Central Park, Oct 12–18: ride Monday and Tuesday, skip Thursday entirely, and dress for 40° by the weekend

Friday’s email ran through the 16th, so the midweek will be familiar — the weekend is new.

        Friday’s email ran through the 16th, so the midweek will be familiar — the weekend is new.

Two clear days, then two bad ones, then winter clothing. Monday and Tuesday are open and 71°. Wednesday and Thursday both have East Drive held from midnight to 8 PM, and Thursday adds a charity walk on the Lower Loop as well. Then Friday rains and the temperature falls twenty degrees — 40° on Saturday night.

Weather this week

Columbus Day 71°, Tuesday 71° and sunny, Wednesday 76° — the last warm day of the year. Thursday 67°, Friday 68° with showers likely at 61%, then 56° Saturday and 54° Sunday, with 40° overnight Saturday. Sunday is sunny and cold, which is good running weather if you dress for it.

Mon Oct 12 – Tue Oct 13 — your whole clear window

Columbus Day has one event in the park (skate circle, Dead Road, afternoon) and Tuesday has none at all. Drives clear both days, 71°, barely any rain risk.

Put the long effort here. After Tuesday there is not another clean day on the road until Sunday, and Sunday is 54°.

Wed Oct 14 — 76°, and East Drive is gone until 8 PM

The warmest day left this year, and an all-day permit holds Cedar Hill, the Hans Christian Andersen Statue and East Drive from midnight to 8 PM. The feed calls it only “Party.”

Go clockwise on West Drive, or take the bridle path. The east side is unusable for twenty hours.

Thu Oct 15 — skip it

Two loop events on one day:

  The Ralph Lauren Pink Pony Walk stages at Bandshell Plaza and runs the Lower Loop, 8:30–11 AM.
  The East Drive permit runs a second day, again midnight to 8 PM.

So the southern loop goes in the morning and the east side goes all day. There is no good lap available. Bridle path, Reservoir, or rest day — and it is 67° and mostly sunny, which is the annoying part.

Fri Oct 16 — rain

68° with showers likely at 61%. Drives clear, but Open House New York fills Grand Army Plaza 10 AM–6 PM, so the southeast corner is busy. A short wet day or a day off.

Sat Oct 17 — cold, and the Conservatory Garden is at its peak

56°, a 25% shower chance, drives clear. The temperature has dropped twenty degrees from Wednesday — first properly cold ride of the season, and 40° follows overnight.

For a walk instead: the Conservatory Garden Tour goes at 11 AM, behind the scenes with the staff who keep it. Mid-October is when that garden is worth the trip.

East Meadow closed; 25 private bookings on the scenic spots.

Sun Oct 18 — the Ramble, on the best morning of the year

Central Park Woodland Walk: The Ramble meets at Belvedere Castle at 10 AM. Sunny, 54°, late October — if you take one guided walk this year, this is the one.

A Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk holds Cedar Hill 8 AM–12 PM. The permit covers the hill, not the drives, so the east side paths will be busy but the road is open. Drives are otherwise clear all day.

Steady all week

Bethesda Terrace and Fountain is closed all day, every day — and the permits have extended a sixth time, now to November 11. Nine weeks elapsed.

Bird Watching with Birding Bob runs five mornings from Strawberry Fields at 7:30 and 8:30. Migration is nearly over — these really are the last of them.

East 106th Street lawn out Monday–Thursday; East Meadow closed both weekend days.

Quick recap

  Monday and Tuesday are your window — 71°, clear drives, nothing booked.
  Wednesday: East Drive held midnight–8 PM. Go clockwise.
  Thursday: skip it. Pink Pony Walk on the Lower Loop 8:30–11, East Drive held all day.
  Twenty-degree drop by Saturday, 40° overnight. Winter kit from here.
  Sunday 10 AM: the Ramble woodland walk — the best walk of the year.
  Bethesda Terrace extended again, now through November 11.

Front-load the week,
Central Park Guide