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Central Park is 843 acres, the first major landscaped public park in the United States, and one of the most visited urban parks in the country, with about 42 million visits a year. You will not see it all, and you should not try; what follows is the shortlist of what is worth stopping for and a walking route that links them.
We at Travelmyth, the hotel search engine that ranks stays by your interests and needs across 60 stay categories, put this guide together because the park's size is exactly what defeats first-timers. We have picked the landmarks that reward the detour and strung them into one south-to-north route, so you spend your time walking through the park rather than around it. It is a companion to our wider guide to things to do in New York City.
A handful of places do most of the work. Bethesda Terrace and Fountain overlook the southern shore of the Lake, and the fountain, crowned by the Angel of the Waters statue, sits at the center of the terrace. Just west, Bow Bridge is the cast-iron footbridge that crosses the Lake on foot. Above them, Belvedere Castle doubles as a visitor center and reopened in June 2019 after a major restoration. On the west side, Strawberry Fields is a landscaped memorial near West 72nd Street dedicated to the memory of John Lennon, shaped with landscape architect Bruce Kelly. Further north, the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir was renamed in 1994 for the former first lady.
The trick is to follow a mostly south-to-north route with one west-side detour to Strawberry Fields, rather than crisscross. Enter from the southeast near Grand Army Plaza or the southwest at Columbus Circle, and work northward to Bethesda Terrace and the Fountain, across Bow Bridge and around the Lake, over to Strawberry Fields on the west side, then north to Belvedere Castle and on to the Reservoir if you have the legs. Done this way, the highlights fall in a rough south-to-north sequence and you leave the park near the museums on the Upper East or Upper West Side.
If you are short on time, do just the southern loop, Bethesda Terrace and Bow Bridge, which holds the greatest hits in under an hour. Families often build a visit around the Central Park Zoo, and runners favor the loop around the Reservoir. The park is big enough that everyone can carve their own version out of the same map.
Early mornings are the quiet ones, before the paths fill; weekends from late morning are the busiest. Fall brings the foliage the park is famous for, spring the blossom, and winter a stark, quieter beauty. Whatever the season, give yourself a clear window; the park rewards an unhurried pace more than a fast lap.
Beyond the walking route, the Central Park Zoo reopened in 1988 after a major renovation. The park itself is free to walk; a few attractions inside it, like the Zoo, are ticketed separately, so check those before you go.
Staying near the park, whether around Midtown, the Upper West Side or the Upper East Side, puts an entrance and a morning walk within easy reach, with the museums close by. On Travelmyth you can filter New York stays by the features that matter to you, such as Skyscraper, Boutique-style or Sustainability, and combine two of those filters at once to narrow the long list to the handful that fit how you travel.