BBR_NewYork-16

Start: Grand Army Plaza, at the southeast corner of Central Park at East 60th Street and 5th Avenue

Length: 7.1-mile loop

Approximate riding time: 1 hour

Best bike: Hybrid, road, or mountain bike

Terrain and trail surface: The trail is paved throughout and mostly flat. It goes uphill a short stretch after the Loeb Boathouse, heading toward the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Later, it goes downhill toward the Harlem Meer at the north end of the park. There’s then one steeper uphill climb along the northern edge of the park around North Woods.

Traffic and hazards: The route runs along Central Park’s main drives, which are car-free on weekends and certain weekday hours. Check the park’s website or the current New York City Bike Map for up-to-date information concerning auto-free park hours. Also, stick to the designated cycling lanes along the drives and don’t swerve into other lanes even when the park is auto-free as different lanes are for different modes—or speeds—of locomotion. Heading counterclockwise around the park, the innermost lane is for joggers and rollerbladers, the lane to its right is for slow cyclists, and the lane to the right of that is for faster cyclists. Overall, stay alert for pedestrians, joggers, rollerbladers, pedicabs, and horse carriages.

Things to see: Central Park, Carousel, The Dairy, Dana Discovery Center, Delacorte Theater, Conservatory Garden, Shakespeare Garden, Strawberry Fields, The Lake, Bethesda Terrace, Loeb Boathouse, Tavern on the Green, Grand Army Plaza, The Pond

Maps: New York City Bike Map, Central Park Map: www.centralparknyc.org

Getting there: By public transportation: Take the N, R, or Q subway to the 5th Avenue/59th Street station. Go north along Grand Army Plaza 1 block to the entrance to Central Park at East 60th Street. By car: If traveling by car, search for parking garages in the area before heading out. You might find space at Narragansett Garage at 124 E. 63rd St., Regency Garage Corp. at 245 E. 63rd St., Renoir Garage at 225 E. 63rd St., or at Distinctive Parking at 35 E. 61st St. GPS coordinates: N40 45.919’ / W73 58.392’

THE RIDE

Grand Army Plaza comprises two semicircular plazas that extend north and south of Central Park South. The plaza, whose design was inspired by Paris’s Place de la Concorde, is considered the main gateway to Central Park. Bustling with tourists, performers, horse carriages, and street vendors, adorned with the graceful Pulitzer Fountain, and bordered by the famed Plaza Hotel, the plaza makes for a dynamic start to an otherwise tranquil park ride.

Steer your way around pedestrians, horse carts, and ubiquitous pedicabs as you head north into Central Park on the marked bike lane along East Drive. To your left sits Central Park’s Pond, envisioned by Central Park’s renowned design duo, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, as an instant escape from the busyness of city life. It serves that same purpose still today, more than a century and a half after initial plans for the park were laid out. Just ahead, you’ll pass Wollman Rink on your left, where ice skaters revel in winter and amusement parkgoers rejoice in summer. Stop off along the overhead terrace for some people-watching if you wish before heading on. Just north of Wollman Rink, you’ll soon spot the Dairy on your left, one of the park’s five visitor centers. In the nineteenth century, this Victorian-style cottage served as serene sanctuary for children and caregivers who would come here for fresh milk and pastries. Stop in for park-related information, maps, and park paraphernalia, or continue straight where you’ll soon join the park’s main loop, which circumnavigates the entire park. Look to your left for oncoming cyclists before accessing the drive.

At East 72nd Street, East Drive forks, with one arm cutting westward through the park as Terrace Drive and the other arm continuing northward as East Drive alongside the lake. (To know what cross street you’re at, find the numbers on the nearest lamppost. The first two numbers reflect the nearest cross street, with 1 being omitted for cross streets in the hundreds.) At the fork, veer left to reach Bethesda Terrace, considered the heart of Central Park. It sits at the northern end of the grand Mall, an extended allée canopied by majestic elm trees on either side. One hundred fifty years ago, this was the go-to spot for displaying one’s Sunday best. (Access the Mall from its southern end at the end of your journey.) On your right Bethesda Terrace overlooks Central Park’s Lake and Bethesda Fountain, made famous by many a movie and TV show. You’ll be on the terrace’s upper level, an excellent lookout point.

Continuing en route, return to East Drive to head north along the east edge of the lake. On your left sits Loeb Boathouse, where you’ll find boat rentals, a cafe, and informal birdwatchers’ headquarters. Bird sightings are recorded in a notebook on a table inside the boathouse. A short uphill climb after the boathouse brings you to the rear of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on your right and the Obelisk on your left. Continuing onward, skirt the edge of the Great Lawn before reaching the park’s 106-acre Reservoir. A 1.58-mile trail loops around the reservoir (which was decommissioned in 1993) and has attracted sightseers, walkers, and runners for decades (Bill Clinton and Madonna, among them). Continuing onward, you’ll pass a clearing with baseball diamonds on your left and then reach the access road for the Conservatory Garden on your right. If you wish to visit the gardens, turn right onto the road that exits the park from the north end of the baseball diamonds. When you hit 5th Avenue, dismount and walk your bike along the sidewalk 2 blocks northward to the entrance to the Conservatory Garden at 104th Street. It’s one of the park’s best-kept secrets, comprising three distinct, smaller gardens—one French, one Italian, and one English in style. To explore, lock up your bike and enter on foot. The garden’s tiered hedges, crabapple tree allées, fountains, water lilies, and more make for a soothing break. Then return to East Drive and continue north through the park.

