At the northern tip of Manhattan, Fort Tryon Park rises above the Hudson River with some of the finest views in New York: 67 acres of lawns, woodland paths and gardens looking across to the Palisades.
The park was designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm, led by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., and built between 1931 and 1935 from John D. Rockefeller Jr.’s vision of a majestic public landscape. Its heart is the Heather Garden, described by NYC Parks as the largest garden in the city with unrestricted public access, with more than 500 varieties of plants, trees and shrubs offering color in every season.
Fort Tryon is also home to The Cloisters, the Metropolitan Museum’s branch devoted to medieval art, with nearly 5,000 works in a setting that feels worlds away from midtown. Add Manhattan’s largest dog run and more than 250 free public programs a year from the Fort Tryon Park Trust, and this is a park that gives generously in every direction.
Come for a quiet morning among the heathers, stay for the river light at golden hour. It is one of the happiest high places in the city.
Photo: Beyond My Ken / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
