An 843-acre designed landscape of lawns, woods and lakes running through the middle of Manhattan
Central Park fills a long rectangle of 843 acres between the towers of the Upper East and Upper West Sides, stretching about four kilometres from north to south. It is entirely man-made: lawns, woodlands, streams, lakes and winding paths were shaped by its designers to give city dwellers a sense of open countryside, and later additions brought ball fields, a carousel, skating rinks, a zoo, gardens and performance spaces.
Well-known corners include Bethesda Terrace and its fountain, Bow Bridge over The Lake, the tree-lined Mall, Sheep Meadow and the Great Lawn, the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, Belvedere Castle and the wooded Ramble. Further north are the formal Conservatory Garden and the wilder North Woods. The park is cared for by the Central Park Conservancy, a non-profit that raises most of its budget from donors and members.
In the 1850s the city's commissioners set aside a sparsely populated area of small farms, workshops, marsh and rocky hills, and in 1857-58 they ran a design competition won by Olmsted and Vaux's Greensward Plan. The first areas opened in late 1858 and the park was completed in 1876. Its creation displaced around 1,600 residents through eminent domain, about 225 of them in Seneca Village, a predominantly African-American settlement with many property owners, whose story the Conservancy now tells on site.
The park became a National Historic Landmark in 1963 and a Scenic Landmark of the City of New York in 1974. After a period of severe decline from the 1960s, citizens formed the Central Park Conservancy in 1980 to restore it in partnership with the city, and the Conservancy has managed the park since 1998.
For New Yorkers the park is a shared back garden, used for exercise, games on the ball fields and picnics on the lawns. The New York City Marathon passes through every November, and the Conservancy runs the Central Park Farm Stand. Restrooms are free, except at the zoo.
Most people simply walk, run or cycle the park's loops and paths, or spread out on the big lawns on a sunny day. The Conservancy runs guided tours such as Iconic Views of Central Park, woodland walks in the North Woods from the Dana Discovery Center and Conservatory Garden tours, and posts a fall foliage tracker in autumn. In winter Gottesman Rink at the Davis Center opens for skating. There are visitor centres, gift shops and places to eat, including the Central Park Boathouse, and the park also contains the Central Park Zoo.
The park is open all year from early morning until 1am. Late spring and summer bring green lawns and outdoor life, autumn turns the woodlands colourful (the Conservancy tracks the foliage), and from November the skating rink opens. Weekday mornings are the quietest.
Checked against the sources on 29 October 2026. Opening times and fees can change — confirm before you go.
General guidance from our specialists, not official information.
The park is bordered by Fifth Avenue and the museums of the Upper East Side on one side and the Upper West Side on the other, with Midtown and Times Square a short walk south and Harlem to the north. Ferries to the Statue of Liberty leave from The Battery at the other end of Manhattan.
United States · 9 nights4★ HotelUnited States · 8 nights3★ LodgeThis guide was researched from the sources below and reviewed by our team on 29 October 2026. Facts under “Verified information” link to the page they were checked on; travel tips are general guidance. Photos are credited on each image.