As you near the northern end of the park, East Drive takes you downhill, snaking left and right alongside the Harlem Meer, a man-made lake that’s a popular spot for catch-and-release fishing and family outings. Continuing en route and going uphill to the left, you’ll brush the edge of the North Woods, the park’s most secluded woodlands. Hug the edge of these 40-acre woods as you head south. Pass the park’s serene Pool on your right. Lined with benches, weeping willows, and grassy banks, the Pool is another temping rest spot.

South of the Pool, you’ll enter the more populated portion of Central Park once more along the western edge of the Reservoir, which brings you to several mid-park landmarks—the Delacorte Theater, Belvedere Castle, and Shakespeare Garden, among them. To visit any of them, dismount your bike and walk it along a park pathway on your left. (Biking is prohibited on park-internal pathways.) Then, continuing southward, you’ll pass the Lake on your left, replete with picnickers and boaters during summer months. Then, to visit Strawberry Fields up ahead, the living memorial to Beatles legend John Lennon, veer uphill to the right as you approach the lake’s southern end. (To bypass Strawberry Fields, simply stick to West Drive.) At the top of the hill, a pathway leads to Strawberry Fields on your left. To visit the memorial, dismount and enter the grounds on foot (biking prohibited). When you’re ready to continue, take the park entrance road at West 72nd Street to reenter the park and access West Drive once more.

The southern leg of your trip takes you past Sheep Meadow, a large, open lawn that today attracts sunbathers and Frisbee players, but that from 1864 to 1934 was the feeding grounds for a flock of sheep. The building that houses the Tavern on the Green (now a visitor center) used to be the living quarters of these sheep and their shepherd. Continuing onward, the road veers left, heading toward your starting point along what becomes Center Drive. After passing the playground on your left, glance to your right to the outcropping overhead where you can spot the rustic pergola that surrounds the Chess and Checkers House. Just opposite the house sits the park’s more-than-a-century-old Carousel, which has had three predecessors. The two most recent ones were destroyed by fire. The first, which stood here as early as 1871, was powered by a mule or horse from beneath the Carousel platform. It would start or stop at the tap of a foot.

Up ahead on your left, as you reach the south end of the grand Mall once more, you’ll be near the end of your journey. Stop off on one of the benches that line the allée for some enjoyable people-watching along the promenade before returning to your starting point at Grand Army Plaza. Alternately, orbit the park once more before ending your ride.

MILES AND DIRECTIONS

0.0Enter Central Park via the drive from the northwest corner of Grand Army Plaza.

0.3The Dairy is on your left.

0.4Come to a complete stop before joining the main park loop along East Drive. Check for oncoming cyclists to the left before veering to the left side of the road to take the cycling lane and go counterclockwise around the park (heading north).

0.7At the height of East 72nd Street, the drive forks, with one arm cutting through the park toward Bethesda Terrace along Terrace Drive and the other continuing north along East Drive. To visit Bethesda Terrace, veer left along Terrace Drive.

0.8Bethesda Terrace overlooks the Lake to your right and offers views of the Mall to your left. To continue en route, turn around to retrace your path to East Drive.

0.9Turn left onto East Drive, following the bike lane northward and brushing the east side of the Lake.

1.0Loeb Boathouse is on your left.

1.4The Metropolitan Museum of Art is on your right; the Obelisk is on your left.

2.7To visit the Conservatory Garden, turn right along the narrow park entrance road at East 102nd Street. When you reach the park’s edge at 5th Avenue, dismount your bike and walk it 2 blocks north along the sidewalk to reach the entrance to the Garden at East 104th Street. Lock up your bike to explore the Garden on foot. When you’re ready to continue, retrace your route to East Drive in the park. Continue north along the drive. (The 0.5 mile out to the Conservatory Garden and back are not included in this mileage.)

3.3You can reach the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center on the banks of the Harlem Meer by foot on your right. (Biking is prohibited on the park pathway.) To continue en route, follow the drive as it veers left to go uphill (west and then south), brushing the edge of the North Woods. East Drive becomes West Drive.

4.0The Pool is on your right.

5.2The Delacorte Theater and Shakespeare Garden are accessible by foot on your left.

5.3The Swedish Cottage and Belvedere Castle are accessible by foot on your left.

5.5Veer right for an optional trip uphill to Strawberry Fields. Alternately, continue straight along West Drive. (The mileage remains the same.)

5.6When you reach the top of the hill, Strawberry Fields is accessible by foot on your left. To explore, lock up your bike and enter on foot. When you’re ready to continue, remount your bike and catch the park entrance drive at West 72nd Street to the left to rejoin West Drive at the bottom of the hill.

5.8Come to a complete stop before rejoining West Drive. Check for oncoming cyclists to the left before veering to the left side of West Drive to retake the bike lane, heading south.

5.9Sheep Meadow is on your left.

6.0Tavern on the Green is on your right.

6.5The Chess and Checkers House is on a cliff to your right.

6.6The Carousel is on your left.

6.8The Mall is on your left. Dismount to explore and take a post-ride break. Or, if you wish, orbit the park once more. Eventually, return to your starting point at Grand Army Plaza via the park access road just opposite the Mall. As you exit the park along this East Drive access road, use caution. It’s bumpy and often crowded with horse carriages, horse dropping, pedicabs, and pedestrians.

7.1Arrive at your starting point.