1 / 2Ancient Playground
📍 Manhattan, NY
Central Park's Egyptian-inspired adventure playground at East 85th Street, featuring pyramids, an obelisk, tire swings, water features, sandbox, and adaptive equipment. Best suited for children 5 and older.
This was a great place to bring our son. It wasn't too crowded and it has quite a few options for children to play with. This park also brought back some nostalgic feelings as I remember coming to this park as a child but never remembering it was called Ancient Playground. Our son was a bit shy at first but quickly got the hang of how big the park is. Id have to say that the two best things for him about the park was the small silver tunnel slide and walking through the pyramid like structure that with multiple exits. Id have to say that it was a bit unnerving getting dirty looks from some of the other mothers and fathers who were a bit lighter skinned. Its 2020 folks. No need for the segregation. This will not deter us from coming back as our son loved his experience.
🏆 Family Action Verdict
Best for families with children 5 and older visiting The Met — the playground provides an energetic counterpoint to hours of indoor museum time. The tire swings and water features are the top draws. Toddler families will find the structures too challenging and the layout too open-ended for easy supervision of under-3s.
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💬 What Families Are Saying
View all reviews →786 Google reviews
Gabriel Soto
5 years ago
“This was a great place to bring our son. It wasn't too crowded and it has quite a few options for children to play with. This park also brought back some nostalgic feelings as I remember coming to this park as a child but never remembering it was called Ancient Playground. Our son was a bit shy at first but quickly got the hang of how big the park is. Id have to say that the two best things for him about the park was the small silver tunnel slide and walking through the pyramid like structure that with multiple exits. Id have to say that it was a bit unnerving getting dirty looks from some of the other mothers and fathers who were a bit lighter skinned. Its 2020 folks. No need for the segregation. This will not deter us from coming back as our son loved his experience.”
Chelsea Kelly-Sipe
3 years ago
“Great playground near The Met with clean bathrooms, seating for observers and fun play structures for a variety of ages. Pro tip: there are two sides to the bathrooms. The bathrooms on the inside of the play area (not the ramp side) are usually empty.”
Brock Napoli
8 months ago
“The tire swings and water area are awesomeeeeeeeeee after hanging out in the met for hours nice to unwind in here with kiddo :)”
Steve Vera
2 years ago
“Visited with my granddaughter. The playground definitely was a good positive challenge for her from your traditional NYC Parks Dept set ups. I like the seating along the perimeter which allows parents to keep an eye on their children. Glad the sprinklers by the sand pit were on that helped with both cooling the kids off and removing the bulk of the sand before getting into the car at end of day. There seemed to be difficulty getting the taller sprinklers on so older children were stuck using other sprinklers which always becomes a problem with time. Otherwise clean, restrooms open, no homeless inside park area and well maintained.”
Reviews from Google
Overview
Ancient Playground sits inside Central Park at East 85th Street, adjacent to The Met. The Egyptian-themed structures include pyramids with multiple exit points, an obelisk, and a sundial integrated into the landscape. Tire swings, water sprinklers, a sandbox, and adaptive equipment round out the facility. Wheelchair accessible with clean restrooms inside the play area perimeter.
