Prospect Park is Olmsted at his most successful — 526 acres of mature elm, oak, and tulip-poplar that drop ambient temperatures 4 to 6 degrees vs the surrounding grid in July. The residential streets that border the park (the Park Slope brownstone blocks) inherit the canopy via root systems that extend a full block past the park boundary.
These picks pair the park with the Slope. The interior park paths are cooler than the perimeter on any sunny day. We avoid the Long Meadow at noon — open, no shade — and route you through the Vale of Cashmere or the Ravine instead.