Explore Manhattan’s Central Park, from neighborhood favorites to unique curated events. Start with the best-known things to do, then check out "What's happening" for upcoming limited events in Central Park.
These special events are sourced from the web and social media, then carefully curated based on cool and unique events you might enjoy doing in Central Park.
We update this page on a daily basis, so be sure to bookmark us and return for fresh events.
Watching ducks from the shore of The Pond at Central Park, you still have skyscrapers in view above the trees. The water sits below street level near Fifth Avenue, so the change comes from descending into the landscape. Paths follow a U-shaped shoreline around the rocky, wooded hill of Hallett Nature Sanctuary, with rock outcrops offering places to look across the water.
Penguins, puffins and sea lions give you three very different animals to watch at Central Park Zoo. The Wildlife Conservation Society runs this compact zoo near the park’s southeast corner, where the exhibits move between sharply contrasting habitats. You can explore the Tropic Zone’s rainforest, visit the Polar Circle and watch sea lions in the outdoor pool at the Central Garden.
Rowing from the Central Park Boat House puts you on the Lake, with views toward Bow Bridge and Bethesda Terrace. When seasonal rentals are running and the weather allows, you can take a rowboat out beside the wooded shores of the Ramble. Historic boat landings become easier to examine from the water, adding smaller architectural details to those familiar views.
Birdwatchers come to The Ramble because migrating birds pass through Central Park along the Atlantic Flyway. You can join the looking and listening while following winding paths through 36 acres of woodland. Dense planting, rock outcrops, rustic bridges and a meandering stream make this a substantial change from the open Lake, even where the water remains close by.
Shakespeare supplies the planting theme at Shakespeare Garden: the herbs, flowers, shrubs and trees appear in his plays and poems. You can follow bronze plaques through the four-acre hillside below Belvedere Castle, reading passages beside the plants they describe. With children, finding the plaques gives the garden visit a concrete activity, and the connection between a living plant and a line of verse is right there to discover.
If you enjoy flowers and sculpture together, Conservatory Garden gives you three distinct gardens to explore in the park’s northern section. Make this and nearby Harlem Meer a separate outing from the southern stops. The ornate Vanderbilt Gate leads into six acres divided among Italianate, French and English designs, each with a different arrangement of planting and water.
For a picnic after Conservatory Garden, you can continue to the lawns around Harlem Meer. Bench-lined paths follow this body of water in the park’s northeast corner, with views toward the rocky bluffs of the Fort Landscape. Oaks, bald cypresses, beeches and ginkgos grow around the shore, giving you plenty to look at between the water and the trees.
Find upcoming street fairs, performances and other unique events in Central Park.
4 things worth doing in the next 7 days · Friday, October 16th – Thursday, October 22nd
| Event | Date | Where | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
 New Dendrology at the Arsenal Gallery | Fri, Oct 16 | Arsenal (in Central Park), Central ParkCentral Park · Manhattan | 9:00 am |
No events listed for Saturday, October 17 yet.
No events listed for Sunday, October 18 yet.
| Event | Date | Where | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
 Exploring Art, History, and Global Cultures in a Landmark Museum | Mon, Oct 19 | 1000 5th Ave, at 82 St., Upper East Side, Manhattan, 10028Central Park · Manhattan | 10am |
No events listed for Tuesday, October 20 yet.
| Event | Date | Where | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
 Call-an-Ancestor: African Diaspora Storytelling | Wed, Oct 21 | 1280 5th Ave, btwn E 109th St & Tito Puente Wy, East Harlem, Manhattan, 10029Central Park · Manhattan | 7pm |
| Event | Date | Where | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Film Fest: Animated Films from Africa and the African Diaspora | Thu, Oct 22 | 1280 5th Ave, btwn E 109th St & Tito Puente Wy, East Harlem, Manhattan, 10029Central Park · Manhattan | 7pm |
A price sits under the hours when an event is not free. Tap an event for its details, the time and place, and the organizer's link.
Eleven artists explore relationships between people and trees through projects involving tarot readings and commitment ceremonies.
🚇 5 Av/59 St (N R W) · 4 min walk
🍴 Eat nearby · 4 places, closest 5 min walk
More info ▾
Explore art, history, and global cultures at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
🚇 86 St (4 5 6) · 8 min walk
🍴 Eat nearby · 4 places, closest 8 min walk
More info ▾
You can contribute to an archive of diasporic memory while a DJ incorporates some of the evening’s voices into a live set.
🚇 110 St-Malcolm X Plaza (2 3) · 5 min walk
🍴 Eat nearby · 4 places, closest 6 min walk
More info ▾
African filmmakers and a Cabo Verde student collective share the bill at this animation festival.
