Fall Foliage with New York City Parks!

Fall foliage season is an excellent time to visit New York City’s parks. Some of the most popular parks in New York afford glimpses of spectacular fall colors—Central Park’s Literary Walk and Prospect Park’s Pond are two great places to begin— and Parks Department Urban Park Rangers organize fall programs to help you take advantage of the fall foliage right here in the city. While you’re out enjoying fall, keep in mind that there is a lot of history that accompanies the best fall foliage sites.

First, a word about the trees that populate the forested areas of New York City’s parks. Since 1988, Parks’ Natural Resources Group and others have planted hundreds of thousands of native trees in an effort to reforest City parks. Over the years, Parks’ forests have been invaded by species such as the Norway maple, which was brought from Europe as an ornamental tree and which is blamed for displacing native trees by creating a dense shade that inhibits other species from growing. The Norway maple is found in 13 states, from Maine to Virginia and as far west as Wisconsin. NRG’s Forest Restoration Team has worked with the Urban Forest and Education Program to remove Norway maples and replace them with native Tulip poplar, sweetgum, American maple, and oak trees.

The Urban Park Rangers Great Hikes of NYC program takes participants through wooded areas of parks in four boroughs: Pelham Bay and Van Cortlandt Parks in the Bronx; Highbridge and Inwood Hill Parks in Manhattan; Alley Pond, Cunningham, and Forest Parks as well as Fort Totten in Queens; and through the Staten Island Greenbelt. Park Rangers explore the colors of autumn during walks through the woods, identify trees, and discuss how leaves transform from green to red, yellow, and orange. Some trees to look for include white oak trees, the leaves of which develop a purple hue when they turn, and tulip trees and hickory trees, both of whose leaves turn yellow, and of course maple trees, whose reds, oranges, and yellow colors epitomize “fall colors.”

Click here for a full listing of the parks across New York City where you can find Fall Foliage at its best!

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