Here’s your chance to camp in Prospect Park

They call New York City a concrete jungle, but despite most of our stunning sights being made of glass and steel and brick and fireproof insulation, it doesn’t mean we don’t have oases of nature hidden in plain sight. Beyond beaches and our large parks, we mean. We also have expert guides in our Urban Park Rangers, who’ll take you to these places on guided tours so that you learn something and aren’t eaten by a coyote or a bear. Want in? Read on to learn how you could hang out with New York’s Greenest this summer.

Seeing as how the NYC Park Rangers call themselves the city’s “ambassadors to the natural world,” it would make sense that they would have some hands-on ways for you to get in on said world. They’ve got programs wher they lead you in to nature in all five boroughs, and right here in Brooklyn, you can enjoy camping, bird watching and canoeing, all led by experienced professionals who are all about nature.

The only catch is that you have to register in a lottery to get a shot for the various tours, because obviously in a county of 2.5 million people, lots of them are gonna want in. The first lottery will open at midnight on June 17, with 14 spots for birding by canoe on White Island on June 27. Later this summer, there’ll be five lotteries, with 30 open spots in each lottery, for camping in either Marine Park or Prospect Park, another birding expedition on White Island and a canoe through Gerrittsen Creek, each of which have 14 spots. So get your clicking fingers ready and pray to the lottery gods of your choice, and if you’re lucky, you’ll get the chance to take a nature tour and have a ton of fun AND learn facts about the city’s ecosystem you can repeat to your friends.

Get a tour through Brooklyn’s best everything, sign up for our weekly email!

Leave a Reply

Click here to cancel reply.

Name (required)

Email (will not be published) (required)

Website

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail