Central Park, New York: What to See, Where to Run, and Why It's Worth Two Visits

Hi, I'm Ino.

Manhattan is one of the densest urban environments on earth. The blocks are tight, the buildings are tall, and the noise is constant. Which makes it all the more striking when, somewhere around 59th Street, the grid suddenly stops — and a rectangle of green stretches north for four kilometers without a single building inside it.

Central Park is 843 acres of deliberately preserved land in the middle of one of the world's most expensive real estate markets. The fact that it exists at all is a decision that New York made in the 1850s and has been living with — gratefully — ever since. I visited twice on the same trip: once in the afternoon for a walk, and again the next morning in running shoes.

Bethesda Terrace from the upper level — the fountain at center, the Lake behind it, and the Ramble's tree line beyond. The yellow gonfalon banners are a permanent part of the original 19th-century terrace design.

The Park Itself — What It Is and How It Got Here

Central Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who won a competition in 1858 with their submission called the Greensward Plan. The plan called for a naturalistic landscape — winding paths, irregular terrain, open meadows, and bodies of water — deliberately designed to feel like the countryside rather than a formal garden. Construction required moving nearly three million cubic yards of soil and blasting through Manhattan's bedrock. Over 20,000 workers were employed at its peak. The park opened in stages beginning in 1858 and was largely complete by the early 1870s.

The dimensions are worth knowing if you're planning to walk it: the park runs from 59th Street in the south to 110th Street in the north, a distance of about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles). It is 800 meters (half a mile) wide. The total perimeter loop — the road that circles the park — is approximately 9.7 kilometers (6.1 miles). The park contains 58 miles of pathways, 36 bridges and arches, seven bodies of water, and over 20,000 trees. It receives an estimated 42 million visitors per year, making it one of the most visited urban parks in the world.

Entering from the south and heading toward the center of the park, the path leads down to Bethesda Terrace — the architectural heart of Central Park, and the place that makes most first-time visitors stop walking and simply look.

Bethesda Fountain — The Angel of the Waters

Bethesda Fountain sits at the center of Bethesda Terrace, at the 72nd Street crossdrive. It is 26 feet tall and 96 feet wide, making it one of the largest fountains in New York City. The bronze sculpture at the top — formally called Angel of the Waters — was designed by Emma Stebbins in 1868 and dedicated in 1873. Stebbins was the first woman in New York City's history to receive a commission for a major public work of art.

The Angel of the Waters — an eight-foot bronze figure above four cherubs representing Peace, Health, Purity, and Temperance. The only sculpture commissioned as part of Central Park's original design.

The fountain commemorates the 1842 opening of the Croton Aqueduct — the engineering project that first brought clean, fresh water into New York City from Westchester County, ending decades of contaminated water and repeated cholera outbreaks. Stebbins drew on the Biblical story of the Pool of Bethesda, where an angel was said to bless the water with healing powers. The lily in the angel's hand symbolizes purity; the four cherubs below represent Peace, Health, Purity, and Temperance. The fountain is the only sculpture that was commissioned as part of Central Park's original design — every other monument and statue in the park was donated afterward.

Beneath the terrace is the Bethesda Arcade, a vaulted passageway whose ceiling is covered in Minton tiles — hand-painted encaustic tiles imported from England. It is the only place in the world where Minton tiles are used on a ceiling rather than a floor. The acoustic properties of the arcade make it a favorite spot for street musicians, whose performances tend to fill the space with a natural reverb that rewards a slow walk through.

The terrace itself — the wide sandstone plaza above the fountain — is where most people settle for a while. There are benches along the edges, a view of the Lake behind the fountain, and enough open space that it never feels crowded even when it is. On the afternoon I visited, vendors were selling crocheted hats along the perimeter, boats were crossing the Lake in the background, and a group of photographers were taking turns positioning themselves in front of the angel. The scene felt like it had been running continuously for 150 years, which in a sense it has.

If you've seen Bethesda Fountain in a film or TV show without knowing it — and you almost certainly have — the most likely candidates are Home Alone 2, Elf, Enchanted, When Harry Met Sally, Gossip Girl, and Angels in America. The fountain has appeared in over 350 films and television productions, which gives it a visual familiarity that arrives before you even know its name.

The Lake and the San Remo

Behind Bethesda Fountain is the Lake — a 22-acre body of water at the center of the park, created during construction by excavating and filling what was originally low, swampy ground. Rowboats are available for rent at the Loeb Boathouse on the eastern shore, which operates seasonally. Even without a boat, the path along the Lake's edge is one of the most pleasant walks in the park — shaded, relatively quiet compared to the main drives, and oriented toward the water the entire way.

