Vintage Carousel One Of Queens' Best Kept Secrets

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS – A landmarked carousel hidden inside a Queens park is giving vintage rides to those who know it's there. Surrounded by 500 acres of open space, the fairground ride is one of the borough's best kept secrets.

If you make the trip on a weekday, you'll have the Forest Park Carousel almost all to yourself.

"When I tell people, they don't know about it... and I like that," said Pamela Giannini who enjoyed one of the last days of summer on the ride with her aunt Maureen Miller, her daughter and her grandchildren.

“This brings you back. A little nostalgia, you know?” said Miller.

On a recent morning, there was little sign of life at the 11 a.m. opening time.

But by about noon, a Queens woman and her two children arrived on bikes.

“My oldest son is a carousel fanatic. We’ve been to all the carousels in the city, all up the East Coast,” said Sarah Kaplan, a social worker.

“In the city, I like this one the best. It’s not crowded, which is nice. You can get right on. You don’t have to wait.”

It costs $3.50 per ride, with discounts for multiple tickets. Many of the intricate wooden horses in use today date back to 1903 and were originally part of a Massachusetts carousel, before relocating to Forest Park in 1973. The city designated the carousel a landmark in 2013.

The carousel is located near Forest Park Drive and Woodhaven Boulevard. The nearest subway stop is the Steinway Street station. From there, you can catch the Q11 or Q52 buses to the park.

Lead images by Shant Shahrigian/Patch.