Hiking in Central Park

Although Central Park is an engineered space, it was designed to feel wild. This remains especially true in its three woodland landscapes. Trade the paved Drives for dirt paths, rock scrambles, and real elevation change across 58 miles of wooded walking paths.

Where to go hiking:

• The Ramble: A 36-acre wild garden of winding trails, rustic bridges, and rock outcrops above the Lake. It's also the Park's best-known birding spot, drawing over 210 species a year, with migration peaking in late April and May.
• The North Woods: Home to the Ravine and the Loch, the North Woods is the Park's largest and least-developed woodland area Follow the Loch's cascades past Glen Span Arch and Huddlestone Arch—a stone bridge built from massive boulders with no mortar.
• Hallett Nature Sanctuary: A once-hidden four-acre peninsula overlooking the Pond, the Hallett reopened to the public after decades behind a fence. To preserve this landscape, access is free but limited. Visitors enter through a single entrance, hours are seasonal, and dogs, bikes, or strollers are not permitted.

Prefer flatter ground?

• The Reservoir’s running track is a 1.58-mile soft gravel path circling the water, with skyline views the whole way around. Just remember to move counterclockwise with the water on your left.

Things to know before you go:

• Wear safe footwear. The Park’s woodland trails are unpaved and can be uneven.
• Stick to marked paths. These landscapes are carefully restored and maintained, and staying on designated trails helps protect them.
• Check our Accessibility Map to plan a route that works for you.

• Heading out in the fall? Track the colors as they change with our Fall Foliage Tracker.