We are friends, supporters, neighbors, and users of Ward Acres Park in New Rochelle, NY. Ward Acres Park is located between Broadfield Rd and Pinebrook Blvd, just north of Quaker Ridge Rd. Best entrances are on Broadfield. Parking is on-street. The Park consists of 62 acres of former meadows and buildings of a horse farm, a railroad right of way, and surrounding woodlands. The park has no rest rooms, vending machines, picnic tables, or athletic facilities. It does have poison ivy and insects, so dress accordingly. We hope all visitors will volunteer to help with park maintenance by contributing labor and money.

The park when it was the estate of the Ward family was known as Ward Acres Farm. Ward Acres Farm was and is the name of the horse-breeding business the family ran, now located in Ridgefield, CT. The Ward family founded Ward Baking Co, which became Continental Baking, makers of "Tip-Top Bread", "Wonder Bread", and "Hostess Twinkies" (TM). Jack B. Ward transferred control to the City of New Rochelle. The City purchased the property using State Bond funds which had to be used only to acquire land that was to be open space used for "outdoor recreation" purposes.

Like many municipal parks, Ward Acres Park suffers from under-maintenance. This appears principally in the condition of the buildings and in the invasion of the park by alien invasive plant species, especially on the edges of meadows and clearings. Oriental bittersweet, porcelain berry, multiflora rose, japanese knotweed, garlic mustard, and tree of heaven are the most aggressive, damaging invaders. The first three have combined to completely overpower and eventually destroy saplings, medium-sized, and even large trees.

Volunteers do a significant amount of maintenance, emptying garbage cans, putting chips down on paths, providing water for dogs, removing broken glass, and controlling invasive plants. All who visit can help by picking up visible litter and dog feces.