New York City is known for its skyline and its energy, but its parks are some of the most beautiful places in the world to experience autumn. When the leaves begin to turn in October, the city takes on a quieter, more contemplative quality that surprises visitors who have only ever seen it in summer, and this year the season builds toward one of its most exciting weekends, with Halloween on Saturday, October 31, and the TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 1. Whether you are coming to run, to cheer, or simply to enjoy the color, these five walks offer some of the best fall foliage the city has to offer.
Prospect Park
Prospect Park in Brooklyn is one of the finest places in New York City to walk in autumn, and its 585 acres reward exploration in almost any direction. The park's woodland paths are lined with tulip trees, maple trees, oak trees, and raspberry bushes that turn deep gold, amber, and red through October and into November, and the Long Meadow offers sweeping open views of the surrounding canopy at its peak. The Prospect Park Alliance recommends two routes in particular for fall foliage: the walk from the Peninsula to Lookout Hill for lake views and elevated perspectives over the tree line, and the gentler path from Grand Army Plaza through Meadowport Arch for a quieter, more reflective experience. The park also contains the only remaining old-growth forest in Brooklyn, a stretch of original woodland that feels genuinely ancient and is at its most atmospheric in fall.
Central Park
Central Park is the obvious choice for good reason, and no amount of familiarity diminishes what the park offers in autumn. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, every path, planting, and sight line was conceived to deliver a specific visual and emotional effect, and the fall transformation is one of the most carefully orchestrated of those effects. The Ramble, a 36-acre woodland at the center of the park, is the most immersive foliage experience on the island, with dense canopy overhead and winding paths that feel far removed from the surrounding city. The Central Park Conservancy publishes a Fall Foliage Guide each autumn that maps the best trees and peak viewing times by location, which is worth consulting before your visit to make the most of the timing. Peak color in the park typically runs from mid-October through early November.
Clove Lakes Park
On Staten Island, Clove Lakes Park offers a woodlands experience that feels genuinely removed from the urban environment surrounding it. The park spans 198 acres of wetlands, lakes, and dense forest, with running paths and walking trails that wind through some of the most impressive fall foliage in any of the five boroughs. The most celebrated resident of Clove Lakes is a 300-year-old tulip tree, one of the oldest living things on Staten Island, which turns a brilliant gold in October and draws visitors specifically to see it. The park also has a waterfall, three interconnected lakes, and enough wildlife to make it a worthwhile destination at any time of year, but autumn is when it is genuinely at its best.
Inwood Hill Park
At the northern tip of Manhattan, Inwood Hill Park offers something that almost no other park in the city can: a fall foliage experience in a landscape that has never been significantly altered by human design. Unlike Central Park or Prospect Park, which were both meticulously engineered by landscape architects, Inwood Hill is a natural forest that pre-dates the city itself, with rocky outcroppings, ancient caves, and old-growth trees that create a setting unlike anything else in Manhattan. The park contains the island's last remaining natural salt marsh, and its elevated hiking trail offers views over the Hudson River and the Spuyten Duyvil Creek below. Bald eagles have been spotted in the park during migration season, which overlaps with peak fall color in October, making it one of the more rewarding walks in the city for anyone who wants to combine foliage with wildlife.
Van Cortlandt Park
Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx is the third largest park in New York City, covering 1,146 acres of wetlands, meadows, and dense woodland that make it one of the most expansive fall foliage destinations in any of the five boroughs. The park's cross-country trail, one of the most storied running courses in the country, winds through the woodland interior and offers continuous canopy views throughout its length, making it as good a walk as it is a run in autumn. Van Cortlandt also hosts seasonal programming throughout October and into November, including guided nature hikes and community events that give visitors a more structured way to explore the park's considerable acreage. The combination of scale, biodiversity, and relative quiet makes it a particularly rewarding destination for visitors who want to spend a full morning or afternoon in the park without retracing their steps.
Halloween and Marathon Weekend in New York City
Halloween on Saturday, October 31, and the TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 1, fall on the same weekend this year, making it one of the most festive weekends of the fall, with costumes and celebrations across the city on Saturday and crowds lining the course on Sunday. More than 50,000 runners will take part as New York Road Runners celebrates the 50th anniversary of the race's route through all five boroughs, starting at the foot of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on Staten Island and finishing in Central Park. First Avenue on the Upper East Side is the loudest place to watch, Fifth Avenue between 110th and 90th Streets is where runners need encouragement the most, and Central Park South offers the most reliable free view of the final stretch. Clocks also fall back that same morning and streets close early along the course, so check the official New York Road Runners closure list before heading out and plan to get around on foot.
Stay With Us
New York City's fall foliage season typically peaks between mid-October and early November, and The Marmara Park Avenue's Midtown location puts you within reach of all five of these walks. Book your stay and spend your autumn mornings in some of the most beautiful green spaces in the country.
