it is FABULOUS.
Unilocaler who have young child or are parents if you did not take your child (2 to 12 years) to these playgrounds they will miss a opportunity of a life time. These four playgrounds are like a mini-​amusement park for free. If you take a child there they will love forever and ever until they become teenagers.
Five stars for the design and builder of these playgrounds. This place is a child’s dream to be able to play in this fantastic public playground!
I being a geek can’t help loving this place but how do I describe them? I think it is best through pictures and a quick description to start you:
1) Slide Mountain– the slides are wonder and fun. There a several that are at different heights. I even saw adults sneak down the slides and screaming like their child.
2) Sandbox Village– great for smaller kids; the wooden choo-​choo train is so cute and there are several mini-​bungalows for the kids to play in.
3) Water Lab– you will get wet, you want to get wet and it is so must fun.
4) Swing valley– fantastic landscaping and banked walls but don’t let the little ones run into the moving swings.