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Strolling through Central Park New York City

With 38 million people visiting New York City’s Central Park each year, it is no doubt one of the world’s most popular parks.  It was the first public park built in America and its popularity hasn’t faded.   In the midst of the hustle and bustle of a city that never sleeps is this green oasis surrounded by high rise towers and the concrete jungle.

View of Central Park from the Rock
View of Central Park from the Rockefeller lookout

I’ve visited New York City multiple times but have never really explored the park and only seen it from the Rockefeller Center or the Rock lookout and walked around a small portion of it.  During our visit last June, we finally carved out a few hours in the afternoon to stroll through parts of the expansive grounds.  It helped that it was a beautiful and perfect day for walking.

This park is immense comprising 843 acres or 6% of Manhattan’s land total.  It is approximately six miles around all of Central Park.  We entered through Central Park South and the Columbus entrance.  Central Park is a hub of activity – walkers, bikers, runners and horse drawn carriages among others.  Here are some of the highlights during our leisurely walk through the park.

Central Park carriage ride

With 21 playgrounds within the park, there will always be something to entertain the kids.   There were also plenty of rocks for climbing and exploring.

central park buildings

One of the things I loved in Central Park was an area known as the Mall Promenade.  American elm trees line and cover this pathway.  This is one of the most photographed sections of the park.

central park mall promenade

It was initially designed to be wide enough for the horse carriages to pass through to drop off its passengers.  Today, it is lined with numerous benches for resting and people watching.

central park bench

The Mall’s southern portion is an area known as Literary Walk.  For some reason, a statue of Christopher Columbus is among the writers here – Shakespeare, Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott.

Central Park literary walk statues

The Mall pathway led us to one of the parks’ features – the Angel of the Waters or the Bethesda fountain.  It was a masterpiece in the middle of Bethesda terrace and was built in 1842 to commemorate the Croton water system which supplied fresh water to the city.

central park bethesda fountain

The angel held a lily on her left hand symbolizing the water’s purity at that time.  We all know it’s far from pure or clean nowadays.

central park angel of the water

Renting a rowboat and floating in Central Park’s lake has long been an iconic symbol of romance in pictures and movies.  We loved watching all the people relaxing on the lake in their boats.  Unfortunately, my husband and I were too jet lagged from our whirlwind Europe trip and didn’t have enough energy to row around the lake.  We hope to someday return in better physical and mental state and have a picnic in the middle of the lake.

central park rowing boats

The structure known as the Loeb Boathouse provided the perfect backdrop for many of the boat and gondola rides.

Central Park row boats

Central Park is filled with many sculptures and statues and all with some form of significance.  Having just spent a week in Denmark a few days before this visit where Hans Christian Andersen’s presence was everywhere, it was a pleasant surprise to find him here in New York too.

This large bronze statue of the famed Danish fairy tales author was built here in 1956.  Mr. Andersen was reading his book The Ugly Duckling with an adorable duck nearby.  Of course, my kids couldn’t wait to climb on him.  They have story telling hour here every Saturday at 11 AM from June – Sept.  We were visiting on a Tuesday so we missed the readings which would have been fun.

central park hans christian andersen statue

Perhaps, the most popular statue in the park was this large bronze statue of Alice in Wonderland and other characters from the Lewis Carroll classic tale.  It was a gift to New York City’s children by philanthropist, George Delacorte and has been here since 1959.

Central Park Alice in wonderland statue

My kids joined many of the other children, who climbed on top of statues of mushrooms, the Mad Hatter and White Rabbit.  Through the years and with thousands of kids rubbing it, some parts of the statue were particularly shiny.  It’s amazing how one sculpture can bring so much joy to children.  Needless to say, we were here for awhile.

Central Park Alice in wonderland statue

Near the two famous statues was the Conservatory Water.  During spring and summer, the pond is used for sailing model boats much like those found in some parks in Paris.  It is used as an ice skating area during the winter.  This was such a serene place to sit and relax and see the reflections in the pond.

Central park Conservatory Water

There aren’t many parks that boast a castle in residence.  The Gothic-style Belvedere Castle was created in 1869 as a lookout into the reservoir.  Meaning “beautiful view” in Italian, its balconies offer some of the best views of Central Park.

central park belvedere castle

The tower is now used by the National Weather Service for recording temperature, wind speed and rainfall.  We saw it from below and didn’t get the chance to go up.  But, it looked beautiful sitting on top of the hill.

central park Belvedere castle

Central Park is such an integral part of New York City and we were happy to have finally seen and enjoyed some of its attractions.  We were there for four hours and barely covered half of it.  It was a wonderful place to enjoy the outdoors and provided a perfect getaway from the city’s busy activity and the urban landscape.  Whether by walking, biking, or riding the many horse-drawn carriages, exploring Central Park slowly is a must when visiting the city and to fully appreciate it as a favorite public space.

*Have you strolled through Central Park?  What was your favorite activity here?

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Central Park New York

44 thoughts on “Strolling through Central Park New York City”

  1. I’ve barely scratched the surface of Central Park. I would love to go with my husband and take one of those romantic boat rides one day. Is there winter skating in the park too? If there is I’d add that to my must do list.

    1. Thanks Leigh! Yes, they have winter skating in the park at the COnservatory Water and probably another area. The boat rides were so enticing and is a definite must-do on our return trip.

