Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir

If you’re a runner you’re familiar with the reservoir. You can mark your distance when running. Why not run with beautiful views of the lake and city?
If you decide to stroll check out every view. You may spot one of the many species of birds that call the park home.
It’s a great outdoor spot in the park. If you love being outdoors like I do, you’ll enjoy wandering around the reservoir. Weather permitting!

Amazing part of Central Park to run (1.5 m) or to take a walk for beautiful views of the NYC skyline. So beautiful, a relaxing escape, and also a great walk for taking out of town guests for some fantastic views and photos of the city

Great place to jog or walk. Beautiful, relaxing views. It can get crowded during busy times, so expect crowds.

This is a wonderful place for a run. The loop around the reservoir is 1.58 miles long. The views are amazing and it is truly serene to run around the water to get away from the normal Manhattan scene.
This is a one-​way loop. My only issue is when people do not pay attention to the posted rules. It is frustrating when people run/​walk the wrong way, take strollers/​bikes on the path, bring their dogs on the path or take up the entire width of the path to take pictures.
I wish I could run this loop more often, but I often run with a stroller (not on the loop!), so I end up running on the paved loop around Central Park.

Great place to either go for a walk or run, as it has both of these at any given time, but mostly runners. It provides a nice backdrop for taking pictures, with the buildings on both sides and farther down in midtown. It’s pretty no matter what season you come in but I happen to like it in the fall, because you see a range of beautiful leaves on the trees around the reservoir and in the winter, when it’s covered with snow. Just be careful and watch where you’re going!

In all my years of living in New York, the Jackie Onassis Resevoir (along with Prospect Park when I used to live in Brooklyn) has largely contributed to my being able to be more balanced and centered in the city that never sleeps.
In a city where one has hundreds of thousands of mediums vying for your attention in any given moment, having a running path in one of the most beautiful parks in the world is an incredible plus to living in this magnificent city.
From different vantage points on the reservoir, one can see hundreds (if not thousands) of post-​card-​like views of the park. From the blossoming of the cherry plum trees to the numerous plant and vegetation species around the 1.58 mile path, the reservoir is a wonder for both runners and park patrons alike.
For those who may find the reservoir a little crowded (Saturday and Sunday afternoons during the Spring and Summer seasons can get just a tad bit busy with runners and tourists), there’s a larger, additional path that is just outside of the reservoir and, for the most part, parallels the reservoir but with much more room to run.
The Central Park Reservoir is one of the highlights of not only Central Park, but also of New York City. Whether you enjoy running (as I do) or taking a leisurely morning, afternoon, or evening stroll, the Reservoir is truly one of the cities most spectacular treasures.
Get involved!

Great place for swimming. Although — for some reason most people walk about and meditate on the beauty. Pitty Bloomberg allowed those awfully tall towers to sully the skyline.
One of my favorite spots in New York.

When I first moved to NYC, the reservoir was one of the first places I discovered on a walk. The views are beautiful and as a (then) recent college grad, seeing the skyline made me realize «I’ve made it».
Still, it is one of my favorite places to do a walk/​run since it’s nice and flat. Plus, the views change depending on the time-​of-​day and the inspiring scenery is always changing.
It’s not too well kept during the heavy winter snow and during peak warm hours, this spot gets flooded with tourist taking photos and getting in the way.
Also, please mind the rules. No bikes or strollers please!

Come here for a long walk or run. Life can’t be any better at this place. Good to whichever mood. Walk or run, this is the place to be. But will warn, it place is huge.

Incredible wiew!
You can run or walk around the ring and have a wonderful view of New York City!
The skyline is just amazing and you can enjoy the best sunset ever, with spectacular colors…
A little treasure in the middle of Manhattan.

For me the JKO Reservoir is one of the most serene spots in Central Park, maybe even NYC. It’s considerably less crowded than some of the other sites in the park, but offers up one of the best unobstructed views in the city. I’m partial to the architecture found on the west side, so I find the eastern side of the reservoir to be the best for those views. Just gorgeous, especially on a crisp & sunny spring or early fall day.
Easiest place to enter the reservoir path? East side, just north of 90^th St.

