On the MUSEENYC M ListThe M List — one we'd cross the city for, and keep going back to. See the list →
Morningside Park
A cliff face with a waterfall at the bottom, separating Harlem from Morningside Heights.
- Where
- Morningside Ave at W 116th St, Manhattan, Harlem Open in Google Maps ↗
- Cost
- Free
- Good with
- Solo · Family
- Go when
- Morning
This park has a bit of everything, and does all of it right: wide running paths, a pond, real scenery and landscaping, picnic spots, wildlife, and it is kept clean.
Olmsted and Vaux again, this time working with a schist cliff they could not flatten, so they built stairs and terraces into it instead. There is a pond and a waterfall at the north end and a rock wall the whole way up.
The neighborhood fought for years to keep a gym from being built on it, which is why it is still here.
What to know
Free. The east side entrances are the ones with the pond.