Long Meadow
The Alliance’s map identifies the broad meadow beside the western park circuit. It is an easy first pause, but side paths to the meadow are separate from the mapped drive line. Place source
Park · Prospect Park & Park Slope
Prospect Park: The Full Drive Loop
Follow the park’s main drive circuit for a substantial loop with a straightforward return to your starting point. Long Meadow and the lake provide reference points; woodland side paths are optional excursions rather than necessary turns.
Desk research reviewed · No claim of a same-day field visit
Is this your walk?
Choose it for
Choose this for a substantial park circuit with a return to your arrival area. Staying on the main drives keeps the full loop understandable without requiring a woodland navigation plan.
Know the tradeoff
The East Drive hill comes late in the outing. This is not a level lakeside stroll. The zoo, Botanic Garden and woodland paths need their own time and access plans.
- Complete route
- About 3.5 miles / 5.7 km
- Outing time
- 90–120 minutes
- Shape
- Loop
- Start
- Grand Army Plaza park entrance
- Finish
- Grand Army Plaza (loop)
- Terrain
- Moderate · rolling hills
Length calculated from the published pedestrian geometry, rounded for planning. Time allows brief pauses. Station transfers, long visits and detours are excluded.
Walking map
Grand Army Plaza → West Drive → south end of the lake → East Drive → Grand Army Plaza. The estimate covers the main drive loop, not every shoreline path or the park’s full outside perimeter.
Loads OpenStreetMap tiles from an external provider. Map privacy
- Grand Army Plaza park entrance
- West Drive beside Long Meadow
- West Drive southwestern bend
- West Drive beside the lake
- South drive below the lake
- East Drive near Lakeside
- East Drive northern hill
- Grand Army Plaza park entrance
Locate the start · Locate the finish · Download GPX track · Download GeoJSON
The overview preserves the geographic shape and numbered stops. Load the street map to see the surrounding streets. OpenStreetMap-derived pedestrian geometry is desk-checked against mapped paths and the linked operator information; it is not a field-surveyed or live-access guarantee. Map data: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Report an OSM map issue.
Distance checkpoints
Match the numbered map points to this table to estimate how much walking remains. Distances follow the published track, including return segments; they exclude station connections and optional detours.
| Map point | From start | To finish |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Grand Army Plaza park entrance | 0.0 km | 5.7 km |
| 2. West Drive beside Long Meadow | 0.4 km | 5.3 km |
| 3. West Drive southwestern bend | 1.5 km | 4.2 km |
| 4. West Drive beside the lake | 2.3 km | 3.4 km |
| 5. South drive below the lake | 2.8 km | 2.9 km |
| 6. East Drive near Lakeside | 3.6 km | 2.1 km |
| 7. East Drive northern hill | 4.8 km | 0.9 km |
| 8. Grand Army Plaza park entrance | 5.7 km | 0.0 km |
A repeated location has separate outbound and return entries. These are track measurements, not field timings. For offline use, import the GPX into a compatible walking app before leaving and check that the full track appears; the downloads do not include a street basemap.
Follow the route
Join West Drive
Enter from Grand Army Plaza and use the park map to find West Drive. Follow its pedestrian space south, keeping Long Meadow on the interior side of the circuit. Notice the contrast between the broad meadow and the surrounding trees.
Continue down the west side
Stay on the main drive as it passes the west side of the park. Side paths toward the Picnic House and woodland areas can be appealing, but leave them for another outing if you want a simple loop.
Round the southern lake area
Follow the drive around the south of the park toward East Drive. The lake is a good orientation point, though the drive does not trace every part of its shore. A shoreline detour adds distance; consult the official map before leaving the circuit.
Return north on East Drive
Continue north on East Drive and follow the circuit back toward the Grand Army Plaza entrance. Expect an uphill portion on the return. Cross drive junctions attentively and use the designated pedestrian space shown by current signs.
What to notice, and why
Lake, Peninsula and Lakeside
The Alliance maps these as different destinations. The loop passes the lake area without tracing every shoreline; use the named destinations to choose a detour rather than assuming every path returns to the drive. Place source
Endale Arch for a shorter visit
The Alliance describes Endale Arch as an early park structure linking the Grand Army Plaza side with Long Meadow. An entrance-area visit can focus here without committing to the full drive circuit. Place source
Get there and get home
Arrival
Grand Army Plaza 2 / 3
Walk toward the plaza along Flatbush Avenue and use marked crossings to enter the park. Allow around 5–10 minutes from the station area.
Departure
Grand Army Plaza 2 / 3
Return by the same park entrance. Leaving at the southern end requires a different station and a changed itinerary.
Line names describe typical service. Weekend, late-night and planned work can change your trip. Current MTA maps · Trip planner & alerts · Elevator & escalator status.
Surface and access
Paved drives with rolling terrain and a sustained hill; cyclists and authorized park vehicles may be present. Do not treat a car-free drive as free of moving traffic.
Water, restrooms and stopping
The Alliance’s map identifies restroom locations including the Wellhouse and Lakeside. Operation can change independently of path access. Check notices before relying on a facility during a long loop.
Shorten or change the outing
For a brief outing, walk from Grand Army Plaza to the edge of Long Meadow and return by the same path instead of starting the full circuit.
A Park Slope approach or the full park circuit?
The former Park Slope guide is consolidated as a planning choice here. The 7 Av station on B/Q serves Flatbush Avenue; 7 Av on F/G serves Seventh Avenue/9th Street. They are different stations. From F/G, walk uphill on 9th Street to Prospect Park West for the western park entrances. That approach is outside this Grand Army Plaza track. Choose it for a shorter west-side park visit instead of adding an unexplained neighborhood circuit.
Two alternatives to compare
A shorter skyline out-and-back
Considerably less park distance, with an elevated viewpoint and the same-access return.
An adjustable, flatter return
More exposure and less shade than the park.
Evidence and corrections
Place facts above link to their sources. The sequence, route choices and tradeoffs are Brooklyn Walks’ editorial synthesis. The research method explains mapping and estimates. Current signs and closures take priority.
Report a route correction with the location, affected instruction and an operator notice if available.