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

Timberline Four Season Resort is an old West Virginia favorite. The ski area provides skiers and snowboarders a peak elevation of 4,268 feet, 200 inches of average annual snowfall and a vertical drop of 100 feet.

The Homestead, located in Virginia's Allegheny Mountains, is great for skiing and snowboarding. The ski area consists of more than 45 acres of well maintained trails perfect for all ability levels.

Hidden Valley is another backyard ski area for New Yorkers. You will find 36 skiable acres serviced by four lifts on 12 runs. They have a vertical of about 620 feet.

Tenney Mountain is affordable, and hassle-free. Located in Plymouth, Tenney offers a fine environment for learning to ski or ride.

BASE: 748ft
SUMMIT: 2148ft
VERTICAL DROP: 1400ft

BASE: 774ft
SUMMIT: 1374ft
VERTICAL DROP: 600ft

NO. OF. LIFTS: 5
Gondolas: 0
Chairs: 0
Surface: 5

Sunday River, located in Newry, Maine, has 133 trails and 16 lifts spread out across 743 skiable acres on 8 interconnected mountain peaks.