Kissena Park

Discover

Kissena Park brings several landscapes together in Flushing, Queens. A lake bordered by trees offers one kind of pause; a historic grove invites a closer look at planting; the velodrome gives the park a distinctive sporting feature. The variety rewards a visit with a few chosen interests, leaving time to notice the transitions between water, canopy and recreation ground.

The tree collection has roots in the area's nineteenth-century nursery trade. Samuel Bowne Parsons and Robert Brown Parsons developed a business that introduced and supplied a wide range of plants. Samuel later established a nursery near Kissena Lake, with a road that became Parsons Boulevard bringing customers to the site. The story connects the park with the practical work of selecting, raising and selling plants in an expanding city.

After Samuel Parsons died in 1906, the city acquired nursery land and combined it with other parcels for the park. Some of that horticultural legacy remained among the trees. In 1981, summer interns recognized an unusually diverse collection near Rose Avenue and Parsons Boulevard. The area became known as the Historic Grove, a fourteen-acre landscape containing trees associated with the old nursery.

Walk here with differences in mind. Compare the outlines of crowns, the spacing of branches and the textures of leaves visible from the path. A former nursery has a different story from an untouched woodland: variety can reflect the interests of growers and customers as well as the conditions of the ground. That history adds meaning to the pleasure of simply standing beneath a broad canopy.

The lake supplies another focus. Its shape and edge have been altered through park improvements over time, including a period when concrete gave it a more enclosed form. A later restoration introduced aeration, a more natural edge and an island intended for waterfowl and turtles. Those changes show how a park waterbody can be redesigned to support habitat while remaining an important part of the view.

Give the lake time at more than one scale. An open view reveals the relationship between water and the surrounding trees; a closer look picks out reflected branches and the line of shoreline planting. Weeping willows contribute a recognizable texture near the water. What appears on a particular visit depends on the season and conditions, so the setting itself offers a more reliable subject than a hoped-for animal sighting.

The velodrome introduces a precise, engineered shape into the landscape. The four-hundred-meter banked track was built in 1962 and renewed in 2004. Its curves belong to the specialized world of track cycling, creating a marked contrast with the irregular forms around the lake and grove. Check the relevant programme or facility information before planning to use it; a cycling venue has its own arrangements within the wider park.

Other sports and play facilities add possibilities for a neighborhood visit. Choose the section that suits your group, and use current information for any activity that depends on access or a scheduled programme. Nearby Kissena Corridor Park is a separate public landscape with its own features. Within Kissena Park, a satisfying starting point is the relationship between the historic trees, the lake and the track: three distinct expressions of how people have shaped this part of Queens.

Fun facts

1. The city acquired former nursery land in 1906.
2. The Historic Grove reflects the park’s nursery heritage.
3. The banked velodrome was built in 1962.
4. The cycling track was renewed in 2004.

Read the official sources →

Capture

1. Frame the lake with surrounding canopy from a public path.
2. Look for tree silhouettes, bark and reflections rather than relying on a promised wildlife sighting.

Social

Kissena Park brings a lake, historic trees and track cycling into one Queens landscape. #Cre8Travel

The Historic Grove recalls a nineteenth-century nursery.

The city acquired former nursery land in 1906.

Comparing tree shapes adds another way to explore the planting.

The lake has been reshaped through several generations of park work.

A banked velodrome built in 1962 adds a different kind of curve.

Check specialized facility arrangements before planning to use the track.

Would your walk begin by the water or beneath the historic trees?

Hashtags

1. #Cre8Travel
2. #NewYork
3. #NYCParks

Sources & visitor information

• Source — Kissena Park
• Source — Kissena Park