running tour central park

Running & Fitness Tours

Running & fitness tours, sightsee while you sweat in central park.

Discover some of Central Park's most iconic locations on one of our running or fitness tours. From long distance running to core work, HIIT, and even yoga poses, there's something for everyone in Central Park!

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RUNNING + SIGHTSEEING WORLDWIDE

NYC CENTRAL PARK RUN – 10K

Run one of the most popular routes for New Yorkers, covering all corners of the iconic Central Park.

From: € 38.50

Private tour

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Description

• Reviews (7)

Central Park is a runner’s oasis in the middle of Manhattan, where you can run free without worrying about cars or traffic lights. With two loops throughout that park that are nearly perfect 5k and 10k runs you don’t have to look at your GPS tracker, but instead can enjoy the sights and sounds of the park as you run.

While visually stunning, the park also offers a serious workout. Up in the northwest corner is the Harlem Hill, which is an intense hill workout. The rolling hills through the southeast corner of the park may not seem intense, but at the end of a long run (which happens within the last two miles of the New York City Marathon) they are not for the faint of heart.

But throughout the park are lots of flat stretches where you can really let go and enjoy yourself. From the Reservoir to the Great Lawn, Sheep’s Meadow and views of the midtown skyline, running the park is a great way to get a geographic overview of various parts of Manhattan.

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What others are saying

Rated 5 out of 5 The best way to enjoy Central Park

Jo Twigg – October 21, 2023

Chris was a great tour guide for our 10k on a rainy day in Fall, picking lots of interesting stop off points for pictures and fun facts. He had a tough job as we are a couple and one runs and the other doesn’t. Chris managed this well, going at a pace that was ok for both of us and my husband (who hates running) enjoyed it so much, claiming it was the “least boring run he’d ever done”. Thanks to Chris and Go Running Tours. We would def do this again and would highly recommend.

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Rated 5 out of 5 Holy place for runners!

Kevin Wang – October 20, 2023

I did a morning run with Chris and it’s a perfect experience for me. I had a couple of running tour experience in years and this one doesn’t fail my expectation too. Chris is friendly and knowledgeable, quickly introduce me quite a lot of history in the central park which made me feel like a local. Also the pace is very comfortable, gives me plenty of room to enjoy the scene. I would like to thank Chris to bring me such a memorable memory. I look forward to taking another 15-hour flight and running with Chris again in NYC!

Rated 5 out of 5 Bucket list iconic running experience!

Alistair – September 28, 2023

This was definitely one of the best running experiences I’ve ever had. Up very early, after a long flight, but it was worth it to realise a bit of a dream of running the iconic Central Park in NYC. Expertly guided by Victoria from GoRunning Tours. She designed the absolutley perfect 10K route to take in all the best bits. We explored the whole park and visited loads of famous landmarks. All weirdly familiar from film & TV. Victoria was super friendly and knowledgeable, I learned loads about the history of the park. We went at a great pace, enough to feel like a great workout but with plenty of time for photo ops and selfies. Fantastic!

Rated 5 out of 5 A great experience

Nilles Christiane – September 23, 2023

My early morning run in Central Park with Emily was the absolute highlight of my visit. Do not miss this opportunity if you want to have a good refreshing work-out AND a lot of interesting information, insider tips as well as most beautiful views and photos. There are some hidden gems to be discovered in the park… Let yourself be surprised😀

Rated 5 out of 5 New York City Baby!

Murray Laing – August 29, 2023

I had a weekend in NYC on holiday with the family and decided to book back to back 10k’s. I ran with Emily in Central Park on a Saturday and Midtown with Chris on a Sunday. It is, without a doubt, the best value for money in NYC. Each run was totally different and equally awesome. Central Park was beautiful and the run was the perfect start to the weekend. Midtown was interesting, busy and I’m really glad I had someone to navigate a route through the city. Both guides were 5 stars – great communication, easy instructions on where to meet (even for a first time visitor), punctual, friendly, interesting and willing to run at my pace. You want to go fast and not talk much – they’ll do that, you want to go steady pace and chat, they’ll do that too. I was super impressed with this service and felt like I got to see so much more of the city than I otherwise would have done. I also learned some cool stuff and discovered things I would’ve completely missed without the guides. When I consider the alternative (hitting the treadmill in the hotel gym) it’s obvious that I had a stroke of brilliance finding these guys and booking these runs. Be smart, Go Running. Thank you Emily and Chris, I really enjoyed it – you guys went above and beyond. See you next time.