  2. The first time I visited NYC in high school, my parents wouldn’t take us into Central Park claiming that it was too dangerous. When I returned as an adult, I made sure I stopped by for a few hours. It’s been in so many movies and Sesame Street that I wanted to see everything in person. There wasn’t enough time to visit it all, so now I have an excuse to go back with my kids. BTW, I’m glad you mentioned that you’d been in Denmark. I was wondering why a Cali family would be so jetlagged in NY.

    1. Thanks Michele! I’ll clarify the jet lag part on the post :) I love how Central Park offers something for everyone. We were surprised at how well maintained and clean it was for being in the middle of NYC. I wouldn’t feel comfortable being there at night though.

  3. We visited New York earlier this year and during our stay often walked through the Park. it’s such a restful and beautiful place. I’m still getting to all my photos so It was great to have this reminder of our time there!

    1. I can’t wait to see your pictures, Jenny, especially since you went during the winter time. Despite the distance, it was such a fun walk with so much to see – time passes too quickly.

  4. I hope you get to return with your kids considering there’s so much for families to do inside the park. It was overwhelming and it would take a very long time to fully explore it. I loved the promenade too.

    1. The kids can’t get enough of the statues. There was never a time when Alice was empty. The Hans Christian andersen one here is a bit more easy to climb than the one in Copenhagen. :)

  5. I so enjoyed your pics of Central Park! We have been to NYC three times and have not yet been able to walk around the park. The first two visits were at New Year’s and it was really cold! We went on a short carriage ride in the park on our first visit but that was it. Our last trip was in March and I was hoping for beautiful spring-like weather but, unfortunately, the lovely temperatures turned to hail/rain/sleet/snow on the day of our arrival and continued for the few days that we were there. The next time I visit New York I have to get to Central Park!!

    1. Thanks Lisa! We’ve usually visited during Fall or Spring. I’m not sure if I can handle winter in New York. I hope you return soon and with better weather. June was a great time and it wasn’t too hot and humid yet and no rain.

  6. Debbie Beardsley @ European Travelista

    Central Park is an awesome part of NYC. All of your pictures are fantastic especially the Alice in Wonderland and boathouse! I just love finding a cool spot and sitting in the park.

    1. Thanks Debbie! I wish we had been more prepared and gotten a picnic basket to really enjoy the park. it was awesome how there were so many shaded areas to relax and enjoy the park.

    1. We were bummed we didn’t get to go up to Belvedere Castle. It will definitely be in our plans next time along with rowing on the lake. It’s such a great place for locals and visitors to hang out.

  7. What great shots of Central Park! We were there on our honeymoon and managed to get completely lost just walking from one side to the other. It’s surprising how quickly the trails can get you turned around if you don’t know the landmarks. We ended up asking a mountain bike police officer which way was West and he had to look around for a few moments to get his bearings too!

    And a bonus tip for people who read the comments: I had the worst hot dog of my life in the park. I don’t think that particular vendor ever changed the water in his cart since the dog tasted at least 3 days old! Look for a vendor that has a long line and a lot of turnover or else stick to the vendors near office buildings!

    1. Thanks Ryan! We were walking for about 3-4 hours and barely covered the area. We were carrying maps just to figure it out. It’s a great place to get lost in during the day. Thanks for the hotdog tip! We didn’t try any of the vendors but in any food cart or truck – we usually go for the longest lines too.

  8. I’ve always wanted to go to Central Park in the Springtime. I’ve been Fall, Summer and Winter but never Spring. It just seems like this would be the perfect time to rent one of those row boats! great pictures

    1. Thanks Jade! These were taken right before the start of summer so late Spring. It was the perfect time to visit and go on those rowboats. I’m sure mid Spring would have a lot of the wildflowers and blooms too.

  9. Love your shots. The last time I was in NYC would have been in the early 90s. I had lunch at the Tavern on the Green (I think that’s the right name} and it was lovely. I also did the carriage ride; expensive but fun. Would love to go back and explore the park even more.

    1. Thanks Nancie! We thought of doing the carriage rides but my I wasn’t sure I can handle the smell and yes, it was pricey! If it was winter, I’d probably do it. You’ve had some classic Central Park experiences. Now, you just need to go back and do the row boats.

  10. Thanks for showing us all the statues – I have been to the park several times but never stopped to really look at the statures – so fun to see the kids climbing all over some of them too!

    Thanks for linking up this week!

    1. Thanks for hosting as always, Becca! It’s amazing how huge this place is. I’ve never really noticed the statues before until we had kids and they seem to be a magnet for climbing.

  11. Isn’t it funny? We were just there in August and spent a whole day in Central Park, yet didn’t see many of things you photographed. It’s just so enormous. We’re also going back in April, so we have to take another stroll!

    1. We thought we saw many things after several visits and found that there were many things we missed too. How fun to stroll through the park during Spring for you and your family!

  12. eileen at FamiliesGo!

    Some of the best playgrounds in the city are in central park. We love the big stone slide in the playground above the children’s zoo, which is nice for smaller kids. The playground by the Met is awesome, too, for older kids.

    1. Thank you for all the playground tips, Eileen! We didn’t even get anywhere near the zoo. My kids loved the playgrounds they passed though. No matter how crowded it seemed, they found things to play on. It’s unbelievable how kid-friendly Central Park was.

  13. My daughter and I loved Central Park. We had planned to visit much more than we were able too.

    Belvedere Castle was great. We climbed the narrow stairs to the lookout at the top and it offered a beautiful view of the Great Lawn with the buildings popping out over the treeline.

    We’d hoped to see Balto and Alice in Wonderland but we got turned around a bit and ended up in the Ramble. Very pretty.

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