Outside in Flushing

Two hundred and thirty-five acres east of Queens College, built around Kissena Lake with a loop path, a velodrome that is the only outdoor cycling track in the city, and a grove of rare trees left over from a nineteenth-century commercial nursery. The lake path is about half a mile. The corridor along the old railbed connects it north toward Flushing. It is free and open from early morning.

Daily, 6am to 1am

Thirty-nine acres that began as a five-acre horticultural exhibit at the 1939 World's Fair and stayed. There is a rose garden, a wedding garden, a bee garden and a visitor center that was the first building in New York City to win platinum green certification. Admission is free from November through March and cheap the rest of the year.

Tue to Sun, 8am to 6pm April through October. Tue to Sun, 8am to 4:30pm November through March. Closed Mon