Central Park, Nov 14–20: the loop is closed Saturday 8–1, and then seven dry days in a row

        Hi all,

Do not plan a Saturday morning loop. The Walk to End Alzheimer’s holds Bandshell Plaza, the Lower Loop, the Center Loop and Dead Road North from 8 AM to 1 PM. Five hours, the whole south end, on the one morning most of us are out there.

Then the week turns into the best stretch of running and riding weather since September: seven straight dry days, 46° on Saturday climbing to 64° by Friday, and the wind gone after tomorrow.

Weather this week

Rain never exceeds 2% on any of the seven days, and the temperature climbs without a single step backward — 46°, 50°, 51°, 56°, 61°, 62°, 64°. Saturday’s 8–12 mph northwest wind is the only thing to dress for; from Monday the wind is 6 mph or less, which means the long ride and the long run can go wherever you want them, and Thursday and Friday are shorts weather.

Sat Nov 14 — the loop is unusable 8 AM to 1 PM

Walk to End Alzheimer’s, 8 AM–1 PM, across Bandshell Plaza, the Lower Loop, the Center Loop and Dead Road North.

Your options, in order of how well they work:

  Go before 8 AM. Sunrise is 6:40, it is 43° at seven, and the drives are completely clear.
  Go after 1 PM. The afternoon is 46° and bright, and by two the south end is being broken down.
  Stay north. The Reservoir path, the bridle path and the drives above the 86th Street transverse are untouched all morning.

What does not work is treating the north half of a lower-loop closure as a normal day. The staging pulls crowds in from all four park entrances below 72nd Street, and the pedestrian traffic spreads well past the permit line.

One thing I owe you: this permit was not in the city’s feed when I wrote last Sunday’s email. That edition described Saturday as a quiet day. It was filed late, not missed.

Also out there: Birding Bob at Loeb Boathouse, 7:30 AM — which is before the walk, and worth the early alarm for it. East Meadow is closed (the lawn, not the drive). The Iconic Views tour goes at 2 PM.

Sun Nov 15 — clear drives, and the Conservancy’s long hike

Nothing touches the loop. 50° and sunny, wind 9–13 mph northwest. After yesterday, this is the ride.

  Great Central Park Hike, 10 AM from the Dana Discovery Center — the full end-to-end walk with Conservancy guides. Three to four hours on foot, and a dry 50° day is as good as it gets for it.
  Birding Bob at Loeb Boathouse, 7:30 AM.
  International Folkdancers at King Jagiello Plaza, 11 AM–3 PM — pleasant to walk past, no path impact.
  East Meadow closed again.

Mon Nov 16 – Tue Nov 17 — two empty days, and Tuesday is the pick

51° then 56°, sunny both, wind under 6 mph. Tuesday has not a single one-off permit anywhere in the park and is the warmest day so far — if you can move a long effort to a weekday, move it to Tuesday.

Birding Bob at Strawberry Fields, Monday 8:30 AM. Lawn maintenance starts at the East 106th Street Lawn, Monday through Thursday — north end, off the drives, no impact on you.

Wed Nov 18 – Thu Nov 19 — 61° and 62°, and the gala night

Still dry, still clear, still climbing.

Wednesday 7 PM the Conservancy’s Annual Gala takes Rumsey Playfield. Ticketed, private, and the reason the SummerStage footprint has been fenced since Saturday. No road impact — but the paths around the Bandshell will be busy with production traffic in the evening.

Thursday: Birding Bob at Loeb Boathouse, 8:30 AM. A second closure permit opens at Bethesda Terrace, which is already closed.

Fri Nov 20 — 64°, the warmest day, nothing in the way

The high point of the week and the last dry day in the forecast.

  Birding Bob at the Conservatory Garden, 8:30 AM. His best stop, and the Garden in late November on a 64° morning is worth rearranging a day for.
  Iconic Views tour, 2 PM.
  The Swedish Cottage Lawn and the East 96th Street Playground Lawn close today through December 13. Both are lawns, neither touches a path you use.

Worth knowing

  Bethesda Terrace stays closed all week and now through December 13 — extended again, from December 8.
  Next Sunday, November 22: Race to Deliver 4M, 8–10 AM on the drives. The first real loop closure since the marathon. Worth putting in the calendar now rather than finding out on the morning.

Have a good week out there,
Kin