Parks

Central Park

Without the miracle of civic planning that is Central Park, Manhattan would be a virtual unbroken block of buildings. Instead, smack in the middle of Gotham, an 843-acre natural retreat provides a daily escape valve and tranquilizer for millions of New Yorkers.

While you're in the city, be sure to take advantage of the park's many charms -- not the least of which is its sublime layout. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a competition with a plan that marries flowing paths with sinewy bridges, integrating them into the natural rolling landscape with its rocky outcroppings, man-made lakes, and wooded pockets. Construction concluded in 1870 and designers predicted the hustle and bustle to come, and tactfully hid traffic from the eyes and ears of park-goers by building roads that are largely hidden from the bucolic view.

On just about any day, Central Park is crowded with New Yorkers and visitors alike. On nice days, especially weekend days, it's the city's party central. Families come to play in the snow or the sun, depending on the season; in-line skaters come to fly through the crisp air and twirl in front of the band shell; couples come to stroll or paddle the lake; dog owners come to hike and throw Frisbees to Bowser; and just about everybody comes to sunbathe at the first sign of summer. On beautiful days, the crowds are part of the appeal -- folks come here to peel off their urban armor and relax, and the common goal puts a general feeling of camaraderie in the air. On these days, the people-watching is more compelling than anywhere else in the city. But even on the most crowded days, there's always somewhere to get away from it all, if you just want a little peace and quiet and a moment to commune with nature.

Orientation & Getting There -- Look at your map of the city -- that great green swath in the center of Manhattan is Central Park.

It runs from 59th Street (also known as Central Park South) at the south end to 110th Street at the north end, and from Fifth Avenue on the east side to Central Park West (the equivalent of Eighth Ave.) on the west side. A 6-mile rolling road, Central Park Drive, circles the park, and has a lane set aside for bikers, joggers, and in-line skaters. A number of transverse (cross-town) roads cross the park at major points -- at 65th, 79th, 86th, and 97th streets -- but they're built down a level, largely out of view, to minimize intrusion on the bucolic nature of the park.

A number of subway stops and lines serve the park, and which one you take depends on where you want to go. To reach the southernmost entrance on the west side, take an A, B, C, D, 1 to 59th Street/Columbus Circle. To reach the southeast corner entrance, take the N, R to Fifth Avenue; from this stop, it's an easy walk into the park to the Information Center in the Dairy (tel. 212/794-6564; Tues-Sun 10am-5pm, to 4pm in winter), midpark at about 65th Street. Here you can ask questions, pick up park information, and purchase a good park map.

If your time for exploring is limited, I suggest entering the park at 72nd or 79th Street for maximum exposure (Subway: B, C to 72nd St. or 81st St./Museum of Natural History). From here, you can pick up park information at the visitor center at Belvedere Castle (tel. 212/772-0210; Tues-Sun 10am-5pm, to 4pm in winter), midpark at 79th Street. There's also a visitor center at the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center (tel. 212/860-1370; daily 10am-5pm, to 4pm in winter), at the northeast corner of the park at Harlem Meer, at 110th Street between Fifth and Lenox avenues (Subway: 2, 3 to Central Park North/110th St.). The Dana Center is also an environmental education center hosting workshops, exhibits, music, and park tours, and lends fishing poles for fishing in Harlem Meer (park policy is catch-and-release).

Food carts and vendors are set up at all of the park's main gathering points, so finding a bite to eat is never a problem. You'll also find a fixed food counter at the Conservatory, on the east side of the park north of the 72nd Street entrance, and both casual snacks and more sophisticated New American dining at the Boat House, on the lake near 72nd Street and Park Drive North (tel. 212/517-2233;www.thecentralparkboathouse.com).

Guided Walks -- The Central Park Conservancy offers a slate of free walking tours of the park; call tel. 212/360-2726 or check www.centralparknyc.org for the current schedule (click on the "Walking Tours" button on the left). The Dana Center hosts ranger-guided tours on occasion (call tel. 212/860-1370, or 311 for a schedule). Also consider a private walking tour.

For Further Information -- Call the main number at tel. 212/310-6600 for recorded information, or 212/628-1036 to speak to a person. Call tel. 888/NY-PARKS for events information. The park also has two comprehensive websites that are worth checking out: the city parks department's site at www.centralpark.org, and the Central Park Conservancy's site at www.centralparknyc.org, both of which feature excellent maps and a far more complete rundown of park attractions and activities than I have room to include here. If you have an emergency in the park, dial tel. 911, or for a less pressing matter, call tel. 311, and you will be connected to the park rangers.

Safety Tip -- Even though the park has the lowest crime rate of any of the city's precincts, keep your wits about you, especially in the more remote northern end. It's a good idea to avoid the park entirely after dark, unless you're heading to one of the restaurants for dinner or to a SummerStage or Shakespeare in the Park event, when you should stick with the crowds.

