Central Park, Sep 26–Oct 2: write off the weekend, then four straight days of 72–77° and sunshine

        Do not fight this weekend. Saturday is 92% rain, Sunday is 96%, Monday is still 78%, and the Global Citizen Festival puts tens of thousands into mid-park on Saturday afternoon on top of it. Then Tuesday the rain stops completely and stays stopped — four consecutive days of 72–77° sunshine, the best stretch since August.

Weather this week

Saturday 61° and 92% rain; Sunday 67° and 96%; Monday 67° and 78%. Then Tuesday 72° and partly sunny at a 2% chance, Wednesday 76°, Thursday 77°, Friday 77°. Bank the weekend as lost and plan Tuesday through Friday properly — that is where every good mile this week lives.

Sat Sep 26 — the festival owns mid-park, in the rain

The Global Citizen Festival runs 2–10 PM on the Great Lawn, going ahead in steady rain. The loop is not closed, but the crowd crosses it for eight hours and both transverses carry the traffic from around noon.

If you go out, go before noon — and know it will be wet and the footing greasy. East Meadow is closed and 44 private bookings have the south end taken.

Worth a slow walk if you are out anyway: the Conservatory Garden Tour at 11, behind the scenes with the staff who keep it. The garden is at its autumn turn and rain suits it.

Sun Sep 27 — 96%, and the honest advice is don’t

A full washout at 67°. Birding Basics still meets at Belvedere Castle at 10 and the Seneca Village Tour goes at 2 from Mariners’ Gate — birders will tell you a wet Ramble in migration season is worth the soaking, and they are not wrong.

But if you were planning a long ride or run, this is not the day. East Meadow closed a second day.

Mon Sep 28 — the last wet day

67°, 78% showers, and one thing booked in the whole park. Clear drives, bad air, greasy roads. A short easy day if you need one.

Tue Sep 29 – Fri Oct 2 — four days, and they are all yours

Nothing touches a drive for the rest of the week.

  Tuesday: 72°, partly sunny, 2% rain. Almost nothing permitted. This is the pick of the week.
  Wednesday: 76° and sunny. Evening gatherings at Hernshead and the Bandshell, nothing in your way.
  Thursday: 77°. Charley Crockett closes SummerStage at Rumsey 7–10 PM, so expect an evening crowd on the 72nd Street approaches — daytime is clean. A Conservancy Birding Event meets at the Swedish Cottage 9–11 AM.
  Friday: 77°. Birding Basics at Belvedere at 10 and the Iconic Views tour at 2.

Put the long effort on Tuesday or Wednesday. After three wet days the roads will be clean and the air will be as good as it gets in October.

One thing to note for later: the Global Citizen permit releases the Great Lawn on October 1, so the fencing and build-out that has fenced off the middle of the park for a fortnight comes down midweek.

Steady all week

Bethesda Terrace and Fountain is still closed all day, every day — and the permits now run to October 25, twelve days beyond what the record showed last week. Another month of routing around it.

Bird Watching with Birding Bob runs five mornings from Loeb Boathouse at 7:30 and 8:30. Migration is still going.

East 106th Street lawn is out Monday through Thursday; Bowling Green closed all day Tuesday. Neither on your line.

Quick recap

  Weekend is a washout — 92% Saturday, 96% Sunday, 78% Monday.
  Global Citizen Festival Saturday 2–10 PM: mid-park gone, crowd crossing the loop.
  Tuesday through Friday: 72–77°, sunny, nothing booked. The week’s real riding and running.
  The Great Lawn is released October 1 — fencing comes down midweek.
  Migration still running: Birding Bob five mornings, Birding Basics Sunday and Friday.
  Bethesda Terrace now closed through October 25.

Wait for Tuesday,
Central Park Guide