Forest Park features a zoo, aquatic gardens, and outdoor amphitheater, in addition to design elements like winding wooded trails, and surprising, expansive views.

[1][2][3][4] The site of America's first public, municipal swimming pool,[citation needed] currently, during the holiday months Forest Park hosts a popular high-tech lighting display, known as Bright Nights.

[8] In 1890 Barney built an elaborate, turreted 2+1⁄2-story Victorian mansion on a hill at the west end of his estate, which featured a spectacular view of the Connecticut River and Metro Center Springfield.

[11] In October 2017, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker announced that the state would assume the $3 million costs to repair a culvert at the main entrance of the park.

[12] On Aug. 27, 2024, Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and Parks Director Tom Ashe unveiled a new street sign for Chief Joe Luvera Way.

Barney's house stood atop the hill at the northwest corner of the park, and the highway construction may have threatened its foundations; anticipating that, it was razed.

Among the Forest Park's notable year-round attractions are the Forest Park Zoo, which features large cats, monkeys, birds, and a number of other "exotic and indigenous animals";[16] several playgrounds; Porter Lake; an ice hockey and ice-skating rink, Cyr Arena; several baseball diamonds and a grandstand; a rose garden; a bocce court; a lawn bowling court; basketball and tennis courts; an aquatic garden (in the Asian style); numerous promenades; a beach volleyball court; several wooded groves; picnic areas; America's first public swimming pool (1899); ponds with various waterfowl; an exhibit of ancient dinosaur tracks, and an eternal flame that burns 24 hours a day honoring President John F.

The statue at the Route 5 entrance to Forest Park[18] was created by Peter Wolf Toth and is part of the Trail of the Whispering Giants.

Some of the special needs populations the camp has worked with include: developmental delays, ADD/ADHD, emotional problems, learning disabilities, and visual and hearing impairments.