Review #700 is for the Bridle Path, my favorite walk in the city.
The Bridle Path is a wide, packed-​dirt pathway that circles the Reservoir. To be clear, it’s not the narrow track right next to the Reservoir, which is supposed to be for runners only.
In contrast, the Bridle Path is for everyone: commuters, tourists, walkers, runners, bird-​watchers, dogs and their humans; one magical day, I even saw cross-​country skiers gliding along.
I haven’t encountered horses in some time, and frankly I don’t miss them at all because they left some pretty unpleasant calling cards, uh, behind. While it’s technically against the rules to ride bikes, people do anyway, mostly confused tourists. The path is so wide that it’s really no big deal.
It’s lined with trees, shrubs, and other plantings that Central Park Conservancy volunteers plan and care for. It’s like being in the middle of an unusually well-​organized forest.
The autumn foliage is spectacular. On the East Side is a row of apple trees whose delicate white blossoms explode in the spring. The south end is a virtual parking lot for the adjacent police precinct; that’s not picturesque, but at least you’ll feel safe. Several graceful pedestrian bridges span the path and make for nice photo ops.

So beautiful there! My breath literally stopped when I witnessed the East side view from the southwest side.
The track for running and jogging was narrower than I thought though.

So clean, so gorgeous, and a great place to either stroll or go for a run.

If you’re a runner who prefers to keep your lower back happy… This nice soft trail around the reservoir is a dream. There is nothing quite like the picturesque view you get when you come here.
The Scene: Local, Well Dressed Runners, Great people watching on a warm day
Destination Rating: 8 (quite picturesque if you’re a runner)
Date Rating: 7
Hob Nob Potential: 2 (people are busy and wear headphones)
Strong Suggestion: Sunrise is beautiful, stop on by sometime.

Yoggers and walkers alike will delight in the reservoir’s nicely graveled path around its watery, gooey center.
There are very good views of NYC from OUTSIDE the city, but dare I say… what a view from Manhattan’s most central of parks. My experience here gives me a new appreciation for the island on which I work.
Walk slow, walk fast. Yog. Earbuds or conversation, its a nice walk and is the best damn lunch break you could ask for. Just watch out for the serious runners, mind your right hand side.
Being cooped up on the windowless S2 (the basement’s basement) level for 8 hours a day at work getting my Business on definitely takes its toll on the MBS (mind, body, soul) and a midday walk around here with the sun, a fresh breeze, and lots of other people… its hard to find a reason not to go.
And when it’s hot… i’d jump in if i could. But I cannot.
Also, the lot of us agreed and any and all shady activity requiring bodies of water is much better served in the East River. Let’s keep it friendly over here, because it sure is pretty.
And it smells nice.

Been trying to incorporate a little jogging into my fitness routine lately. Once in a while when in the mood and the weather cooperates I head over to this picturesque track surrounding the water. The running track is nice and flat and the views are amazing. No dogs, bikes, or skateboards are allowed. Just be mindful of the other joggers and keep it moving in the same direction. If you stop to take pictures or get in the way you will be met with the «stare of death»!
Too bad my knees still seem to take a beating from running, hence I stick with the treadmill mostly, but this is a nice change of pace.

Really, people? 3, 4 stars? Tough crowd.
I love this well-​established running route for the easy, flat mileage. And with panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline, easy access from both the East and West sides, and some of the best sunsets in the city — what’s not to like?

Run, breathe, run, breathe.
Pause to check in on Unilocal.
Run, breathe, run, breathe.
Pause to take a quick pic (mental OR physical) of the tranquil scene before you — ducks treading water, the sun setting and reflecting off tall buildings, and other people admiring the same scene…
Run, breathe, run, breathe.
Don’t worry if others lap you. Run at your own pace.
Run, breathe, run, breathe.
Hey, guess what.
What?
You’ve run around twice. That’s a 5K right there.

This is one of my favorite places to run in the park. It gets a little annoying with tourists in the summer time, but in the fall/​spring its perfect.
Incredible view, very big expanse of the water and the skyline all around, makes you feel as though you are whisked away to different parts of the city. It also helps motivate me to run further, because its such a relaxing run. The inner part of the track is ~1.5−1.6, the outer track is ~1.9. Take a few laps and your good to go.
Note: No dogs allowed, sorry Felix you and your cuteness are not allowed nor appreciated on the run/​walk track. Also, no bikes, skate boards, etc. (its dirt people, so if you are dumb enough then you will most likely get yelled at).
If you are coming here to walk/​take photos be mindful of the runners, it sucks when you have some smuck in your way taking their self-​portrait for facebook. :p
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