Best Spots for Fall Foliage in NYC

With the weather turning colder, the leaves are turning color. New York is known for its spectacular fall foliage, so while it’s still warm enough to take a stroll through the trees, why not stop by one of our favorite places for some seasonal views.

The Ramble at Central Park

In 1857, the Ramble was designed to be a wild, “natural” forest that would counterbalance the planned, ordered layout of the rest of Central Park, and remains so to this day. Hike through the closely-planted trees like you’re on a mountain path, and navigate the twists and turns of the streams running through the rocks. The most varied area in Central Park in terms of plant species, trees here include tulip trees, sycamores, oaks, and Kentucky coffee trees, making for a brilliant fall walk.

Central Park, 5th Avenue and 79th Street, Manhattan.

Fort Greene Park

Famed poet and nature-lover Walt Whitman campaigned for the creation of this park, and made it one of his usual walks; now you can follow in his footsteps. Brooklyn’s oldest major park is home to over 40 species of trees, including oaks, elms, osage oranges and ginkos; a Tree Trail will lead you around the different varieties, with descriptions you can read while viewing the array of colors.

Nostrand Avenue between Myrtle and DeKalb Avenues, Brooklyn.

Clove Lakes Park

Part of Staten Island’s green reserve, Clove Lakes Park is especially notable for its 300-year-old, 107-foot-tall tulip tree, rumored to be the oldest plant on Staten Island. You’ll find pine, maple and beech trees here, for some amazing views of foliage in the fall. When you’re done looking up, take a look at the ground: the park is famous for its deposits of serpentine, a grey-green rock with patterns that look like snake skin.

Victory Blvd at Clove Rd, Staten Island.

Lullwater at Prospect Park

Although the open Long Meadow is the best place for tanning, Frisbee and football, head to Lullwater for some of the best foliage spots in Brooklyn. Named for the lake running through this section of the park, Lullwater gives you double the view: the trees reflected off the water create an explosion of color. Walk out to the peninsula to get a nearly 360-degree view of the surroundings.

Prospect Park, Prospect Park West at 3rd, 9th or 15th Streets, Brooklyn.

Inwood Hill Park

Not only is this the last native hardwood forest in all of Manhattan, it’s also one of the most picturesque parks in the city for fall foliage. When its native tree population was overrun by Norway maple trees in the early 2000, New York’s Forest Restoration Team replaced them with brand-new tulip poplars, whose bright yellow leaves light up the park in the fall. Explore the salt marsh and caves scatters across the acres; you might even go for an impromptu archeology dig, since the Lenape tribe lived here in the 17th century.

Dykman Street at the Hudson River, Manhattan.


For the best views of the Manhattan skyline, check out these scenic overlooks.