It’s the perfect time of year to see beautiful fall colors and changing leaves! Seeing fall colors in New York’s Central Park is definitely on our list of favorites. There are many other parks in NYC with beautiful fall colors, but we love New York City’s Central Park the most to experience the vibrant and abundant autumn colors! In fact, autumn in Central Park is one of my favorite times of year! Even when the sky’s look grey, the vivid yellow, orange, red, and purple leaves brighten things up!
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Central Park is Beautiful in Fall or any Season!
Table of contents
- Central Park is Beautiful in Fall or any Season!
- Central Park’s History
- Beautiful Fall Colors and Iconic Landmarks in Central Park
- Activities in Central Park Besides Beautiful Fall Colors
- Interesting NYC Places to see Close to Central Park
- Great Places to Eat In Central Park and see Beautiful Fall Colors
- Final Thoughts on Seeing Beautiful Fall Colors in Central Park
- Related Travel Articles
Central Park’s History
This oasis in the center of the “concrete jungle” of Manhattan was built in the 1800’s (1858) to bring some natural elements and recreational activities to the city. There are over 800 acres of flora and fauna to explore here! Millions of visitors experience the beauty of Central Park every year. It’s design has won many awards and designations over the many years it has been around. It is truly an iconic New York landmark!
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Beautiful Fall Colors and Iconic Landmarks in Central Park
You really can spend a whole day in Central Park because there are many different locations to find within the park besides the fall leaves. Grab a map from the visitor’s center or take a tour to find all of the amazing places within the park!
One of our favorite places to find in the park was the Belvedere Castle. There’s a beautiful view of the grounds from there! Some other locations are Strawberry Fields (Imagine mosaic), Bethesda Fountain, the Alice in Wonderland statue, and many others.
Another great area to experience all of the beautiful fall colors in Central Park is to walk along the Mall (from 66th Street to 72nd in the center of the park). It is surrounded by trees that have vibrant yellow leaves in autumn and the pathway ends at Bethesda Fountain. There are also statues of literary greats such as William Shakespeare and Robert Burns along the way as well as park benches to rest on if you need a break or just want to enjoy the view.
Some of our favorite tours to do in New York City revolve around food and drink, but we also love observation from high above!
- NYC Prohibition Pub and History Tour
- Hell’s Kitchen Foud Tour
- Heritage Walking Tour with a Local
- Top of the Rockefeller Center Observation Deck Ticket
Activities in Central Park Besides Beautiful Fall Colors
- There’s the Central Park Zoo that is not huge, but was a great half-day thing to do and if you catch the Delacorte clock outside on the hour you’ll get a nice surprise of bronze animals rotating and chiming nursery rhymes. Here’s a video of the unique clock that we took last winter.
- The Central Park Carousel is worth a stop too! (okay, I love carousels!)
- Bike rentals and guided carriage rides are there too if you want to cover more ground quickly.
- There’s an ice skating rink in the winter that is fun.
- We have an article on other Iconic New York Landmarks that are worth a visit!
- A guided Central Park pedicab tour is a great way to experience all that this park has to offer!
- See why we think New York is a also a beautiful winter trip destination idea for the holidays
Interesting NYC Places to see Close to Central Park
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art (E 82nd St. and 5th – Worth spending a whole day here!)
- The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (E 88th St. and 5th – The unique design of this museum as well as their permanent art collection makes this a must-visit)
- The Grafitti Hall of Fame (E 106th St)
- Museum of Natural History (W 81st St)
Explore the Big Apple with a loved one this holiday season.
Great Places to Eat In Central Park and see Beautiful Fall Colors
- Public Fare – (W 81 St and Central Park)- seasonal cafe with wine and beer too!
- Loeb Boathouse – (near E 72 nd) Beautiful lakefront view! There’s also an express cafe here too.
- The Met Dining Room – (E 82nd and 5th) Inside the museum local and seasonal ingredients. Definitely make reservations.
- Le Pain Quitidien – (E. 72nd and 5th) Experience the beautiful fall colors of Central Park while dining outdoors!
- Tavern on the Green – (W. 67th St.) – Amazing food and craft cocktails!
- Wafels and Dinges – (inside the park on Central Drive) – Handmade waffles!
Final Thoughts on Seeing Beautiful Fall Colors in Central Park
We don’t really get fall colors here in New Orleans until much later than other places with our longer season of warm weather. I guess that’s why I love seeing fall colors and planning vacations where we can experience the beautiful leaves that autumn brings.
Driving through the mountains and seeing the beauty is one way to do it, but being out in the open and walking through Central Park during fall is such an amazing experience, I can’t think of anywhere else that I want to go for that autumn feeling that we miss here!
Central Park is also beautiful during any season and when it is covered in snow and the lake is frozen over is another favorite time to visit!
Our Weekend Trip Ideas article also includes New York City because there is so much to do here!
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