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It's been a pretty exceptional fall thus far, hasn't it New York? We've had uncharacteristically gorgeous autumnal weather (okay, fine, those 4:45pm sunsets do kind of suck), a stellar double-feature weekend of Halloween and the NYC Marathon, and our collective "Knicks in 5" energy has seemingly galvanized the rest of America to vote like the big game's at stake. The vibes outside are good, ya'll.
And they're only going to get better next week when NYC hits peak fall foliage, with those leafy bursts of orange, red, yellow and green adding some major Bob Ross realness to our daily strolls. According to the official NY Fall Foliage Report, those colorful views will be at their most vibrant in the five boroughs during the week of November 11 through 17, as the leaf-peeping season wraps up across New York State.
Popular upstate regions like the Catskills, the Finger Lakes and the Hudson Valley have already experienced the best of the season (because of, you know, geography). But there's still plenty of time for NYC dwellers to take in that sumptuous fall scenery. Here are 5 of the prettiest places in New York City to see fall foliage, one per borough!
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The 5 best places to see the leaves change in NYC this fall:
1. Central Park (Manhattan)
Let's get the obvious one of the way, shall we? New York's most famous park has its very own Fall Foliage Tracker updated by the Conservancy’s arborists, who care for Central Park’s 19,000 trees. That tracker handily tells leaf peepers what areas across the park's 843 acres are currently hitting peak foliage. Right now, that includes the North Woods (a rustic landscape alongside the Ravine, featuring brooks, various oaks, elm, red maple and black cherry), the Reservoir (encircled with gleaming, golden-yellow Yoshino cherry trees on its east side) and the Ramble (a wooded respite beloved for its scarlet-hued tupelo trees).
2. Alley Pond Park (Queens)
Over in Queens, this sprawling forest sanctuary is a favorite particularly for lovers of tulip trees, which turn vivid yellow during the mid-autumn season. The park is home to the Queens Giant, a 350-year-old tulip tree that is not only NYC's oldest tree but its largest, at 134 feet tall with a girth of over 18 feet. Elsewhere, you'll find stunning white oaks, red maples and sassafras trees.
3. New York Botanical Garden (The Bronx)
Another local institution with its own proprietary real-time foliage tracker, this spectacular garden puts on an autumnal show courtesy its high concentration of sweetgums, red maples and tulip trees, all of which come to their gorgeous peak in the mid-season. For the best leaf spotting, get lost in the garden's 250-acre Thain Family Forest to see those coveted deep reds and amber hues.
4. Prospect Park (Brooklyn)
Spanning 526 acres across Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Windsor Terrace, and Prospect Lefferts Gardens, this Brooklyn park is a yearlong favorite but it's particularly lovely during the autumn. Numerous areas, including the Peninsula and the Ravine, offer picture-worthy views but our top pick—literally—is Lookout Hill, one of the highest points in the borough, which offers a beautiful panorama of red-turning raspberry bushes and yellow tulip trees.
5. Clove Lakes Park (Staten Island)
The season's vibrant colors look especially ravishing set against the quaintness of this Sunnyside park, with its winding walking paths, historic stone bridges and three scenic lakes. For even more blazing fall splendor, you can easily combine your visit with an equally breathtaking stroll through the nearby Silver Lake Park, just a 15-minute walk away.