A protected Forever Wild site because of its valuable ecological assets, Clove Lakes Park has a rich natural history and a few remnants of the past that remain and continue to thrill visitors. Chief among them are the park's lakes and ponds, outcroppings of serpentine rocks, and Staten Island's largest living things, a three hundred year-old tulip tree. 

Besides strolling down trails and paddling on its bodies of water to appreciate its beauty, visitors can also experience the park as a more modern recreation zone. Several baseball diamonds, a soccer field, basketball court, playgrounds, and football field dot the park's landscape. Then, of course, there's the Staten Island War Memorial Ice Skating Rink, an outdoor rink located in what could be called the "active" part of the park, close to its other fields and courts.