Central Park, Oct 12–18: 76° Wednesday, Open House New York, and the Ramble at its best on Sunday

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.

Autumn arrives mid-week. Wednesday hits 76°, the last warm day of the year, and by Saturday night it is 40°. Use the warm half for the gardens, and the cold half for Open House New York on Friday and Saturday and the Ramble woodland walk on Sunday, which is the best guided walk the park offers all year.

Weather this week

Columbus Day 71°, Tuesday 71° and sunny, Wednesday 76°, Thursday 67°, Friday 68° with showers likely at 61%. Then the drop: 56° Saturday, 54° and sunny Sunday, 40° Saturday night. A coat by the weekend.

Mon Oct 12 – Tue Oct 13 — a very quiet, very pleasant start

Columbus Day brings only the Skate Circle at Dead Road North, 2–7 PM, reliably good to watch. Tuesday has nothing scheduled at all, at 71° and sunny.

The indoor standby all week: New Dendrology at the Arsenal Gallery, weekdays 9 AM–5 PM, free.

Wed Oct 14 – Thu Oct 15 — warm, and busy on the east side

Wednesday is 76° — take the gardens while it lasts. A large private event holds Cedar Hill and the east side until 8 PM both days, so the paths over there are crowded; nothing public in it.

Thursday morning the Ralph Lauren Pink Pony Walk stages at Bandshell Plaza 8:30–11 AM, so the Mall carries a crowd early.

Fri Oct 16 – Sat Oct 17 — Open House New York

Open House New York Weekend runs at Grand Army Plaza, 10 AM–6 PM both days — the city’s annual architecture weekend, with the park as one of its sites. Friday has showers likely at 61%, so Saturday is the better bet at 56° and drier.

Saturday also brings:

  Conservatory Garden Tour at 11 AM — behind the scenes with the garden staff. Mid-October is the Conservatory Garden’s moment; this is the one to book.
  CPC Yoga on East Meadow, 11 AM–12 PM.
  Model Yacht Racing at Kerbs Boathouse, 9 AM–3 PM.
  UnityMarketsNY at Farmers’ Gate, 9 AM–7 PM.
  That Guitar Man from Central Park at Hernshead, noon–6 PM.

Sun Oct 18 — the Ramble, and a breast cancer walk at Cedar Hill

Central Park Woodland Walk: The Ramble meets at Belvedere Castle at 10 AM. Sunny, 54°, mid-October — the Ramble in autumn colour with a guide who knows it is the best thing on this week’s calendar by a distance.

The WICT New York Chapter’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk takes Cedar Hill, 8 AM–12 PM. Four hours, and worth knowing about if you are on the east side in the morning.

Also: International Folkdancers at King Jagiello Plaza 11 AM–6 PM, and the Iconic Views tour at 2 PM.

Steady all week

  NYC Parks’ 44th Annual Wreath Interpretations Open Call is at the Arsenal all seven days — the submission window for the winter wreath show, and a genuinely lovely thing to know exists.
  Bethesda Terrace and Fountain closed all day, every day — permits now run to November 11.
  Bird Watching with Birding Bob — five mornings from Strawberry Fields. Migration is nearly done.
  Columbus Circle Food Market at Merchants’ Gate, Thursday through Sunday.
  114 field permits — 83 at North Meadow, 18 on the tennis courts, 8 at Heckscher. North Meadow is carrying almost the whole league calendar now.

Quick recap

  Wednesday is 76°, the last warm day of the year. 40° by Saturday night.
  Sunday 10 AM: the Ramble woodland walk — the best guided walk of the year.
  Open House New York, Friday and Saturday, Grand Army Plaza. Saturday is drier.
  Conservatory Garden Tour Saturday 11 AM — the garden’s peak fortnight.
  Tuesday has nothing booked at 71°.
  Making Strides walk at Cedar Hill Sunday, 8 AM–12 PM.

Enjoy the turn,
Central Park Guide