The Lake, looking west — rowboats on the water and the twin towers of the San Remo rising above the tree line on Central Park West.

The two towers visible above the tree line from the Lake are the San Remo, a residential apartment building on Central Park West completed in 1930. Its twin towers are one of the most recognizable elements of the Central Park West skyline and appear in countless photographs of the park. The San Remo has housed a long list of notable residents over the decades, including Dustin Hoffman, Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, and Demi Moore. A purchase application from Madonna was famously rejected by the building's co-op board in the 1980s.

The visual effect of looking across the Lake — water in the foreground, dense trees in the middle, and the city's towers just visible above the canopy — is one of the images that makes Central Park genuinely hard to describe to someone who hasn't seen it. The park's designers intended exactly this: Olmsted and Vaux deliberately planted the park's edges to screen out the city, so that once inside, the urban environment would disappear. In most places, it works.

The Next Morning — Running in Central Park

The second visit was early. Running clothes, no camera, just a phone. The weather had shifted overnight — the blue sky from the afternoon was gone, replaced by low clouds and the particular grey light that makes a city feel quieter than it is. Central Park in that light and at that hour is a different place entirely.

The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir on an overcast morning — the Upper West Side buildings reflected in still water, the boathouse dock visible on the right.

The destination was the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir — the large body of water in the northern section of the park, between 86th and 96th Streets. It covers 106 acres and holds about a billion gallons of water, though it no longer functions as an active part of the city's water supply. It was renamed in honor of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis after her death in 1994; she was known to run laps around it regularly when she lived nearby on Fifth Avenue. The 1.58-mile track around the reservoir is one of the most popular running routes in the city, used daily by a rotating cast of locals, tourists, and dedicated runners who treat it as their home track.

The water on that overcast morning was completely still. The apartment buildings of the Upper West Side were reflected in perfect detail across the surface — a mirror version of the city, inverted and silent. It's the kind of image that appears on postcards and feels earned when you're standing in front of it.

The Loop Road — Car-Free and Open to Everyone

Central Park's main drive — the road that loops around the interior of the park — is closed to cars at most hours. The current schedule bans vehicle traffic on weekdays from 7am to 10am and 3pm to 7pm, and all day on weekends and holidays. Outside those hours, some sections remain open to cars, but during the restricted periods the road becomes a wide, shared path for runners, cyclists, and pedestrians.

The loop road during car-free hours — wide enough that runners, cyclists, and walkers can all move at their own pace without interference.

The full outer loop is 9.7 kilometers (6.1 miles). Running it at a moderate pace takes about 50 to 60 minutes. The road is wide enough that there's no real congestion even during busy morning hours — runners stay to the right, faster cyclists use the center, and the pace of everyone around you creates a rhythm that makes it easy to settle in and keep moving. During rush hour, the park fills with commuters cutting through on their way to work, which gives the whole loop the energy of a city that's just getting started.

The road is not flat. Central Park's terrain includes a series of gentle climbs and descents — intentional features of Olmsted and Vaux's design, meant to give the park's landscape a natural, varied feeling. The steepest hill on the main loop is known as Cat Hill, on the east side around 76th Street, named for a bronze mountain lion sculpture nearby. For runners not used to hills, this is the part of the loop where pace tends to drop. The park's total elevation change over a full loop is modest by trail running standards, but it's enough to make the experience feel genuinely different from running on a flat city street.

Morning runners on the loop — the tree canopy closes overhead, the buildings appear at intervals above the tree line, and the sound of traffic drops away almost completely.

The NYC Marathon — and Running the Finish Stretch

The New York City Marathon is one of the six World Marathon Majors — the group of races considered the most prestigious in the world, alongside Boston, London, Tokyo, Berlin, and Chicago. It is held annually on the first Sunday of November and draws over 50,000 runners from more than 140 countries, making it the largest marathon in the world by finisher count.

The race starts on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in Staten Island and passes through all five boroughs of New York City before ending in Central Park. The course covers 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometers). In the final miles, runners enter Central Park from the south on Fifth Avenue, proceed north through the park, exit briefly onto Central Park South, then re-enter the park at Columbus Circle and finish near Tavern on the Green — a stretch of road in the southwest section of the park.

A gradual uphill on the park road — the kind of terrain that appears repeatedly through the loop and on the marathon's final stretch. Moderate, but persistent enough to be felt after several miles.

The marathon has been run through all five boroughs since 1976, when race director Fred Lebow expanded the course from its original Central Park-only format to celebrate New York City's bicentennial. Lebow started the race in 1970 with 127 entrants, a $1 entry fee, and a total budget of $1,000. Fifty-five people finished. Today, the race generates over $400 million in economic activity for the city and is broadcast live in dozens of countries.