Exploring the Park

The best way to see Central Park is to wander along the park's 58 miles of winding pedestrian paths, keeping in mind the following highlights.

Before starting your stroll, stop by the Information Center in the Dairy (tel. 212/794-6564; Tues-Sun 10am-5pm.), midpark in a 19th-century-style building overlooking Wollman Rink at about 65th Street, to get a good park map and other information on sights and events, and to peruse the kid-friendly exhibit on the park's history and design.

The southern part of Central Park is more formally designed and heavily visited than the relatively rugged and remote northern end. Not far from the Dairy is the Carousel, with 58 hand-carved horses (tel. 212/879-0244; daily, weather permitting, Apr-Nov 10am-6pm, to 4:30pm in winter; rides are $1.50); the zoo ; and the Wollman Rink for roller- or ice-skating.

The Mall, a long formal walkway lined with elms shading benches and sculptures of sometimes forgotten writers, leads to the focal point of Central Park, Bethesda Fountain (along the 72nd St. transverse road). Bethesda Terrace and its grandly sculpted entryway border a large lake where dogs fetch sticks, rowboaters glide by, and dedicated early-morning anglers try their luck at catching carp, perch, catfish, and bass. You can rent a rowboat at or take a gondola ride from Loeb Boathouse, on the eastern end of the lake. Boats of another kind are at Conservatory Water (on the east side at 73rd St.), a stone-walled pond flanked by statues of both Hans Christian Andersen and Alice in Wonderland. On Saturday at 10am, die-hard yachtsmen race remote-controlled sailboats in fierce competitions that follow Olympic regulations. (Sorry, model boats aren't for rent.)

If the action there is too intense, Sheep Meadow on the southwestern side of the park is a designated quiet zone, where Frisbee throwing and kite flying are as energetic as things get. Another respite is Strawberry Fields, at 72nd Street on the west side. This memorial to John Lennon, who was murdered across the street at the Dakota apartment building (72nd St. and Central Park West, northwest corner), is a gorgeous garden centered on an Italian mosaic bearing the title of the lead Beatle's most famous solo song and his lifelong message: IMAGINE. In keeping with its goal of promoting world peace, the garden has 161 varieties of plants, donated by each of the 161 nations in existence when it was designed in 1985. This is a wonderful place for peaceful contemplation.

Bow Bridge, a graceful lacework of cast iron designed by Calvert Vaux, crosses over the lake and leads to the most bucolic area of Central Park, the Ramble. This dense 38-acre woodland with spiraling paths, rocky outcroppings, and a stream is the best spot for bird-watching and feeling as if you've discovered an unimaginably leafy forest right in the middle of the city.

North of the Ramble, Belvedere Castle is home to the Henry Luce Nature Observatory (tel. 212/772-0210) Tues to Sun, 10am to 4:30pm, worth a visit if you're with children. From the castle, set on Vista Rock (the park's highest point at 135 ft.), you can look down on the Great Lawn, where softball players and sun worshipers compete for coveted greenery, and the Delacorte Theater, home to Shakespeare in the Park. The small Shakespeare Garden, south of the theater, is scruffy, but it does have plants, herbs, trees, and other greenery mentioned by the Bard. Behind the Belvedere Castle is the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre (tel. 212/988-9093), hosting marionette plays for children throughout the year; call to see what's on.

Continue north along the east side of the Great Lawn, parallel to East Drive. Near the glass-enclosed back of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is Cleopatra's Needle, a 69-foot obelisk originally erected in Heliopolis around 1475 B.C. It was given to the city by the khedive of Egypt in 1880. (The khedive bestowed to the city of London a similar obelisk, which sits on the embankment of the Thames.)

North of the 86th Street Transverse Road is the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, renamed for the beloved first lady, who lived nearby and often enjoyed a run along the 1 1/2-mile jogging track that circles the reservoir.

North of the reservoir is my favorite part of the park. It's much less traversed and in some areas absolutely tranquil. The North Meadow (at 96th St.) features 12 baseball and softball fields. Sadly, the North Meadow is circled by a not-very-attractive fence, and 6 months of the year that fence is locked and the meadow closed. An unfortunate recent trend in Central Park has been the proliferation of fences. They have become so prevalent that at times you get the feeling you are not really in a park but a museum.

