Brooklyn Bridge Park Playground (Pier 6)

If you're going to visit one playground in New York City, make it Pier 6 at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Designed by landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh, it opened in 2010 and immediately became the gold standard for urban playground design. It's won design awards, but more importantly, it passes the test that matters: kids don't want to leave.

The playground is organized into themed zones connected by pathways. The Slide Mountain is a large hill with embedded slides of varying intensity — toddlers can handle the gentle ones while older kids race down the steep metal slides. The Water Lab is the standout: a series of channels, pumps, and dams where kids control water flow.

It's basically a hands-on engineering lab disguised as a splash pad. The Sandbox Village and Swing Valley round out the offerings.

The setting is what elevates Pier 6 from excellent to unforgettable. The playground sits at the southern tip of Brooklyn Bridge Park, right on the East River. The Statue of Liberty is visible across the harbor. Lower Manhattan's skyline rises behind it. At sunset, the whole scene turns gold. Parents take the photos; kids don't notice because they're too busy pumping water.

Getting there: the most direct route is from Atlantic Avenue. The 2/3/4/5 trains to Borough Hall or the R to Court Street put you within a 10-minute walk. Street parking on weekdays is possible on Columbia Street; forget it on weekends. The playground is fully accessible with rubberized surfaces and ramp access throughout.