On the morning I ran in the park, I followed the section of the course that passes through the interior — the stretch down the East Drive behind the Metropolitan Museum, continuing south toward the finish area. Without 50,000 runners and a million spectators lining the road, the route is just a park road on a grey morning. But the scale of it — the width of the road, the long sight lines through the trees, the way the buildings appear and disappear above the canopy — gives you a small sense of what finishing a marathon here must feel like. It was enough to plant a thought that won't go away easily.

The park road near the southern finish area — barriers in place at the edge where the park transitions back to the city street grid.

Practical Tips for Visiting Central Park

Entry and hours
Central Park is free and open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. There are over 20 entrances around the perimeter. For most visitors starting from Midtown Manhattan, the most convenient entry points are at 59th Street and either Fifth Avenue (southeast corner) or Central Park West (southwest corner). The park is generally safe during daylight hours throughout its length. After dark, staying on the main drives and well-lit paths is recommended.

Walking the park
The full perimeter loop is 9.7 kilometers (6.1 miles) — a solid 2-hour walk at a comfortable pace, not accounting for stops. Most visitors see only the southern section, which contains the majority of the park's most-visited landmarks: Bethesda Terrace and Fountain, the Lake, the Mall and Literary Walk, Strawberry Fields (a memorial to John Lennon, whose apartment building the Dakota is just across Central Park West), and Bow Bridge. This southern section can be covered in 1.5 to 2 hours at a relaxed pace with stops.

Running in the park
The loop road is the most popular running route — 9.7km, directional (counterclockwise by convention), and car-free during peak hours. The Reservoir track is 2.54km (1.58 miles), also directional (counterclockwise), and has a softer surface underfoot. Both routes have lane markings separating runners from cyclists. Follow the painted arrows on the road — running against traffic creates conflicts with cyclists. The park fills quickly after 7am on weekdays; arriving before 7am means almost no company and noticeably cooler air.

Cycling — Citi Bike
Citi Bike is New York City's bike-share system, with docking stations at multiple entrances around the park. A single 30-minute ride costs $4.99; a day pass allowing unlimited 30-minute rides is $19. The Citi Bike app (or website) shows available bikes and docks in real time. Within the park, cyclists use the loop road and designated bike lanes. The full loop by bike takes 25 to 35 minutes depending on pace and how often you stop.

Getting to the park by subway
Multiple subway lines stop along the park's edges. The most useful for most visitors: A/B/C/D to 59th Street–Columbus Circle (southwest corner), N/R/W to 5th Avenue–59th Street (southeast corner), B/C train running along Central Park West with stops at 72nd, 81st, 86th, 96th, 103rd, and 110th Streets. The 6 train runs along the park's east side with stops at 68th, 77th, 86th, and 96th Streets.

Nearby museums
Central Park is bordered by several major institutions that pair naturally with a park visit. On the east side: the Metropolitan Museum of Art (entrance at 82nd Street and Fifth Avenue), the Guggenheim Museum (89th Street), and the Museum of the City of New York (103rd Street). On the west side: the American Museum of Natural History (79th Street and Central Park West). Entering the park from one museum's side and exiting at another is a natural way to structure a day.

Tip: The park's inner paths — the ones that wind through the Ramble, the Ramble being a 36-acre woodland in the center of the park — are genuinely quieter than the main drives and worth finding if you have time. They require a map or the AllTrails app to navigate without getting turned around, but that's part of the appeal. The Ramble is also one of the best urban birdwatching locations in the United States, with over 200 species recorded during migration seasons.

Wrapping Up

The morning run ended at a subway entrance on the park's south side. The park had shifted from quiet to busy in the space of an hour — runners giving way to dog walkers, dog walkers giving way to the first tourists of the morning. I had been moving for over an hour and the city was just starting.

The subway back during morning rush hour — from the quiet of the park to this, in about three minutes.

The subway back was packed. Standing room only, the kind of density that comes with a city of eight million people all trying to be somewhere at once. After an hour in the park, the contrast was sharp enough to feel physical. That gap — between the park and the city that surrounds it — is probably the most honest thing Central Park can show you.

Central Park connects naturally to several other stops in this part of Manhattan. The One World Observatory offers a view of the city from above — including the rectangle of green you've just walked through, visible in context against the density surrounding it. For a different kind of outdoor experience in Manhattan, the walk along the Brooklyn Bridge covers similar ground in terms of time and effort, with a very different view. And if you want to see the park's neighborhood at its most relaxed, the area around the Upper West Side streets bordering the park between 72nd and 86th Streets is worth walking slowly.