There’s a new show in town this fall — and it isn’t on Broadway.
Thousands of visitors and New Yorkers are discovering they don’t need to leave the city to witness the explosive colors of fall foliage. They don’t even need to leave Manhattan. The North End of Central Park in Harlem at 110th Street offers the grand spectacle of an Adirondacks fall on a local stage.
“When you get to the woodlands at the North End, you’re going to find serenity and a sense of escape you just can’t find at the South entrance,” said Central Park Conservancy spokeswoman Dena Libner.
The North End of the Park, centered around the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center and the Harlem Meer, features a more rugged, isolated landscape than the crowded lawns of the South End.
Hundreds of tiny footpaths cut their way through trees radiating with color and over streams rambling to cascading waterfalls.
“To truly experience the North End, you need to go wander off for a little while,” Libner added.
One of the most popular spots to wander in the park is the area known as The Ravine, a 90-acre stream valley that cuts through the North Woods.
At its base, a once-deep loch designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux has now thinned into a gentle stream, which treats the hardened hikers to several waterfalls — the perfect spot for some fall photography.
“It’s beautiful with all the different colors and how it’s so quiet here,” said Guillermo Martinez, 36, a regular park visitor. “In 16 years I still haven’t seen all that this part of the park has to offer.”
For the less adventurous, Libner recommends one of the complimentary guided tours as the “perfect alternative to not getting lost in the woods.” Try the Amble Through the Ramble and the Manhattan Adirondacks Tour with an official parks guide to learn all about the park’s history and topography.
“There’s no need to go outside the city when you can just pack your lunch at home and go spend the day at the park,” said Libner.
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