Park Rules & FAQ

To ensure each visitor can experience Little Island as a safe, enjoyable, and beautiful park, we ask that visitors refrain from the following activities:

  • Walking in plant beds
  • Picking flowers or plants
  • Bringing in outside alcohol
  • Smoking or Vaping
  • Riding or bringing bicycles
  • Using skateboards, roller skates/blades, and scooters
  • Sledding, skiing, or snowshoeing
  • Fishing
  • Playing amplified sound
  • Solicitation
  • Commercial activity
  • Littering
  • Obstructing entrances or paths
  • Bringing dogs, with the exception of working dogs
  • Flying drones

Little Island is a part of Hudson River Park. For a complete list of Hudson River Park rules, click here.

Code of Conduct

Little Island is committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive public park, a place for experiences that ignite imagination, foster spontaneity and play, and support camaraderie and connection.  

To deliver on this experience we rely on our dedicated and passionate staff members and the support of our park visitors for whom this is in service to – as such, Little Island has zero tolerance for violence, threats of violence, or violent language, sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or otherwise discriminatory language and/or personal insults. Further, Little Island has zero tolerance for deliberate intimidation, stalking or following of any visitors and staff members. Anyone observed engaging in this behavior will be immediately removed from the park.  

Thanks for your understanding and support in keeping Little Island a welcoming space for all visitors.   

General Information

Little Island is an award-winning public park, primarily funded by The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation, has welcomed over 4.4 million visitors since opening on May 21, 2021.  The park features a lush, seasonal, landscape with rolling hills, walking paths, open lawns, and dazzling views of New York City. Little Island is one of the latest additions to the four-mile-long Hudson River Park, which runs from Chambers Street to W. 59th Street.   

Little Island has a  687-seat amphitheater, an intimate stage and lawn for 200 visitors, and an open plaza, all designed to host a range of programming for all ages, from theater, dance and music to food and beverage experiences to educational programs and community events. Little Island provides New Yorkers, and its visitors, with a unique urban oasis—a place for experiences that ignite imagination, foster spontaneity and play, and support camaraderie and connection.

No, timed entry is no longer required to visit Little Island. However, If the park reaches a high visitation where comfort and safety cannot be guaranteed the park may enter a ‘slow down’. This means that visitors may be asked to queue at the bridges until visitation has eased.

Tickets are not required to visit Little Island. However, If the park reaches a high visitation where comfort and safety cannot be guaranteed the park may enter a ‘slow down’. This means that visitors may be asked to queue at the bridges until visitation has eased.

Little Island is located at Pier 55, between 13th and 14th Street in Hudson River Park.

No, Little Island does not have any dedicated parking areas. The nearest public paid parking garage is MPG Manhattan Parking located at 450 West 17th St between 9th and 10th Avenues.

Little Island opened on May 21, 2021. The park was conceived in 2013 and construction began in 2016.

Little Island sits between the remnants of Pier 54 and Pier 56, the first ports in New York City. In the early 1900s, they were operated by the British Cunard-White Star line where commercial cruises departed and returned, including the voyage that safely returned survivors of the Titanic disaster, and the departure of the RMS Lusitania. From the 1970s to the early 80s, the piers became a safe space for New York City’s growing LGBTQ community to gather. The steel archway at Little Island’s South Bridge entrance remains from the Cunard-White Star building. To discover more about Little Island’s history, click here, or immerse yourself in the history of the iconic Meatpacking District and Hudson River waterfront by listening to Little Island’s History Audio Tour: The Story of Our Pier and Neighborhood Narrated by Tony Award Winner André De Shields. 

The structural design was created by the UK-based Heatherwick Studio, and the landscape design was created by Signe Nielsen, founding principal of MNLA. Learn more about them here.

Little Island is an initiative of The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation (DVFFF), whose considerable philanthropic history extends to several other New York City parks and arts organizations including The Shed, Signature Theatre, Carnegie Hall Society, and the Central Park Conservancy. The foundation was an early and ongoing supporter of The High Line and Diane von Furstenberg led the fundraising effort for the new Statue of Liberty Museum and the continued beautification of Liberty Island.

The Diller – von Furstenberg family has been committed to strengthening the communities of Chelsea and the Meatpacking District for many decades and have directly contributed to the long-term development and economic impact of the neighborhood. The creation and operation of Little Island continues this tradition.

