Where to see fall foliage in NYC
You do not need to drive to Vermont. New York City has old-growth forest, arboretums and 19th-century parks planted for exactly this, and most of it is free. Here is where to go and when.
By Alex Oz · · 8 min read
When the color peaks
In a typical year New York City's trees peak from late October into the first half of November. The Prospect Park Alliance gives the end of October for Prospect Park. Central Park usually peaks in early November — the Conservancy says the surrounding buildings shade the park, so it often turns later than elsewhere. For 2026 the Farmer's Almanac forecasts the city at or near peak around November 1.
Weather moves it. In 2024 Central Park peaked more than a week early, which the Conservancy called an anomaly. So rather than trusting any forecast, check the trackers below the week you plan to go.
The trackers to check
The Central Park Conservancy's Fall Foliage Tracker maps around 18,000 of the park's trees, updated by its arborists, and marks each as not yet changing, changing, at peak or past peak. It also publishes a printable fall foliage map.
NYC Parks runs its own Fall for NYC foliage tracker, which follows the city's street and park trees by species, from the early maples to the late ginkgos. Ginkgos are always last, and they famously drop all their leaves within a day or two.
Manhattan
Central Park
Free · B/C to 72 St or 110 St, 6 to 103 St for the Conservatory Garden
The Conservancy's own picks are The Ramble, the North Woods, the Conservatory Garden, the Mall and Literary Walk, the Pool, the Reservoir and Hallett Nature Sanctuary. For specific trees: sugar maples at the Pool and east of Sheep Meadow, black tupelo throughout the Ramble, sweetgum in the North Woods, bald cypress at Gapstow Bridge and the Harlem Meer, and larch and dawn redwood at Strawberry Fields.
Inwood Hill Park
Free · A to Inwood–207 St
The Shorakapok Preserve is the last natural forest in Manhattan, dominated by red oak with some of the city's largest tulip trees. The trails climb above the Hudson, so you get color and river views together.
Fort Tryon Park
Free · A to 190 St
Sixty-seven acres with the Heather Garden, a line of American elms and views over the Hudson to the Palisades, which turn at the same time. Combine it with The Met Cloisters at the north end.
Brooklyn
Prospect Park
Free · B/Q to Prospect Park, 2/3 to Grand Army Plaza
About 30,000 trees and five marked nature trails. The Alliance recommends the Peninsula, Lookout Hill, the Nethermead and the Lullwater, with tall maples and London planes. The Audubon Center at the Boathouse runs free weekend fall programs through November.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
990 Washington Ave · Adults $22 · 2/3 to Eastern Parkway
Smaller and more manicured than the parks, with Japanese maples around the pond garden. Adults are $22 at the box office; there is no free day in the fall. The Eastern Parkway entrance is temporarily closed, so use Washington Avenue or Flatbush Avenue.
Green-Wood Cemetery
Main gate at Fifth Ave & 25th St · Free · R to 25 St
Four hundred and seventy-eight acres of hills, ponds and old trees, free every day from 7am. It is one of the quietest places in the city to walk among fall color.
The Bronx
New York Botanical Garden, Thain Family Forest
2900 Southern Blvd · Free for NYC residents on Wednesdays · Metro-North to Botanical Garden
NYBG calls its 50-acre forest the largest uncut stretch of New York's original woodland, with trees dating to the Revolution. An All-Garden Pass is $35 on weekdays for adults, but NYC residents get the grounds free all day on Wednesdays, and everyone is free from 10 to 11am that day. A free self-guided tour of the most colorful trees is on the Bloomberg Connects app.
Wave Hill
4900 Independence Ave, Riverdale · Adults $10, free on Thursdays
A public garden on a bluff over the Hudson, open Tuesday to Sunday. It is free for everyone on Thursdays. Take the 1 to Van Cortlandt Park–242 St or Metro-North to Riverdale; a free shuttle runs Thursday to Sunday.
Van Cortlandt Park
Free · 1 to 242 St
More than 600 acres of native forest and over 20 miles of trails, including the John Muir Trail and the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail. It feels much further from Midtown than the 40-minute subway ride.
Queens
Forest Park
Free · J/Z to Woodhaven Blvd, E/F to Kew Gardens
About 165 acres of protected forest with 150-year-old oaks and tulip trees, the largest continuous oak forest in Queens. Three marked trails, the longest the 2.4-mile Orange Trail, start near the visitor center at Woodhaven Boulevard.
Queens Botanical Garden
43-50 Main St, Flushing · Adults $6 · 7 to Flushing–Main St
Small, cheap and a short walk from the end of the 7 train. It is free on Wednesdays from 3 to 6pm and Sundays from 9 to 11am.
Staten Island
The Greenbelt and High Rock Park
Greenbelt Nature Center, 700 Rockland Ave · Free
Twenty-eight hundred acres of woods in the middle of the island, the biggest forest in the city. Pick up a free trail map at the Nature Center; the Greenbelt Conservancy runs guided fall hikes. You will need a bus from the ferry terminal.
Snug Harbor
Free grounds, dawn to dusk
Historic buildings, gardens and old trees on the north shore, a short bus ride from the ferry. The grounds are free; some gardens inside charge separately.
Nature walks and outdoor programs this week
Guided walks, birding, nature programs and park events from the live calendar over the next seven days — the easiest way to see the color with someone who knows the trees.
Updated Sep 20, 6:14 AM EDT
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