Central Park

Location

New York
United States
40° 46' 53.2236" N, 73° 58' 0.5772" W
US
General info: 

A perfect getaway from the New york city crowds, traffic and noise. If NY gets too intense, get reloaded here and continue with batteries full. Actually this is exactly what it was originally planned for when it was opened in 1857 and it still serves it´s purpose perfectly.

The central park is the place for many different kinds of sports from Birding to Boating and from volleyball to tennis and rock climbing. Most common sight are the joggers and runners who populate the 6 miles (9.7 km) long Park Drive. Central Park has two ice skating rinks, Wollman Rink and Lasker Rink, which converts to an outdoor swimming pool in summer. The great lawn must be one the most famous lawns in the world. This green pasture of 55-acres is a wonderful place to have a picnic on a spring afternoon or to catch some rays in the summer sun.

There is also a zoo in central park that is home to an indoor rainforest, a leafcutter ant colony, a chilled penguin house, and a Polar Bear pool. It is much smaller however than the massive Bronx Zoo.
The lake in the middle of the park is named the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. This favorite jogging spot of Jackie O, Bill Clinton, and a number of other influential people was originally providing clean water for the city. This function is not carried out today, but the Reservoir does offer runners one of the best views of the city skyline.

The park receives approximately thirty-five million visitors annually, making it the most visited urban park in the United States. The area of the park is 843 acres (3.41 km2; 1.317 sq mi) and the real estate value of Central Park was estimated to be and unbelievable $528,783,552,000 in December 2005.

Getting there: 

Easiest is to use the subway. There are numerous subway stops in the Central Park area:
N, R, W Trains:
Located at 59th street
2, 3 Trains:
Located at Central Park North/110th street
B, C Trains:
Located at 110th street, 103rd street, 96th street, 86th street, 81st street, and 72nd street
A, B, C, D, 1 Trains:
Located at 59th street/Columbus Circle

Costs: 

The park is free of charge. It is not allowed to overnight in the park.

Interesting places nearby

Mt. Abram, located in Greenwood, ME, is accessed by five lifts and has a verticla drop of 1,150 foot. Their 44 trails range from beginner slopes to tough expert runs such as Rocky's Run, and The Cliff. Mt.

Mt. Jefferson is a family ski area located in Lee, about 60 miles from Bangor. There are two novice trails, three intermediate and six difficult/more difficult trails.

BASE: 351ft
SUMMIT: 752ft
VERTICAL DROP: 432ft

Maple Ski Ridge, located in the upstate city of Schenectady, has a snowmaking operation that covers 95 percent of the mountain covering 15 acres. Ski day or night.

BASE: 750ft
SUMMIT: 1200ft
VERTICAL DROP: 450ft

Massanutten Resort in winter means days spent on a 1,100-foot vertical drop with great views of the Blue Ridge mountains. Ski down the 3,300- foot Diamond Jim or the 4,100-foot Para-dice.

BASE: 1315ft
SUMMIT: 3001ft
VERTICAL DROP: 1686ft

NO. OF. LIFTS: 2
Gondolas: 0
Chairs: 1
Surface: 1

McCauley Mountain Ski Center is a family area open an average of 105 days per year. BASE: 1562ft SUMMIT: 2250ft VERTICAL DROP: 632ft NO. OF. LIFTS: 5 Gondolas: 0 Chairs: 1 Surface: 4