31 places and programs for kids in and around Washington Heights, Manhattan (24 free): playgrounds, sports, dance. Includes J. Hood Wright Recreation Center and Bennett Park Playground.
A neighborhood center next to J. Hood Wright Park with a gym and activity rooms. Children who hold a free youth membership can drop in for gym time, games, and supervised activities, and the center runs seasonal kids' classes and after-school programs.
Bennett Park's playground gives Hudson Heights kids a fenced spot to climb and slide next to a rocky outcrop that marks Manhattan's highest natural ground. Families often pair playtime with a look at the stones outlining the old Fort Washington site.
A long, hilly Manhattan park along the Harlem River with woodland trails, a mountain bike course, a large public pool and access to the historic High Bridge walkway to the Bronx.
A go-to for Washington Heights families, Highbridge Park Adventure Playground has play equipment suited to young children and room for active games. It's a convenient stop for short outdoor play sessions.
Highbridge Park Playground (CPF) is a small city playground serving families in Washington Heights, with equipment for climbing and sliding. It's an easy, no-cost outing for toddlers through grade-schoolers.
Manhattan's oldest house, used by George Washington as headquarters in 1776, sits on a hilltop park in Washington Heights. Kids can explore period rooms and the grounds, and families with Hamilton fans enjoy the house's Revolutionary-era stories.
A nonprofit community dance school in Washington Heights focused on making dance education affordable and accessible. It offers classes for babies and toddlers, kids and teens, plus youth ensembles and camps.
A grand Beaux-Arts museum in Washington Heights with Spanish and Latin American art, including huge painted murals of Spanish regions. Admission is free with a reserved ticket, and kids under 10 need no donation.
A mobile swim instruction service that sends certified teachers to residential, building or backyard pools across the five boroughs for one-on-one lessons. Programs cover babies from 4 months, toddlers learning water safety, and older kids and teens working on strokes and endurance.
Kids from kindergarten through high school join FIRST LEGO League, FIRST Tech Challenge and robotics competition teams at this center inside the Washington Heights library. It also hosts fabrication activities, field trips and teen internships.
AYDT's uptown site inside the NoMAA space offers bilingual-friendly youth dance classes in ballet, jazz, hip-hop and more. A Spanish-language line is available for families.
Highbridge Park in Washington Heights has a big Olympic-size outdoor pool plus a separate wading pool for toddlers. Kids can splash and swim for free during the summer season, and NYC Parks often runs free Learn to Swim sessions at outdoor pools. Bring a padlock and swimwear.
A Police Athletic League youth center inside the Armory in Washington Heights serving grades 6-8 with sports and recreation, dance, art, media and homework help. Programs run after school, evenings, weekends and summer mornings.
Home of the Millrose Games, this Washington Heights facility is one of the world's top indoor track venues and hosts over 100 meets a year, including many youth and high school competitions. Young runners compete and train on its banked track.
A Washington Heights martial arts space offering group classes and private lessons for children as well as adults. Students of every skill level can try it out with a free trial class.
Free two-hour Learn to Ride classes where kids 5 and up ditch the training wheels and learn to balance, pedal and brake on two wheels, with tweens and teens classes from age 10. Lessons take place in Riverside Park just south of the bike and pedestrian ramp.
Families come for free story times and sing-alongs for the youngest readers, while school-age kids use the space for reading, computers and homework after class. Serving northern Washington Heights, it is a go-to spot for Spanish- and English-speaking families looking for books and after-school space.
Manhattan's only dedicated mountain bike trails and dirt jumps wind through the wooded slopes of Highbridge Park in Washington Heights. Older kids with their own bikes and helmets can practice off-road riding.
Set in Highbridge Park near the historic High Bridge and water tower, this center has a gym for basketball and indoor games. Kids can join free NYC Parks youth recreation and sports programs.
A public skatepark under the Alexander Hamilton Bridge in Highbridge Park, opened in 2014. Local kids skate and scooter on its ramps and ledges for free.
Kids can pick out picture books, early readers and graphic novels, and the branch runs NYPL's free early-literacy story times for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. A multi-floor Washington Heights branch where kids have a dedicated room and teens can find their own space to study.
Tucked into the streets of Washington Heights, Audubon Playground offers kids a spot to play on climbing equipment and swings. The playground is maintained by NYC Parks and open to everyone.
Tucked into the streets of Washington Heights, Coogan's Bluff Playground (Highbridge Park) offers kids a spot to play on climbing equipment and swings. The playground is maintained by NYC Parks and open to everyone.
Tucked into the streets of Washington Heights, Discovery Playground (Fort Washington Park) offers kids a spot to play on climbing equipment and swings. The playground is maintained by NYC Parks and open to everyone.
LittleGotham lists 31 places and programs for kids in Washington Heights, Manhattan. The largest groups are 12 playgrounds, 7 sports programs, 2 dance programs.
Yes. 24 of 31 are free to attend, including J. Hood Wright Recreation Center, Bennett Park Playground, Highbridge Park.
12 listings are indoors, such as J. Hood Wright Recreation Center, Dance Project of Washington Heights, Hispanic Society Museum & Library.