Incredible Walking Tours of Central Park

Central Park is probably one of the most famous and most heavily used urban parks in the entire world. It is a center of musical shows, demonstrations, exercise, theater, sunbathing and all sorts of entertainment activity. Built in the mid 1800 and designed by the famous Drederick Law Olmstead, this 843 acres of muddy swampland was dredged and begin at a cost of three times the city's annual budget. Truly this project was a labor of love from the citizens of New York. Today, New Yorkers could no more imagine their city without this crown jewel than think of to think of it without the rivers that surround Manhattan Island. It is a virtual oasis for everyone, regardless of race, income, religion and any other distinction. Kids have soccer and frisbie fields to play in, basketball courts, places to play checkers and chess, to look at puppet shows, to race model sailboats in the resevoir. There's a theater and there are outdoor arenas for musical performances. Historical markets abound to tell of the evolution of this magnifient area and of the people who contributed so much of their time and money to make every new feature come alive. Birdwatchers can delight at the migrations of hundreds of bird species. Plant lovers can view the gardens and the woods where native plants spell the change of seasons every year. Walkers, runners, bikers and skaters have paths everywhere to exercise and play with friends. Today, the park is primarily protected and nourished by the Central Park Conservancy, which schedules tours and talks, innitiates activities to and work other projects throughout the 843 acres. Needless to say, they are one of the primary sources for walking tours around the area, but there are many other municipal or private guided tours focusing on various interests involved. Most of these tours are free. It would be a shame for any visitor to this great city not to take advantage of something that offers some good exercise, free education, history lessons and just some fantastic fun on a beautiful spring or summer day.

http://www.centralparknyc.org/activities/walkingtours
The Conservancy provides free walking tours of the Park on most any day, barring very bad weather. These last 1 1/2 hours and can be chosen according to the difficulty of the walk. All these tours are led by experienced volunteer guides and they don't require reservations for individuals or groups of six or fewer people. For larger groups call the tour office at 212-360-2726; please also plan to be at the designated starting point for any tour that's planned. Look over the web site and decide which tour is the most interesting to start with because each one focuses on a different aspect or area of the park and the starting points are arranged according to this. The Park also has three printable PDF self-guided walking tours that explore the south, middle and upper areas of Central Park.

http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/
Steve Brill describes his tours as the Wildman Tours because he takes visitors into the woods and the meadows to introduce them to all the incredible plant life available in the park. To Brill, this means "edible plants." His tour page on plants has an estensive review of how to pick and prepare fresh edible mushrooms, which I found fascinating. He has written numerous books that are for sale on the web site or in person at the tour. The recipes on the web site are entirely free, and once a person is acauainted with a serious knowledge of what is safe to eat and what tastes best, anyone can begin to be a backyard forrager after taking one of his tours and carefully reading his many articles and books on the subject. These walking tours are sponsored by donations of at least $12 for adults and $8 for children. No sandals and no smoking are allowed. Consult the tour rules before signing up and just be ready at the appointed time and place with correct change in hand. There will be a $15 charge for no-shows the next time they want to go on a tour. Call Steve at (914) 835-2153 or email him at wildmansteve@bigfoot.com to schedule a tour.

http://www.racontours.com/
This may be a much preferable type of tour for some. Racontours is a recording via headset that is turned on as a person walks on a tour in lots of cities. These are downloadable recordings that can be accessed from an MP3, Palm OS or Pocket PC. The one for Central Park costs $15 for a download, which isn't bad at all. These folks have really hit a money-making jackpot here because people can buy the downloads, walk a bit, then walk later if a schedule's interrupted. They can also walk at their own pace, stopping to examine an area or feature in detail. Plus, the downloads can also be loaned to family members. It's just a more private way of walking in the park and learning about its fascinating history. Presently there's only one walking tour for just Central Park, but they make make some more specialized ones later. There's a demo which should give anyone an idea of how this works. Once satisfied, the customer just pays for the download wanted. Please contact them to see if they've added any more Central Park tours to their web site at info@racontours.com