River Run Playground

103 Riverside Drive at 83^rd Street
River Run was one of my favorite playgrounds when my daughter was really little. I’m still quite charmed by it and it’s unique so I’m including it in this list. This little playground has a river running though. It starts from a fountain atop a small hill, winds down a path and ends at the bottom of the incline next to a huge sandbox. It’s super cute and kids float paper and plastic boats down the little stream, enjoying the cool water in the hot summer. The 35-​foot sand pit has a unique concrete mermaid in the middle. There is also classic playground equipment like swings, a real seesaw, great climbing platforms and a cute dinosaur and elephant statues for climbing. Just outside this small playground are great boulders which we often spend as much time climbing as we do in the actual playground.
There are bathrooms and a normally an ice cream vendor in the area.
For a full review of all my favorite nyc playgrounds go to my blog: