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Brooklyn’s Backyard just got its first set of official breadcrumbs. Prospect Park Alliance and NYC Parks have launched a formal nature trail system: five marked routes winding through 250 acres of woodlands, meadows and waterways, inviting New Yorkers to roam while keeping fragile habitats safe from trampling feet and wagging tails.
For years, visitors carved their own paths through the park’s upland forest, sometimes creating charming shortcuts, other times cutting across sensitive ground. Now, after a comprehensive mapping project, those routes have been sorted into two camps: the keepers, which are now blazed and signed and the ones left to quietly rewild with the help of downed branches and newly planted native trees and shrubs.
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Each of the five trails offers its own personality. The Midwood Loop winds a half mile through dense forest, rewarding walkers with a steep overlook of the watercourse. The Ravine Loop, just under half a mile, is paved and scenic, tracing the waterway past the Ambergill Cascade before climbing into the oak canopy and topping out at the Boulder Bridge with views high above the ravine.
The Peninsula Trail hugs the lake’s edge beneath a canopy of shade trees, leading to a rustic shelter at the very tip of the peninsula. Lullwater Trail is the longest at nearly a mile, with paved stretches and waterside detours, plus postcard-worthy views of the Boathouse and Binnen Falls from the Lullwater Bridge.
The Fallkill Trail is the shortest and most secretive, an unpaved path to two viewpoints of the park’s hidden waterfall, which reopened to the public in 2023 after decades behind fencing.
Park president Morgan Monaco says getting lost in the woodlands is part of the magic, but formalizing the paths is key to protecting them. Since the pandemic, the park’s wooded areas have seen a surge in foot traffic—a welcome sign for public health, but a challenge for native plants and wildlife.
The launch comes with another accolade: the Old Growth Forest Network has named Prospect Park Brooklyn’s official Old Growth Forest, recognizing it as the oldest known forest in the borough. With more than $15 million invested in restoration over the past 20 years (including planting over half a million trees, plants and shrubs), the Alliance hopes the new system will help ensure this green sanctuary stays healthy for generations.
Stick to the blazes, leash the dog and leave only footprints—Prospect Park’s newest chapter is best enjoyed responsibly.