Type: Road, Loop
Difficulty: 3 / 10
Altitude: 100 ft
Dog Friendly: Yes, with leash
Jog-Stroller Friendly: Yes
Filed Under: Running
The Upper Loop of Central Park runs the loop road and crosses at 72nd on the south for 5.2 miles. If you take the 102nd cutoff and just do the middle section of the loop, the distance is cut to 4.3 miles.
Offering both hilly and flat terrain and a combination of surfaces, Central Park is a runner's paradise. The site of the New York Marathon's final 3.2 miles, Central Park offers many scenic distractions while providing a challenge to all levels of runners. The 843 acres of manmade park and forest, in the heart of Manhattan, is great for running, walking, biking, people-watching, or just enjoying a day relaxing in the middle of the city.
Locations: There are three optimal places to run in Central Park:
? Park Drives: Circling the entire Park, the drives provide three long distance routes - 6.1 miles, 5.2 miles, or 1.7 miles, or shorter distances if you cross the Park at a number of scenic locations.
? The Reservoir: A soft surface on a 2? slope, the Reservoir track is 1.58 miles around and offers some of the best skyline views in the Park and many scenic opportunities. In spring, cherry trees alongside the track are in bloom, and in summer, the evaporating water cools the surrounding air.
? Bridle Trails: There are three conjoined soft surface bridle trails to choose from. The Reservoir loop, adjacent to the Reservoir, totals 1.5 miles, the North Meadow loop totals 1.1 miles, and the southern spur totals 1.5 miles.
When: The Park is closed to traffic Monday through Friday, 10:00am to 3:00pm, and from 7:00pm to 10:00pm, and weekends from 7:00pm Friday to 6:00am Monday. When the Park is open to traffic, a runner?s lane is always available, but we do not recommend using the Park drives when open to traffic. Runners can run at any time, but the Park is officially closed from 1:00 am to 6:00 am.
Park Distances (see the map to the runs for details on where they go, or the image gallery for a better map of the park to take with you running!):
Loop (the whole thing) - 6.1 miles
Upper Loop taking 102nd St.cutoff - 5.2 miles
Lower Loop - 1.7 miles
Point-to-Point
1-2 - 0.7678 miles
2-3 - upper loop 1.1503 miles
2-3 - shortcut 0.2662 miles
3-4 - 1.7083 miles
4-5 - by lower loop 1.4073 miles
4-5 - across 72nd St. 0.3080 miles
5-1 - 0.9936 miles
Reservoir
Reservoir - 1.57 miles
Lower Bridle Loop - 1.66 miles
Full Bridle Loop (includes loop around North Meadow and Reservoir) - 2.5 miles
The Natural History Museum is a convenient place to park and start your runs. You can access the park just about anywhere and get to the trails and road runs, however.
Posted by: tradkelly and last modified on Feb 02, 2006 by thoos
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