The Zen walk

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Japanese Garden

Start 2, 3 to Eastern Pkwy–Brooklyn Museum
End B, Q, Franklin Ave S to Prospect Park
Distance 3.3 miles
Time 4.5 hours
Calories burned 330

1 In New York, it’s hard to find time for the road to enlightenment. Start by cutting out roads. Our Zen walk starts at the blossom-adorned plaza outside the Brooklyn Museum (200 Eastern Pkwy at Washington Ave, 718-638-5000) and continues inside to the Asian art collection. Take in the quiet second-floor galleries’ contemplative works, such as Buddhist ritual objects and religious figural sculptures from India and Tibet. Then just take a deep breath.

2 While you’re at the museum, visit “Kindred Spirits,” an exhibit of Asher B. Durand landscapes. The Hudson River School painter’s compositions mesmerize with their detailed depictions of nature and light.

3 Now see the real outdoors. The neighboring Brooklyn Botanic Garden (1000 Washington Ave between Eastern Pkwy and Empire Blvd; 718-623-7200) offers 52 acres of blooming foliage. After stopping by the Steinhardt Conservatory, a greenhouse complex that harbors more than 8,000 indoor plants, grab lunch at the adjacent Terrace Café, an alfresco eatery.

Brooklyn Museum

4 Unlike Zen rock gardens, the BBG’s version features less sand, more flora (rhododendrons, azaleas, spruces) and much larger rocks—look for boulders that were first carried to the area 30,000 years ago by the Wisconsin Ice Sheet, a glacier.

5 Indulge senses other than sight at the BBG’s Alice Recknagel Ireys Fragrance Garden. This oval-shaped oasis includes plants with scented leaves (Indian patchouli, apple geranium and lavender), aromatic flowers (marigold, garden verbena and petunia) and a selection of kitchen herbs (basil, chives and thyme). A “plants for touch” section invites you to fondle textured leaves on alumroot and heart-leaf bergenia.

Prospect Park Audubon Center

6 Last stop here: the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, a tranquil paradise composed of artificially constructed—yet seemingly natural—hills and waterfalls, a pond populated by koi fish, evergreens and shrubs, and flowering cherries.

7 After you’ve finished your tour through the gardens, head west on Eastern Parkway, south on Washington Avenue and west on Empire into Prospect Park’s verdant expanse of meadows, fields and forest. Walk southeast until you come to the park’s 60-acre freshwater lake, a calm backdrop for boating, bird-watching and fishing (once polluted, the lake now features 20 finned species). Then follow the park’s watercourse by taking the Lullwater Trail, one of four trails that form a 2.5-mile network.

Fragrance Garden

8 All four trails converge at the Prospect Park Audubon Center & Visitor Center (718-287-3400) at the Boathouse, where you can grab a chai at the Songbird Café and relax on the Lullwater’s scenic east bank—all before ruining everything by heading out to the un–Zen-like Q train. —Erin Clements

Our featured walks:

• The Zen walk: Get back to nature—without spas or drum circles.
• The stoner's walk: Blaze up and turn off Aqua Teen for a real-life trip. Wait, what’d you just say?
• The romantic walk: Yeah, it includes a sunset. (You won’t be making fun when you get lucky.)
• The night walk: It’s quiet, but not too quiet—some New York sights are best seen in the dark.
• The Queens Boulevard walk: Conquer the Avenue of Death and claim your reward: beer and a fantastic view.
• The dog walk: Take your furry confrere on a deluxe gambol that’s good for both of you.
• The other Fifth Avenue walk: There’s no Saks, and that’s what we like about this multiethnic stretch in Brooklyn.
• The Met walk: Don't let this giant art palace daunt you – hit the highlights, then let tourists descend.

Plus:

• Park avenues: Central Park offers more than half-naked Frisbee players in Sheep Meadow—witness rare birds, waterfalls and (bonus) free coffee on these five expert walking tours.
• Walk of shame: Our hot fuzz tickets slow movers, phone talkers and guy-who-stops-at-top-of-stairs.
• Submit your own walk: Cartography is fun. Show us your favorite ambles using Google Maps.