North of the North Meadow, at the northeast end of the park, is the Conservatory Garden (at 105th St. and Fifth Ave.), Central Park's only formal garden, with a magnificent display of flowers and trees reflected in calm pools of water. (The gates to the garden once fronted the Fifth Ave. mansion of Cornelius Vanderbilt II.) The Lasker Rink and Pool (tel. 917/492-3857) is the only swimming pool in Central Park, and in the winter it's converted to a skating rink that offers a less hectic alternative to Wollman Rink. Harlem Meer and its boathouse were recently renovated and look beautiful. The boathouse now berths the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, near 110th Street between Fifth and Lenox avenues (tel. 212/860-1370) open Tues-Sun, 10am to 5pm, where children learn about the environment and borrow fishing poles for catch-and-release at no charge. The Pool (at W. 100th St.), possibly the most idyllic spot in all of Central Park, was recently renovated and features willows, grassy banks, and a pond populated by some very well-fed ducks. You might even spot an egret and a hawk or two.

Frozen in Time: Governor's Island

Stand at the edge of Battery Park and look southwest about 800 yards into New York Harbor and you will see an island. No, it's not Staten Island, but Governor's Island, one of the first settlements of the Dutch West India Company in 1624. Later it was used as a military fort during the pre- and post-Revolutionary War period and most recently was the site of the 1988 summit between Ronald Reagan and USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev. In 2003, Governor's Island was transferred to the state and city of New York and, with the exception of 22 acres designated as a National Monument, the remaining 150 acres belong to the city and state and are open to the public from June through August. The island is a place frozen in time -- kind of a ghost town where you'll find abandoned mansions, forts, bus stops (but no buses) and parade grounds. The views of downtown Manhattan are spectacular and the lack of cars and traffic make it a serene antidote to the bustle of the Financial District. In 2007, a design plan for a 40-acre park on the southern half of the island was approved. Part of the plans include a 2-mile waterfront promenade, a new park where former Coast Guard buildings now stand and will be demolished, and an improved park on the island's northern historic district, where hills will be created from the detritus from the buildings that will be destroyed, offering majestic views of downtown Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. The project is estimated to cost about $400 million and be completed by 2012. In the meantime, enjoy it as is. Ferries are free but have a limited 250-passenger capacity; they run from May 31 through Labor Day. (tel. 212/440-2202. www.govisland.com. Subway: 1 to South Ferry; R, W to Whitehall St.; 4, 5 to Bowling Green.

Chelsea Piers

One of the city's biggest -- and most successful -- private urban-development projects is the 30-acre Chelsea Piers Sports & Entertainment Complex (tel. 212/336-6666; www.chelseapiers.com). Jutting out into the Hudson River on four huge piers between 17th and 23rd streets, it's a terrific multifunctional recreational facility.

The Sports Center (tel. 212/336-6000), a three-football-fields-long megafacility, does health clubs one better. It offers not only the usual cardiovascular training, weights, and aerobics but also a four-lane quarter-mile indoor running track, a boxing ring, basketball courts, a sand volleyball court, a gorgeous 25-yard indoor pool with a whirlpool and sun deck, the world's most challenging rock-climbing wall plus a bouldering wall, and the Spa at Chelsea Piers, which offers massage, reflexology, facials, and the like. Day passes to the Sports Center are $50 for nonmembers; spa treatments are extra, of course.

The Golf Club (tel. 212/336-6400) has 52 all-weather fully automated hitting stalls on four levels and a 200-yard, net-enclosed, artificial-turf fairway jutting out over the water, making it the best place in the city to hit a few. Prices start at $25 for 90 balls (147 balls during off-peak hours), and club rentals are available.

The Sky Rink (tel. 212/336-6100) has twin around-the-clock indoor rinks for recreational skating and pickup hockey games with Hudson River views. General skating is $13 for adults, $10 for seniors and kids 12 and under; skate rental is $7 Due to organized skating activities, general skating is limited, so call ahead to find out schedules of availability.

The Field House (tel. 212/336-6500) is mainly for team sports, but young rock climbers will enjoy the 30-foot indoor climbing wall, designed for kids as well as grown-ups. Open climbs are $20, with climbs limited to 2 1/2 hours on weekdays, they start taking same-day climb reservations at 9am, and weekends can book up quickly. Children's lessons are available. Batting cages are $5 per 15 pitches.

Feeling like a little 10-pin tonight? State-of-the-art AMF Chelsea Piers Lanes (tel. 212/835-BOWL; www.amf.com) offers 40 lanes of fun. Games are $8.75 per person, and shoe rental is $5.

Beyond its athletics, the complex is a destination in and of itself. The 1 1/4-mile esplanade has benches and picnic tables with terrific river views; they serve as the perfect vantage point for watching a cruise ship head out to sea, or the navy and Coast Guard ships sailing in for Fleet Week each May.

Getting there: Chelsea Piers is accessible by taxi and the M23 or M14 crosstown buses. The nearest subway is the C and E at 23rd Street and Eighth Avenue, then pick up the M23 or walk 4 long blocks west. Another option is to take the A, C, E to 14th Street or the L train to Eighth Avenue, walk to the river, then follow the walking/riding/running path along the river north.