Kensico Dam

I love this place!!! It’s one of my favorite parks! There’s shade– there is sun. You can lay in the lawn. You can walk over the dam. It’s a great place to bike, walk, run or just hang out. It’s wonderful and close!

This is a beautiful place to visit that can suit any type of activity… running, rollerblading, bike riding for the kids or walking your fur babies. There is a huge lawn big enough to have a soccer game at one end and people sunning themselves or having a picnic at the other. (No BBQ grills)
There is a playground for the kids, an exercise circuit and plenty of picnic tables and benches. Since they reopened the top of the dam, you can hike up either side via the stairs or take the long trail up one side.
Mr Softie is usually there and there are several vending machines with soft drinks and water.
The bathroom is relatively clean. Parking can get a little scarce on really nice days.
There are many stations with bags to clean up after your pets and the park is really well tended, even in the winter months. Also, now that they re-​did the electrical here, the park is open until 10pm and is very well lit. So if you like to bang out your running at night when it’s cooler and less crowded, this is the place to do it. It is well patrolled and I always feel safe.
Check for the International Festival days. They do one just about every weekend in the summer. Admission is free. And most DEFINITELY this is the spot for July 4^th fireworks. Get here early and you can be one of the lucky ones to park your car on the lawn. People set up blankets, chairs and coolers. Just be prepared to wait in line to get out afterwards. Traffic gets CRAZY. They actually have a police chopper flying overhead to shine a spotlight on the people walking on the Bronx River Parkway to their cars.

Uncrowded and neat park. Come here to walk, jog, run, or just sit down at a bench or lay down in the large grass quad (bring a blanket to be safe). Plenty of parking and play areas for small children.

I always say that if you built something, at least try to make it look good, or friendly to visitors. And the people who designed this park definitely did a good job. The park is friendly for the entire family, and you can walk, seat or ride bicycles. I wish many other locations would do such a great job planning a welcoming park.

Kensico Dam/​Park is a little park paradise in Valhalla. There really isn’t a park such as Kensico anywhere in White Plains. The Park is well-​maintained throughout the year (not just in the warm months) and manicured with pretty plants and shrubs to enhance the park’s beauty.
What I like about Kensico is that even in the warm months, it’s never crowded! There’s so much to do here for everybody! There’s a cute little park for the little ones with swings and slides. Right at the center of the park, is Kensico’s «Great Lawn”(what I like to call it). There might be a baseball practice, a soccer game or my favorite, a Boot Camp class happening up in here-​where I like to drop it likes it hot and sweat it out. Let me not forget about my 4-​legged daughter… I love to bring my Beagle to Kensico, where she can run and socialize with other puppies.
Kensico Park is boasting with activities during the year. For instance during the summer, the Park, hosts different cultural events that are always exploding with excitement. For these events, arts and crafts are sold, there are music performances and food is sold as well. And in the winter, Kensico’s hosts ‘Winter Wonderland’ for the family.
In addition to the many events, Kensico offers Outdoor Movie Night– just like in NYC’s Bryant Park, showcasing family movies or just a cool throw-​back.
It’s important to note that Westchester County’s ⁹⁄₁₁ Memorial is located in the far end of the park where everyone can experience the interesting structure.
As a local park, Kensico satisfies everyone’s needs and really, it doesn’t fall short of things to do here and enjoy.

Been here for winter wonderland. Although there were many people, because of the size of the venue it did not feel crowded. The lights display was great and I loved that everything was included in the admission price (e.g. ice skates rental)

I have got to say that I have loved this area of New York since I have lived here. The kensico dam is a great place to bring the family and spend time there. No need to go far you get a great view and excerise walking around the park.
I recently went to their winter wonderland which was a fantastic event. I would go there again and I hope it gets bigger. I know it would keep growing. The great part is that you only pay a 15 dollar fee no paying for parking and you can do all the rides.
They have great food that is tailored to everyone’s taste buds. They have from hamburger to waffles to organic foods. They of course have hot coco. They have tents set all around the park so that you can explore the different events and not be freezing, even though when we went it was nice and warm.
My favorite part was the circus act that they had, it was amazing and very well done. You can tell that they were professionals. They put on a great show. I would definitely be coming back next year and hope other people do as well.

A beautiful park/​dam to visit for a few hours. The dam itself is spectacular, built with large stones. You can hike to the top of the dam and see the water on the other side, but it is a steep trek on some unsafe at times steps — so take it slow and enjoy the journey.
A good note is that for the entire month of December they have a winter wonderland at night with skating, food, rides, Santa, and other items for $ 15 a person — worth checking out.

Beautiful and scenic dam especially during the fall, the steps on the left to get to the top provides a nice little work out and the view from the top continues to take your breathe away.
The lot below has ample spots for parking and always seems to have a Mister Softee truck serving up cold treats.

To take a walk by the water, or picnic with friends or family, this is the place I will always remember as the park for great memories, and for great moments to come. The dam is a powerful thing, and if you never been here before, you are going to like it.
It is not far from NYC, and on a Sunday morning you can get here in less than an hour from anywhere in NYC. I have family coming from BK few many times in the summer, and they make it to here in 45 minutes.
Take a walk, seat on the grass, or try and catch some fish. Just keep it clean and please please do not hurt nature.

