Central Park, Oct 31–Nov 6: the marathon gets a perfect Sunday, then a 70° November week

        The marathon finishes in the park on Sunday under 61° and clear skies, and then November does something unusual: 66°, 67°, 70°, 71° across the following week, with almost nothing booked. If you have been meaning to walk the Conservatory Garden or the Ramble before winter, that is the week.

Weather this week

Today 58° and sunny; Sunday 61°, mostly sunny, no rain. Then 66°, 67°, 70° Wednesday, 71° Thursday with showers at 49%, and storms likely Friday. The warm days and the wet days are the same days at the end of the week.

Sat Oct 31 — Dash day, and a Halloween with nothing in it

Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K runs 8:45–11 AM, finish at Grand Army Plaza from 8.

And it is still true, which I find genuinely odd: it is Halloween and the park’s permit calendar has not one Halloween event on it. No parade, no trick-or-treat, nothing. The Village parade takes that crowd.

The rest of the day, 58° and sunny and all of it clear of the race:

  Woodland Walk: The North Woods, 10 AM from Dana Discovery Center.
  Conservatory Garden Tour at 11 AM.
  Seneca Village Tour at 2 PM.
  Model Yacht Racing at Kerbs Boathouse, 9 AM–3 PM.
  UnityMarketsNY at Farmers’ Gate, 9 AM–7 PM.

East Meadow closed; 20 private ceremony bookings.

Sun Nov 1 — the TCS New York City Marathon

55,000 runners, 8 AM to 5 PM, finishing in Central Park, and the forecast has given it a clear 61° day.

To watch: the finish area by Tavern on the Green, or the last mile up East Drive. The hour worth staying for is late afternoon, when the slower runners come through and the crowd is thinner and louder for it.

To avoid it: go north. The Ravine, the Loch and the North Woods are nowhere near the course, and almost nobody goes up there on marathon Sunday.

The International Folkdancers hold King Jagiello Plaza 11 AM–3 PM — three hours shorter than their usual Sunday, which is a small sign of how the whole park rearranges itself for the race.

Mon Nov 2 – Wed Nov 4 — 70° and essentially empty

The public calendar for three days is a sports mini-camp Tuesday morning and a kids’ soccer session Wednesday afternoon. That is all.

Wednesday is 70°. In November. Whatever you have been putting off outdoors, this is the window — and New Dendrology at the Arsenal Gallery, weekdays 9 AM–5 PM and free, is there for when the weather does turn.

Thu Nov 5 – Fri Nov 6 — the Ramble, before the rain

Thursday 71° with showers likely; Friday 69° with thunderstorms.

Friday morning, ahead of it: Woodland Walk: The Ramble, 10 AM from Belvedere Castle, and the Iconic Views tour at 2 PM.

Steady all week

  Bethesda Terrace and Fountain closed all day, every day — permits now run to November 30, an eleventh extension and the whole month.
  Bird Watching with Birding Bob rotating: Loeb Boathouse this weekend and Thursday, Strawberry Fields Monday, Conservatory Garden Friday.
  Field permits down to 66 this week, 61 at North Meadow — the league season is ending and the lawns get quieter from here.
  No play on the Great Lawn for a fourteenth week.

Quick recap

  Sunday: the marathon, 8 AM–5 PM, under a clear 61°. Watch at Tavern on the Green or go north.
  Today: Dash 5K, plus a Halloween the park still has no event for.
  Monday to Wednesday: 66°, 67°, 70°, and nothing booked. The last warm window.
  Friday 10 AM: the Ramble walk, before the storms.
  Bethesda Terrace closed through November 30.

Enjoy the marathon, and then the warm week,
Central Park Guide