Created on landfilled former marshland,[1]: 5  the park is mostly an undeveloped nature preserve, with only small portions accessible to the public for recreation.

A third section of parkland was built around the Gateway Center shopping mall, which is located north of Belt Parkway on the Brooklyn side.

Temporary landfills for waste disposal were operated at the future park site until the South Shore Incinerator along Spring Creek was completed in 1954.

In the 1990s, the northern section of the park was expanded via land acquisition, and in 2003, The Related Companies built extra parkland as part of Gateway Center's construction.

A small portion of the park along the former Spring Creek Basin (concurrent with the Brooklyn-Queens border) extends north as far as Stanley Avenue.

[9][10][11] Existing vegetation in Spring Creek South includes upland forest, grassland and shrubland, along with both freshwater and tidal marshes.

[18]: 5–11  According to the Parks Department, this area is the "largest undeveloped salt marsh in northern Jamaica Bay", and serves as a habitat for numerous bird species as well as land animals.

[19][17][21] In spite of its status as "Forever Wild", Spring Creek North contains two major waste disposal facilities.

[2][4]: 3, 8–9 (PDF p.19, 24–25) [21][23] Farther north along Forbell Street is the former South Shore Incinerator,[24][25][26] now used as a cleaning garage and composting facility by the New York City Department of Sanitation.

This was later replaced by the South Shore Landfill, which extended north to Stanley Avenue and received ash from the incinerator.

The bridge may have been used for landfilling operations, and contains within it a combined sewage overflow pipe leading to the water treatment plant.

[21][22][31] The third and westernmost section of the park is north of the Belt Parkway along the southern and western edges of the Gateway Center shopping mall.

[41][42] During at least three glacial periods, including the Wisconsin glaciation around 20,000 years ago, ice sheets advanced south across North America carving moraines, valleys, and hills.

This work involved grading the site and installing a dyke around the landfill to prevent the runoff of garbage into Jamaica Bay.

The newly-reclaimed land along the coast drew comparisons to Jones Beach in Nassau County, which had also been developed by Robert Moses.

[68][69] At both Spring Creek and Marine Park, sewage sludge from wastewater plants was mixed with sand to create "synthetic topsoil" in order to provide a base for future vegetation.

[38] The Queens Spring Creek landfill, the first portion of the park, was completed between 1956 and 1958, after which additional land reclamation projects began.

[1]: 5–6  The western Howard Beach peninsula was significantly filled and extended west towards Old Mill Creek,[8]: 1-1−1-2  allowing residential development to occur.

The area would include numerous sites in the New York Harbor, Atlantic Ocean coast, and along Jamaica Bay.

Addabbo wished for Spring Creek to be included in part to prevent the further expansion of John F. Kennedy International Airport into the area.

[79] The bill establishing the Gateway National Recreational Area was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on October 28, 1972.

[80] On November 12, 1973, the City Planning Commission approved the cession of 14,000 acres (5,700 ha) of city-owned land to the Gateway Area, but excluding Spring Creek Park.

[81] On November 15, the Board of Estimate unanimously voted against extending the landfill in the Howard Beach portion of the park.

[19][5]: 2–3  Three blocks of additional land north of Flatlands Avenue, including the former South Shore Incinerator, were added to this section of park on August 21, 2001.

[35] Following Hurricane Sandy in late 2012, the state and federal governments began designing restoration projects for both Spring Creek South and Spring Creek North, in order for the wetlands to act as a natural storm surge barrier for Howard Beach and other neighborhoods along Jamaica Bay.

[11][91] On February 25, 2006, the body of 24-year-old Imette St. Guillen was discovered on Fountain Avenue in a marshy area of Spring Creek Park.

[94] On August 2, 2016, Karina Vetrano, a 30-year-old resident of Howard Beach, was attacked and murdered by 20-year old Chanel Lewis while jogging in Spring Creek Park South.