There aren’t any attractions here –so don’t plan a day around this place. It’s more like a pit stop. Also it seems like it’s great for kids and their parents. A lot of families were here.

The dam retains water incredibly well. While walking through the park, I had no fear of thousands of tons of water crashing down upon me. Staring upon the large beautiful stone structure the thought never crossed my mind that if the dam would fail, I would meet my maker rather quickly. Would visit again

This park is neat, very well maintained. The dam is great! You can walk along the dam. The view is absolutely beautiful. You can jog or walk, it’s a great place to exercise. Walking or running up the stairs from the park all the way up to the dam is definitely a good exercise. There’s also a ⁹⁄₁₁ memorial, playground, & public restroom inside.
If you live nearby, this place is definitely a must to visit.

This is a great place to workout, learn to ride a bike, roller blade, skateboard… anything your heart desires. There is a playground for the kiddies, public bathrooms, and a seasonal food stand. The Dam itself is a beautiful sight. They opened the stairs again, so you can climb to the top. This was always my favorite part of the experience of Kensico. In the summer time, there are different cultural festivals. The Polish Festival is my favorite. If you can deal with the traffic, I highly recommend the Fourth of July fireworks (usually the day before — July 3).

Best place to come to have a picnic, walk, workout, bike ride/​roller skate, play games in the grass, and so much more! This is where I first learned how to ride a bike, so make sure you bring your camera (for memories). They have a beautiful ⁹⁄₁₁ memorial. Amazing view from the top of the dam! Beautiful place !

Went to see the fireworks 2015 here and really enjoyed the show.

Such an amazing park. I traveled from CT to visit and it was so beautiful. I went on the perfect day when it wasn’t too hot out. Great place to work out, go for a stroll, or just hang out. Definitely making another trip here!

1 of the better day drinking spots in Westchester (NOTE: I am not sure of the legality of drinking in the park, I always red solo cup it up).
I have been coming to the dam ever since I was a lil kid. My grandma used to take me here and let me ride around the track on my tricked out low rider. Nice to see the other lil g’s are still out and about.
The lake/​pond/​water things under the dam usta be filled with water and had fountains. not sure why they got rid the water. Maybe it was all the duck poo.
Anyway. if you have not visited this spot. put it on the list. Pack a lunch, bring some drinks, play some cards, throw a Frisbee. good times.

I was part of a walking/​hiking group that was walking along the Bronx river Parkway trail and this was our first stop. We used the restrooms which were very clean and then climbed those long steps to get to the top. The stairs are no joke and you definitely need to pace yourself and breathe in and out lol because it’s a workout. We walked down which wasn’t as vigorous but you still felt the intensity of the decline. Once we reached the top the views were gorgeous as well as the architecture. Very cool to visit and relax when the weather is great. I saw decent spaces for parking and I would definitely check this place out again if I’m in the area.

This review is for the Winter Wonderland Event at the Dam. (I won tickets from LoHud for my Elf on the Shelf — if you saw the paper, mine was the one who made the front page of the Life & Style section on Christmas — Ice Bucket Challenge Elf… I was very proud of my win!) Anyways, I had won 4 free tickets and 4 free ‘ride’ wrist bands. We came here a few nights after Christmas bc it was a relatively warm night considering it is the end of Dec.
Upon entering we found the beer tent — since we were here just for my almost 3 year old hubby and I passed on drinking… There were a number of food trucks that I normally would have tried but we ate dinner right before coming here so we passed on that too. We found the Himalayan ride (or whatever they call it) which is across from the ice skating rink. My daughter is too young to go on the ride and ice skate. Also, no one that we were with ice skates so we passed on that as well… (in a few years maybe.) We ended up doing the «hayride» which is next to the ice skating rink. It’s literally a big circle right in front of that dam which lasted about 5 minutes. It is nothing too exciting but to my almost 3 year old, it was really fun. They did a beautiful job with all the lights on the trees along the dam — every other tree is wrapped in either white or red. Once you get off the hayride you’re sent towards the ⁹⁄₁₁ memorial and a field with lit up trees that are synchronized with music. That was really pretty to watch. We went into Santa’s house but he obviously was gone since it was after Christmas. In his seat was Elsa and Olaf. My daughter gets super freaked out when characters come to life so she was super shy. Elsa could read my daughter’s fear so she made Olaf stay on the chair and she came down to talk with my daughter since we were the only ones in the house. After trying to talk with my daughter and be friendly she offered to take a pic with her. (I thought that was very nice.) She also gave my little one a slap bracelet which my daughter has been wearing every day since going here. When we left we quickly walked passed the ice sculptures, through the vendors tent and of course we had to play at the park before leaving. To us adults it was just okay, but to my little one it was truly a Winter Wonderland. I hope the Dam continues to do this annually and if so, I hope they grow their vendors. I think the concept is to look like Bryant Park, which concept wise they nailed it. But I would love to see it packed with vendors in the future! :) This park has great potential and as their first year with the Winter Wonderland theme I think they did a great job.