New York Central Park walk – Photo supplied by Dietmar Rabich
| Start/Finish | Category | Distance | Estimated Walking Time |
| Corner of Central Park West and Central Park North / Grand Army Plaza | Tourism, Nature | 4.9 km | 1 hr 15 min* |
Summary
An exploration of Manhattan’s largest and most famous park.
Public transport
Catch the metro to Cathedral Parkway station (110 st). Ends near 5th Ave and 59 St station.
Directions
The New York Central Park walk starts and the northwestern entrance of the park opposite the Frederick Douglass Plaza Circle. To get there catch the Metro to Cathedral Parkway station (110 St).
From the park entrance walk along the path that leads to West Drive. Continue along West Drive in a south westerly direction and then take the path leading to Great Hill. Continue around Great Hill to The Pool. From here walk along the path that connects back up to West Drive.
Continue along West Drive, past the Tennis Center and towards the Jacqueline Kennedy Reservoir. Take the Shuman running track, which hugs the reservoir. This will give you the best views of the reservoir before connecting back up to West Drive.
West Drive will take you near Strawberry Fields, which is a tribute to John Lennon and his work with the Beatles. Instead of continuing down West drive, veer off by taking the path near Terrace Drive which will take you to the Central Park Mall located in the centre of the park. The Mall is a meeting place for skateboarders, rollerbladers, and street performers and has beautiful American elm trees on each side of the road.
Walk down the Mall in a southerly direction and connect up with the path along East Drive. East Drive winds past the Central Park Zoo, a major tourist attraction in New York managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
Continue along East Drive all the way to Grand Army Plaza where the walk ends.
To get home you can catch the subway from 5th Ave and 59 St station, which is just a short walk from Grand Army Plaza.
New York Central Park – GPX file
To access to the GPX file for this walk click on the download button below.
Information on GPX files and how to import them into Google maps on your phone can be found here.
New York Central Park – Map
Start – Corner of Central Park West and Central Park North
- Great Hill
- Central Park Tennis Center
- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir
- The Great Lawn
- Strawberry Fields
- The Mall
- Central Park Zoo
Finish – Grand Army Plaza
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