Rated 5 out of 5 10k with Victoria

Peter Seago – August 26, 2023

Fun, interesting, well-planned route with a friendly, knowledgable guide (Victoria). Great pace for me (44yr old cyclist, not really a runner) and my 14yr old son. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Rated 5 out of 5 New York, Central Park 10k with Chris

Sue Dabbs – June 14, 2023

Thank you Chris for the 10k run round Central Park on June 11th. You were a fantastic guide and it was great to chat about running and NY life too. A perfect Sunday morning and I’ll definitely book with Go Running again!

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NEW YORK CITY CENTRAL PARK – 5KM

New York City

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Central Park

Categories:

• Iconic Parks

This woodsy getaway offers plenty to look at; from spring-blooming cherry blossoms and Manhattan skyscraper silhouette in the horizon, to sightings of world-class runners and movie celebrities. There is a huge number of other runners of all speeds along with tourists, dog-walkers, bikers, cars and horses. Thus, it is also useful to know Central Park runner etiquette. The innermost / left lane is for those running clockwise, the “middle” lane for those running counterclockwise and outside/right lane of the road is for cyclists, cars and horses. On pathways only for pedestrians, those running clockwise stay on the left side and counterclockwise on the far right side.

There are two ‘iconic’ routes in Central Park: the ‘perimeter’ path, and a route incorporating the Reservoir. As the map shows, there are wonderful additional options — we recommend the Great Lawn and The Mall. Our routes generally start at the entrance to the Park in Columbus Circle, but clearly can be accessed from many spots. Note: If you’d like to have a guided running experience in Central Park, we highly recommend our affiliate partner  Go! Running Tours . 

See the wonderful Central Park Running Map, courtesy of FunonFoot.

Perimeter Path The full loop in Central Park is 6.1 miles and it includes some climbing. Run counterclockwise and you will encounter two major hills on your way; Cedar Hill (a.k.a. Cat Hill) and Harlem Hill. The South part of the park is the most crowded area, with the most crowds. Notable attractions include views of the Essex House, NY Athletic Club, Central Park Carousel, Sailboat Pond and Loeb Boathouse. One highlight, located at the entrance to Reservoir on East 90th Street, is a statue of the late founder of the NYC Marathon and New York Road Runners club.

There are multiple access points from both sides of the park. One good option is to start at Columbus Circle, located at the southwest corner of the park, where also USS Maine statue is located. Run down a short path of approximately 500ft to get to the main loop.

Reservoir Loop One of the most popular places to run in Central Park, and indeed anywhere, is the well-maintained dirt path that circles around the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. Locals know this “loop” as Bridle Path. It was originally built for horses but is mainly used by walkers and runners. Along with knee-friendly surface and car/bike-free pathway, it offers picturesque lakefront views with Manhattan skyscrapers in the horizon. There are markings labeling every 100 yards and the loop around is 1.6 miles. There are multiple access points from both sides of the park, the most direct being the Engineer’s Gate on East 90th Street. Run counterclockwise and stay on the right side of the pathway. If you want to have a bit longer “loop”, try Full Bridle Path Loop, which is 2.5 miles and extends beyond the Reservoir, further north to the North Meadow fields and across the 102nd Street Transverse. It eventually rejoins the main Reservoir loop around West 93rd.

• Perimeter Path: 6.25 miles; Reservoir Loop: 5.6 miles RT from Columbus Circle (Reservoir loop itself is 1.6 miles)
• Perimeter: 310 feet
• Any access point but a good spot is Columbus Circle
• Subway access

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Other Routes in this Area

Hudson River Greenway

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Central Park Running Tour

Tour Information

Don’t forget your running shoes when you come to New York!  Free Tours by Foot is speeding it up a bit with their new running tours. Central Park is a runner’s paradise, offering all different views and terrains.  Whether you prefer paved roads or dirt trails, this amazing, 843 acre park has something for you!  Follow an experienced guide (and runner!) to learn the fascinating history of Central Park while working up a bit of a sweat.  We will keep an easy, comfortable pace, and stop for water breaks along the way.  Don’t forget a camera!  Your guide will be wearing a runner’s backpack and will be happy to hold on to small cameras and other small items (keys, wallet, etc.).  There will be photo opportunities that you don’t want to miss.  (Please limit this to small, point-and-shoot cameras.  Leave room for other people’s belongings!)

• Grand Army Plaza and the Plaza Hotel
• The Central Park Zoo
• The Mall and Literary Walk
• Bethesda Terrace and Fountain
• Strawberry Fields
• The Swedish Cottage
• Belvedere Castle
• Cleopatra’s Needle
• The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir

The tour will cover approximately four miles, but at an easy pace with several stops throughout.  There are water fountains all throughout the park.  (Or you can bring a few dollars to buy a Gatorade!). This is a great tour for local runners and visitors alike.

