GALLERY: Top 5 Abandoned Places You Can (Legally) Explore

Have you ever been scrolling on your phone and come across a video of someone exploring an abandoned place? Well, now YOU can with this list of the top 5 LEGALLY explorable abandoned places in New York.

The Abandoned World's Fairgrounds (Queens, NY)

The 1964–65 New York World’s Fair was a massive international exhibition, bringing in more than 50 million people between 1964-65, designed to showcase the future of technology, culture, and innovation during the height of the Space Age.

Held in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, the fair brought together corporations, countries, and creators from around the world under the theme “Peace Through Understanding.” Visitors explored futuristic architecture, experimental transportation ideas, early computers, and corporate visions of what life might look like decades ahead.

What you can legally explore:

• The New York State Pavilion, with its crumbling observation towers and faded mosaic floors

• The Theaterama exterior

• Fair-era fountains, plazas, and remnants scattered throughout the park

What visitors cannot do:

• Enter fenced buildings

• Climb towers or structures

• Access locked interiors

Camp Hero Park (Long Island)

Camp Hero is a former military base decommissioned after the Cold War and now preserved as a public state park on the eastern tip of Long Island.

Once home to radar towers, underground facilities, and military infrastructure, the site has become one of New York’s most famous abandoned locations thanks to its eerie structures and persistent conspiracy lore- including a recent tiktok claim that it's 'the REAL site' of Stranger Things.

What you can legally explore:

• Open park grounds and trails

• Exterior views of radar towers and abandoned buildings

What visitors cannot do:

• Enter sealed or posted buildings

• Access underground areas

• Bypass fencing or barriers

Tahawus Ghost Town (Adirondacks)

Tahawus is a long-abandoned mining village deep in the Adirondacks, once home to iron and titanium operations that helped fuel American industry.

Today, the site remains largely untouched, with rusting machinery, stone foundations, and remnants of workers’ homes slowly being reclaimed by the forest.

What you can legally explore:

• Outdoor ruins and foundations

• Old mining equipment and cleared paths

What visitors cannot do:

• Enter unsafe or collapsing structures

• Remove artifacts

• Access restricted mine areas

Doodletown (Bear Mountain)

Doodletown was a small mountain village that slowly emptied out in the early 20th century after residents sold their land to New York State.

Today, only stone foundations and overgrown roads remain, hidden along hiking trails near Bear Mountain.

What you can legally explore:

• Foundations, walls, and ruins along marked trails

• Surrounding hiking areas

What visitors cannot do:

• Enter non-trail areas

• Disturb ruins or historical remnants

• Attempt to reconstruct or remove materials

Fort Tilden (Queens)

Fort Tilden is a former coastal defense installation that once protected New York Harbor and later fell into disuse.

Now part of a public park, the site blends abandoned military structures with oceanfront views.

What you can legally explore:

• Open grounds and beach areas

• Exterior views of batteries and structures

What visitors cannot do:

• Enter restricted or sealed buildings

• Climb structures

• Access unsafe interior spaces

Honorable Mention: Letchworth Village (Rockland County)

Letchworth Village was once a sprawling state-run institution in Rockland County, made up of dozens of buildings spread across rolling hills and wooded grounds. After decades of controversy and declining use, the facility was closed in the late 20th century, leaving much of the complex abandoned.

Today, Letchworth Village has become one of New York’s most photographed abandoned locations, known for its long, empty corridors and decaying exteriors. While the grounds are publicly accessible, the remaining buildings are closed, monitored, and off-limits.

What you can legally explore:

• Public walkways and surrounding grounds

• Exterior views of remaining buildings

What visitors cannot do:

• Enter abandoned structures

• Bypass fencing or posted signage

• Access sealed interiors

Why it didn’t crack the Top 5:
Despite its haunting reputation, access is more limited than other locations on this list, making it better suited as a visual stop rather than a full exploration.