Visiting and Using the Park

Little Island opens at 6:00 am, 365 days a year unless weather conditions dictate otherwise. Our current hours are:

  • November 13, 2023 – March 17, 2024: 6:00 am – 9:00 pm
  • March 18, 2024 – May 26, 2024: 6:00 am – 11:00 pm
  • May 27, 2024 – September 2, 2024: 6:00 am – 12:00 am
  • September 3, 2024 – November 11, 2024: 6:00 am – 11:00 pm

Yes, the park is free and open to the public.

Only working dogs assisting patrons with disabilities are permitted. Please note the ADA does not include emotional support animals as working service animals. Little Island’s horticulture team works hard to maintain our garden beds and lawns that can be soiled by pet waste and activities. We’re a small park with a lot of visitors, and plenty of plants and flowers that need preservation.

Little Island is open rain or shine. From time to time, the entire park will close if there is lightning within 10 miles, sustained winds over 32 mph, extreme heat, snow accumulation, or other severe weather occurrences. For everyone’s safety, visitors will be asked to evacuate the park during these times. For all inclement weather updates, please check our social media channels for updates.

From mid-May through September the lawns are open on a rotating basis Wednesday through Sunday. Lawns are always closed for rest and maintenance on Mondays and Tuesdays (except holidays). They are also subject to closures due to precipitation or extreme heat.

Yes. Our entire park is ADA compliant. Our Visitor Experience staff are also equipped to support access needs to ensure that all New Yorkers have the most enjoyable park experience possible. All programs, performances, and activities are designed with accessibility needs in mind. ASL and audio description will be provided for select performances throughout the season. To learn more about our accessibility offerings visit our accessibility page here.

Yes. Our restrooms, including an ADA accessible all-gender restroom, are located near The Glade just past the South Bridge entrance to the park. We encourage patrons to use any restroom that best aligns with their gender identity.

Families can enjoy a wide range of activities designed for kids of all ages. Little Island’s Art Cart features DIY activities and weekly Creative Breaks in the spring/summer. Year round, everyone can also enjoy making music with our dance chimes, engage with our interactive displays, and climb boulder scrambles throughout the park. For more information click here.

Yes, you may bring your own food and drink to enjoy on our lawns, or at our tables in The Play Ground, where we also sell food and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages from May – December. Visitors may not bring in outside alcohol.

Beer and wine is available for purchase in The Play Ground for ages 21+ from May – December. No outside alcohol is permitted in the park.

Yes. If you think you have left something in the park, please contact us here. Describe the item, date, and where in the park you think you lost it (The Amph, The Play Ground, an Overlook, etc.)

No. Bikes are not permitted on Little Island. You may park your bike at nearby bike stands located just north and south of Little Island on the Hudson River Park esplanade.

For the safety of all visitors, riding on scooters and skateboards, roller skating/blading, sledding, skiing, or snowshoeing is not allowed in the park. You may carry them in the park.

Yes, strollers are welcome in the park, but not in The Amph. We do not offer stroller parking for performances in The Amph, so do plan ahead if you are planning to bring small children to a show.

Of course! But our park is small, and our pathways are very active, please stay alert and safe while enjoying a run. We recommend running in the early mornings or late evenings when the park does not have as many visitors.

We do not offer guided tours at this time, but you can listen to our Audio Tour, narrated by Little Island’s landscape architect Signe Nielsen and learn more about our landscape here.

No, there is no public wi-fi in the park.

No. Smoking is prohibited in all New York parks, even though it may be legal to smoke elsewhere in public. As such, no smoking of any kind is permitted at Little Island, including cigarettes, marijuana, vaping, or use of e-cigarettes.

Events and Performances

Most of Little Island’s events and performances take place in The Amph, The Glade, or The Play Ground. To view our updated events calendar click here.

Little Island will always do our best to help the performance go on as scheduled.

  • Pop-Up Performances – The performance will go on unless there is severe weather.
  • The Glade – The performance will go on unless there is severe weather.
  • The Amph – Performances in this space may require us to delay the show up to an hour due to extreme weather and if canceled we will reschedule. All ticket holders will be notified of any changes via text alert and e-mail.

Little Island is a public park and as such is not available for private events.

  • Anyone is welcome to take photos and videos in the park as long as you are not creating an unsafe condition or making exclusive use of an area.
  • Commercial photography or film shoots are not permitted in the park.
  • Photographers and broadcast crews from accredited news outlets are welcome to cover Little Island events, subject to approval by the Little Island communications team. You may review our Film and Photo Guidelines here. For press inquiries, please contact us here.

What if I have a question that’s still unanswered?

Contact us here and we’d be happy to help!