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AccessibilityUrban Park Rangers: Outdoor Skills
Be prepared for anything! Learn tips and tricks for navigating and surviving in the wild from our expert Urban Park Rangers.
Urban Park Rangers: Outdoor Skills Events
Saturday, January 24, 2026
Outdoor Skills: Shelter Building
at Van Cortlandt Nature Center (in Van Cortlandt Park), Bronx
11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Shelter is one of the most important components of outdoor survival. Learn the essentials on how to build an outdoor shelter using foliage, branches and other natural materials.
Free!
Saturday, January 31, 2026
Outdoor Skills: Winter Wilderness Survival
at Entrance - Vernon Boulevard and 41st Avenue (in Queensbridge Park), Queens
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
Learn all about how to prepare and survive outdoors during the colder winter temperatures.
Free!
Sunday, February 1, 2026
Outdoor Skills: Winter Survival 101
at Rochester Avenue and President Street (in Lincoln Terrace / Arthur S. Somers Park), Brooklyn
12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m.
Try your hand at making a friction fire and building shelters with tarps, knots, and natural materials.
Free!
Saturday, February 7, 2026
Outdoor Skills: Fire Building
at Crotona Nature Center (in Crotona Park), Bronx 
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
Our Urban Park Rangers are well-versed in outdoor lore. Learn tips and tricks that will enhance your knowledge of the natural world, and might just save your life.
Free!
Sunday, February 8, 2026
Outdoor Skills: Advanced Firemaking
at Entrance - 34th Avenue between 77th and 78th Streets (in Travers Park), Queens
11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
What can you use to build a fire? Explore this site as we search for different materials to use as kindling and learn advanced techniques to build an outdoor fire.
Free!
Outdoor Skills: Winter Wilderness Survival
at West 218th Street and Indian Road (in Inwood Hill Park), Manhattan
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
Learn all about how to prepare and survive outdoors during the colder winter temperatures.
Free!
Friday, February 20, 2026
Kids Week: Shelter Building
at Van Cortlandt Nature Center (in Van Cortlandt Park), Bronx
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
Rangers will teach you different methods of shelter building using natural materials.
Free!
Kids
Saturday, February 21, 2026
Indigenous Cooking
at Outdoors at Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum (in Fidler-Wyckoff House Park), Brooklyn
12:00 p.m.–1:30 p.m.
Learn about the historical evolution and present realities of the food cultures that have shaped the region through a lens of food justice and accessibility.
Free!
Saturday, February 28, 2026
Outdoor Skills: Advanced Firemaking
at Juniper North Playground (in Juniper Valley Park), Queens
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
What can you use to build a fire? Explore this site as we search for different materials to use as kindling and learn advanced techniques to build an outdoor fire.
Free!
Outdoor Skills: Animal Tracking
at Entrance - West 100 Street and Central Park West (in Central Park), Manhattan
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
Become a “Nature Scene Investigator” and learn the animal-spotting tricks from the Urban Park Rangers.
Free!
Sunday, March 1, 2026
Outdoor Skills: Land Navigation Skills
at Eton Place Parking Lot (in Willowbrook Park), Staten Island
11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Join the Urban Park Rangers as they use sticks to find north in the woods. Learn to navigate without a compass and learn to save yourself in a survival situation by finding your way
Free!
Winter Reflection Campfire
at Fort Greene Park Visitor Center (in Fort Greene Park), Brooklyn
11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Commemorate the closing of winter with a cozy seasonal writing workshop with the Urban Park Rangers. Gather around the fire as we read nature-inspired pieces and work on our own writing
Free!
Saturday, March 7, 2026
Outdoor Skills: Knot Tying
at Entrance - 215th Place and 33rd Road (in Crocheron Park), Queens
1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
There’s a knot for every need! Learn methods to tie very useful knots.
Free!
Saturday, March 14, 2026
Gather Around the Campfire
at Entrance - Vernon Boulevard and 41st Avenue (in Queensbridge Park), Queens
1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m.
Join NYC’s Urban Park Ranger and hear tales of NYC’s urban wildlife while enjoying the warmth of a campfire.
Free!
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