Best of NYC: Picnic Spots

Sure, there’s Central Park and Prospect Park, but NYC boasts a surprising number of scenic picnic spots for a so-called asphalt jungle. And as the summer heat is slowly dissipating, now is the perfect time to move meals alfresco; plus, it’s can be a cheaper alternative to NYC's outdoor bars. The next time you’re packing the picnic basket, consider dining in one of these garden paradises.

Fort Tryon Park

Head all the way up to 192nd Street, on the border of Manhattan and the Bronx, and you’ll find Fort Tryon Park. A world away from the overcrowded fields of Central Park, this urban oasis’ perch on the top of a hill provides killer views and creates a rolling rocky landscape studded with crumbling fortified walls and old citadels. After your feast, check out the nearby Cloisters, a monastery-turned-museum that houses the Met’s collection of medieval art.

Riverside Drive to Broadway, West 192nd to Dyckman Streets, Manhattan
http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/forttryonpark

Moses Mountain

For non-residents, a visit to Staten Island can be a long haul, so make a day of it and plan a hike through the Greenbelt. Three times the size of Central Park, a trail map offers a variety of hikes for the serious athlete to the occasional walker. Your picnic will be your reward for the hike up Moses Mountain, where the 360-degree New York views will be well worth the climb.

200 Nevada Avenue, Staten Island
http://www.sigreenbelt.org/

Brooklyn Bridge Park

Views of the Manhattan skyline make the best dinner theater, and Brooklyn Bridge Park offers some of the best in all five boroughs. Pier 1 and Pier 6 offer a combined 13 acres of lawn right on the waterfront and a small cove allows you to get up close and personal with the East River fauna. Pack a picnic on a Thursday until September 2 and get a post-dinner movie during the Movies with a View series.

2 Old Fulton Street, Brooklyn
http://www.brooklynbridgepark.org/

Riverside Park

Just a few blocks’ walk for Upper West Side residents and Columbia Students, Riverside Park is the lesser-known work of Frederick Law Olmstead, the famed landscape designer of neighboring Central Park. Olmstead created the park to appear as an extension of the Hudson River Valley’s scenic beauty, and the terraced paths and views of the river’s Boat Basin are breathtaking. Take a trip to Grant’s Tomb, also located in the park, after dessert.

72nd to 158th Streets, along the Hudson River, Manhattan
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/vt_riverside_park/vt_riverside_park.html

The Rockaways: Breezy Point

For dinner by the sea, take the A train out to the Rockaways, where the sand dunes and sea breeze offer a mini-vacation for city dwellers. Located on the very tip of the Rockaway peninsula, you’ll have panoramic views of the Atlantic and access to prime bird watching in the marshlands, a dazzling ecosystem protected by the National Park Service. Just make sure no sand creeps into your sandwich.

Rockaway Point, Queens
http://www.breezypt.org/