Hotels near Prospect Park

Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux built Prospect Park after Central Park, and both are said to have considered it the better of the two. It runs to 526 acres and takes a fraction of the visitors. The Long Meadow stretches roughly a mile, the longest uninterrupted meadow in any American park, and the Lullwater around the Boathouse produces the mirrored autumn reflections Central Park gets famous for. The Ravine holds the last remaining forest in Brooklyn.

Autumn here runs quieter and slightly later than Manhattan. Grand Army Plaza at the north entrance puts you beside Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the Brooklyn Museum, which matters when the weather turns. The park is free and open daily from 5am to 1am, and the Sunday food market at Grand Army Plaza is one of the largest in the city.

Pro Tip: Enter at Grand Army Plaza, walk the Long Meadow south, then loop back through the Ravine. Dogs run off-leash on the meadow until 9am, which is either the charm of the place or the reason to arrive at 8am with a camera.