Downing Park

Downing Park is a 35-acre landscape park located in the heart of the City of Newburgh.

Filled with hills and valleys, streams, a pond, and a rich variety of vegetation, the park has serpentine paths and picturesque vista — features very similar, though on a different scale, to those of New York City’s Central Park, created by the same designers.

As it happened, Downing Park was the last collaborative effort by Olmsted and Vaux — as well as the only project that included both their sons, John Olmsted and Downing Vaux.

During the winter months, ice skating and sledding were popular pastimes. Many local artists have memorialized skating parties on the Polly Pond in paintings and prints.

HOURS
Open Daily from Sunrise to Sunset

ADMISSION
Free

SPECIAL NOTE:
Locals say they have seen the ghost of a little boy crying in the middle of the lake. They say he drowned here long ago. He also has been known to make bubbles in the water and scream when a child gets too close to the water’s edge.