Cherry Hill - A Rest Stop for Horses

Cherry Hill - A Rest Stop for Horses

Photo: Charles Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)

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

This open circle on a low hill was the park's version of a scenic rest stop. In the days of horse-drawn carriages, drivers pulled in here to turn around, admire the view over the Lake and let their horses drink from the fountain in the middle. Jacob Wrey Mould, who also carved Bethesda Terrace, designed the fountain, which is topped with little saucers for birds and a lamp with glass globes.

For decades in the 20th century, the circle was used as a parking lot. The Central Park Conservancy restored it in 1981, one of its early projects, and the fountain was later brought back to working order.

The name comes from the Japanese cherry trees on the hillside, which burst into pink bloom in spring. Find a spot on the lawn sloping down toward the water; it is one of the best places in the park to sit and look out over the Lake, the rowboats and Bow Bridge.

Getting here: From the terrace, walk west along the lakeside path, then up the short slope to the fountain circle.

Did you know?: The fountain on Cherry Hill is often mistaken for the fountain in the opening of the TV show Friends, which was actually filmed on a studio lot in California.

Photo op: Stand on the lawn's lower edge and frame Bow Bridge across the Lake with the towers of Central Park West above the trees.

More on Wikipedia: Cherry Hill Fountain · Central Park Conservancy · The Ramble and Lake

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