The Pond and Gapstow Bridge - The Classic View

The Pond and Gapstow Bridge - The Classic View

Photo: G. Scott Segler, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on Central Park Highlights Walk, a free self-guided tour.

Stand on this little stone bridge and you get one of the most famous views in New York: a quiet pond, willows and ducks in the foreground, and the skyline of Midtown rising right behind them. That contrast is exactly what the park's designers had in mind, a piece of country scenery set against the city.

The first Gapstow Bridge here was wooden, built in the 1870s. It wore out, and in 1896 it was replaced by the arched bridge of rough-cut schist you are standing on now.

The wooded peninsula jutting into the Pond is the Hallett Nature Sanctuary, a protected four-acre patch of woodland that was closed to visitors for decades so wildlife could thrive. Look for turtles sunning on rocks and herons fishing along the shore. In fall the trees around the water turn red and gold, and in winter, after a snowfall, this is one of the prettiest spots in the park.

Getting here: Enter the park at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 60th Street and follow the path downhill and left to the stone bridge over the Pond.

Did you know?: The Hallett Nature Sanctuary was closed to the public from the 1930s until 2016, when it reopened for limited visiting hours.

Photo op: From the middle of the bridge, face south to frame the water with the skyline of Midtown towers rising above the trees.

More on Wikipedia: The Pond and Hallett Nature Sanctuary · List of arches and bridges in Central Park

Stops on this tour

  1. Grand Army Plaza - A Golden General
  2. The Pond and Gapstow Bridge - The Classic View
  3. Wollman Rink - Skating Under the Skyline
  4. The Mall and Literary Walk - A Cathedral of Elms
  5. Bethesda Terrace - The Heart of the Park
  6. Cherry Hill - A Rest Stop for Horses
  7. Strawberry Fields - A Living Memorial
  8. Bow Bridge - The Park's Romantic Span
  9. The Ramble - A Wild Garden by Design
  10. Turtle Pond - From Reservoir to Wildlife Haven
  11. Delacorte Theater - Free Shakespeare Under the Stars
  12. Seneca Village - The Community Under the Park
  13. Belvedere Castle - The View From Vista Rock