Tour information

Reservations: This tour currently runs as a private tour only.

Where:  Tour departs from 59th St. and 5th Ave. at the Sherman Statue.   Please use our Google map for directions to the tour start.  Please use our help sheet for detailed written walking directions from nearby subway stations .  Please note that the Sherman Statue is currently being renovated and is covered by scaffolding. Tour ends at the Conservatory Garden at East 105 th Street .

Duration: Approximately 2 hours.  Approximately 4 miles in length.

When:   View our Calendar

Cost: This tour is free to take, and you get to decide what, if anything, the tour was worth when it's done.  A name-your-own-price tour is a tour for anyone's budget.

And much, much more

North america, united kingdom & ireland, middle east & india, asia & oceania.

With the variety of terrain combined with the gorgeous scenery of the surrounding landscape, Central Park is a runner’s paradise. The site of the New York Marathon’s final 3.2 miles, the park offers many scenic distractions while providing a challenge to all levels of runners.  You can download a detailed running map with all distances listed or check out our Central Park Running Group at WalkJogRun.net .

Locations : Park Drives – Circling the entire Park, the drives provide three long distance routes – 6.1 miles, 5.2 miles, or 1.7 miles, or shorter distances if you cross the Park at a number of scenic locations.

The Reservoir : A soft surface on a 2º slope, the Reservoir track is 1.58 miles around and offers some of the best skyline views in the Park and many scenic opportunities. In spring, cherry trees alongside the track are in bloom, and in summer, the evaporating water cools the surrounding air.

Bridle Paths : There are three conjoined soft surface bridle paths to choose from. The Reservoir loop, adjacent to the Reservoir, totals 1.61 miles, the North Meadow loop totals 1.1 miles, and the southern spur totals 1.5 miles.

When : The Park is closed to traffic Monday through Friday, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm, and from 7:00 pm –10:00 pm, and weekends from 7:00 pm Friday – 6:00 am Monday. When the Park is open to traffic, a runners’ lane is always available, but we do not recommend using the Park drives when they are open to traffic. Runners can run at any time, but the Park is officially closed from 1:00 am – 6:00 am.

About Central Park

Find all the information you need to enjoy your visit to New York City’s iconic Central Park.

As in actual running for exercise (and fun). :) I usually go running about 3 times a week at home (in the morning before work) in temps from 10F- 40F and used to it raining if above freezing.

Does anyone know of safe running trails/routes nearby the Sheraton Palace/Tverskaya St?

I was thinking down to Red Square and back?

Are the weather/sidewalk conditions OK for running or is ice still a concern at this time of year?

Do I need to plan to carry my passport (or a copy of it) if going out for a morning run?

Can I then cross from Borodinsky back to Smolenskaya?

Actually there is a glass pedestrian bridge before Borodinsky brg which is a better bet. It's hard to get lost if u just follow the river then on your right you'll see the tall Foreign Ministry which is pretty hard to miss:

http://www.photo-moskva.ru/Metro_Smolenskaya/Metro_Smolenskaya_Panorama_03.jpg

and once you get there Arbat is right around the corner.

Once again, thank you so much for your input.

As for getting lost, I think you guys overestimate me ;-)

OP, did you go for a run in the end?

I was staying in the Arbat area, and went running along the river all the way to Gorky Park and the Kremlin. Since coming back along the same route would be quite time-consuming (I was not travelling alone) I went back to the hotel by crossing the Red Square , which turned out to be a real treat. By the way, I ran into (no pun intended) lots of youngsters with "Yedinaya Rossiya" bags so I assume there had been some sort of meeting going on ;-)

Super...thanks so much for the report. I think I was "pushing" for the "river route", so good to know I did not mislead you...just curious, did you by any chance use the path of going over the pedestrian bridge by Christ the Savior? To me, this would be a huge plus...

I did use that pedestrian bridge but not while running. I crossed the pedestrian bridge closest to Smolenskaya Naberezhnaya, which I think leads up to Rostovskaya Naberezhnaya, since I remember running past the Turkish Embassy.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k7396607-Trip_report_Paris_from_15_to_22_April_2014-Paris_Ile_de_France.html#postreply

What the what? Did someone forget to sanction him?)

> Did someone forget to sanction him?)

A gentleman will walk but never run!

And I am a perfectly legal alien, mind you ;)

This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity.

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