🚇 110 St-Malcolm X Plaza (2 3) · 5 min walk
🍴 Eat nearby · 4 places, closest 6 min walk
More info ▾
Lawns, shaded woodlands and the Harlem Meer make up the bulk of a visit, with Bethesda Terrace among the places to walk and sit.
4.8★ from 300,357 Google reviews
More info ▾
Holds one of the largest art collections in the world, spanning ancient works through contemporary pieces, housed in a large building.
4.8★ from 94,256 Google reviews
More info ▾
It's a small zoo you can walk in an afternoon, and the day tends to organise itself around the feedings — penguins at 10:40am and 2:30pm, sea lions at 11:30am and 3:30pm.
4.4★ from 26,280 Google reviews
More info ▾
This is a horse-drawn carriage ride through Central Park, run by a family company since 1979.
4.8★ from 4,367 Google reviews
More info ▾
Central Park's formal garden, six acres on the East Side between 104th and 106th, entered through the ornate Vanderbilt Gate.
4.8★ from 2,940 Google reviews
More info ▾
In summer the rink becomes CityPickle pickleball courts, which you book in advance.
4.3★ from 1,229 Google reviews
More info ▾
A horse-drawn carriage ride around Central Park, picking up in front of 200 Central Park South.
4.9★ from 1,226 Google reviews
More info ▾
A driver takes the family through Central Park by carriage and points out landmarks along the way.
5★ from 1,177 Google reviews
More info ▾
You walk 36 acres of woodland in the middle of Central Park, on winding paths and trails that cross rustic bridges, a meandering stream and dramatic rock outcroppings.
4.7★ from 806 Google reviews
More info ▾
A guided pedicab ride through Central Park with a licensed guide, starting from Central Park South at W 59th and 6th Avenue.
5★ from 645 Google reviews
More info ▾
This is a four-acre hillside garden below Belvedere Castle planted only with trees, shrubs, flowers and herbs that Shakespeare mentions in his plays and poems.
4.7★ from 629 Google reviews
More info ▾
The Meer is the water body in Central Park's northeast corner, between 106th and 110th on the East Side, and a family can spend the day working around its edge.
4.7★ from 543 Google reviews
More info ▾
A carousel dating to 1908, in Central Park.
4.3★ from 455 Google reviews
More info ▾
A tennis facility with 30 courts, along with a pro shop, locker room and snack bar.
4.4★ from 433 Google reviews
More info ▾
Forty acres of woodland at the north end of Central Park, mid-Park between 101st and 110th, built on existing hills and large rock outcrops with cascades, rustic bridges and a network of paths to follow.
4.7★ from 428 Google reviews
More info ▾
The Pond sits on the East Side between 59th and 63rd, set below street level so you descend into it from Fifth Avenue.
4.8★ from 354 Google reviews
More info ▾
An ice rink at the north end of Central Park, on the Harlem Meer, open for the skating season from November.
4.1★ from 288 Google reviews
More info ▾
Four acres of woodland on a rocky hill above the Pond, in the southeast corner of Central Park between 60th and 62nd on the East Side.
4.7★ from 263 Google reviews
More info ▾
4.8★ from 164 Google reviews
More info ▾
The Ravine is a densely wooded valley mid-Park at 103rd, in the North Woods.
4.7★ from 130 Google reviews
More info ▾
You ride Central Park in a horse-drawn carriage with a licensed guide who talks you through the landmarks as you go.
4.9★ from 129 Google reviews
More info ▾
A lakeside spot in the park where you can rent a rowboat and take it out on the water.
4.1★ from 114 Google reviews
More info ▾
Fourteen outdoor pickleball courts laid over Wollman Rink at the southeast corner of Central Park.
4.2★ from 97 Google reviews
More info ▾
A quiet spot in Central Park.
4.8★ from 77 Google reviews
More info ▾
The Skate Circle is an outdoor roller-skating session in Central Park run by volunteers, with a DJ playing at each one — the schedule lists a different DJ most weekend days.
4.7★ from 73 Google reviews
More info ▾
4.9★ from 43 Google reviews
More info ▾
Both have water features and climbing options, but one gives energetic kids more room while the other turns play equipment into an ancient city.
For a meal inside the park, choose a sit-down restaurant with a rustic menu or a café with food you can take away.
These two landmarks pair designed stonework with views across different parts of the park.
The weekend's best, checked and cut, in your inbox before you make plans.
No spam, no selling your email. One email a week, unsubscribe anytime.