DH & I are going to NYC for July 4 weekend. It'll be our first visit to NYC during warm weather so we want to finally visit Central Park.

I'm thinking of spending Sat morning in Central Park (walking the Brooklyn Bridge in the afternoon and catching a show in the evening).

Any suggestions on what to do in the park (besides the horse carriage ride)? Any suggested walking routes to see the highlights?

Thx for any insights.

Enjoy-la!

Get a map and wander. It's loaded with plenty of stuff.

Many beautiful sculptures, look for Balto, Alice in Wonderland, Hans Christan Anderson, the literary walk, Mother Goose. Get to the Bow Bridge and Boat house. The concource there has spectular tile work as well as the Angel statue. The Dairy may have some walking tours to consider??

Would be more infor on the Central Park web site.

Get a good map first. One that has the landmarks.

Central Park and Brooklyn Bridge in one day! Might be a bit much...but for Central Park

I have a favorite walk in the South East Section of the park (59th to 75th street)

I enter at 59th and 5th. Eastside
-Here is the "Pond" Stroll the path keeping the Pond on your left.
-Head up to "gapstow Bridge" (Nice view of the 'Pond".
-Go over bridge and follow path past the "Wolman Skating Rink" (in season)
-Follow path north toward "The Dairy"

-follow path up and 'over car road' and you should be at "Literary Walk" I think the Statue of "Shakesspeare" is right at the beginning)
-Follow the walk and head toward the "Bethesda Fountain"
- Go Under "roadway" again and admire the 'Roof Tile' restoration.
-Check out "Bethesda Fountain".
- Now on your right will be the "boathouse". But you should take the path on the left and follow to the beautiful "Bow Bridge". Here you will get a geat view of the "Dakota House" where John Lennon met the madman. Dakota is the one with the "three triangles" across the top

Now it is up to you. If you head back to the Boathouse and you can continue to head up to the "Joggers Reservoir" and Met Museum on 5th.

The ROAD around the park is 6.2 Miles ( a perfect 10K for the runners)

WANDER, WANDER....WANDER!

Do take a ride on the Carousel, not far from The Dairy. Even adults find it enjoyable and a bit speedy. And I love a calliope that plays "Downtown" and "Georgie Girl".

If it is particularly warm, I'd walk the Bridge in the morning (perhaps having dim sum in Chinatown beforehand) then take the train from Brooklyn (the A Train from High Street Station to Columbus Circle/59th Street) up to midtown and spend a nice cool afternoon wandering the park. But that's just me . . .

Hello bmw732002,

I am thinking of doing the walk you recommended. Could you recommend an affordable parking garage near it so we could park for the day, do the walking trail in the afternoon (we will be there mid April ; planning on doing NH museum in the am; see my other post) then at dusk get on top of a tall building (Rock or Empire yet to decide) and in the evening go to Time Square (may do Toys R Us) and later come back to the parking garage and pickup car.

Kalpana,

You are covering a lot of territory--no one garage will really work. You might choose one near your starting point or ending point for your day's activities. Here's a website showing economical parking options:

http://www.iconparking.com/

Kalpana:

elenem said it all!

I am not sure how you are planning your day? Are you driving in for the day? You will have two 5 year olds!!!

The Museum will tax your legs for sure! That walking path I listed is on the other side of the park from the Museum.

You might be better to head down CPW after the MONH and enter the park at 72nd street. Then you can head across to hit Bethesda Fountain, and reverse the walk back to 59th street. Go to Top of Rock...if you still have the stamina!

In my opinion, and I'm in the Park at least 5 times a week, the "BEST" part of Central Park is between 72nd & 90th Streets.

The southern third of the Park is often congested with tourists.

Perhaps enter the Park at Fifth Ave and 84th Street. Walk past the Temple of Dendur to the Great Lawn. The reservoir is to your right (north) and Belvedere Castle is to your left (south).

From Belvedere Castle, walk south through the woods (the Ramble) to the famous Bow Bridge. From there proceed to the Bethesda Terrace (fountain) and the Mall.

Yes, you'll need a map.

Enjoy!

We were in NY & Philadelphia in Sept.

I walked the Brooklyn Bridge and we took the Staten Island Ferry on Saturday. I got up early Sunday and wandered Central Park starting in the South Central part and went in a clock-wise direction ending in the South-East corner an hour or so later.

Photos at:

www.travelwalks.com

Barnes & Noble publishes a wonderful guide to Central Park--"Barnes & Noble Complete Illustrated Map and Guidebook to Central Park." I recommend that you order a copy. It's a wonderful (and complete) guide to Central Park.

Thx a mint for the many replies and great input - much appreciated!

I initially checked the CP website and will go there to refine my plan but it was a bit overwhelming since I didn't know the names, layout, or highlights. These suggestions are perfect!

bmw732002 - all the details very much appreciated!

mp - I thought I'd do Central Park when it was cooler - of course it makes more sense to do the BB and then enjoy the shade of the trees thru CP. And your way, I get a dim sum in too!

Gekko - your NYC advice has been invaluable in my trip planning, both your replies and my lurks from other threads.

Thx again all!

Renting bikes is very enjoyable and you can cover a lot of territory.

We enjoyed walking the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset--beautiful NY skyline.

In my opinion, renting a bike is not a good idea as it confines you to the roads. (Riding bikes on the many miles of paths is illegal.)

Walk! Just plan your walk to save steps.

This is a great thread for me -- we're going in April and I'm interested in Central Park stuff too.

Some friends recently took a walking tour of Central Park with a guy they said was great. They got the name out of New York Magazine but I'll try to get more details for you (and for me too).

Here's that Central Park tour guide info:
Bob Gelber
212-349-7916
www.WalkinNY.com

Thx a mint for the extra thoughts & goddesstogo (love that screen-name!)for posting your find.

It'll be our 4/5th trip and I'm still so excited - giddy waiting for the sales to be announced (Broadway, airfare, etc.).

Have fab trips Kalpana & goddesstg!

We always seem to be in NY in the winter, so I'm excited about going at the end of April, hence the Central Park stuff.

We've been to NY many times and lived 40 minutes away in NJ for several years but one of the things we've never done is walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. I'm taking my SO to the River Cafe for his birthday and then I want to walk back across the bridge to Manhattan. He's uncertain about doing this -- I think he feels it might be unsafe (getting mugged unsafe, not falling off unsafe).

Can you tell me what the walking part is like? I've only ever driven across in a cab. What can I say to convince him? Will there be lots of people late at night on a spring night?