The Central Park Loop
Running Route
Easy
6.06 mi
392 ft
“The” classic run in New York City is unequivocally the Central Park Loop. Any day of the week, any time of day, you will find hordes of runners circling the park. Central Park has amazing scenery, a variety of hilly and flat terrain, easy access to restrooms, water and public transportation, iconic landmarks, and plenty of other runners for motivation. The park is especially beloved by runners as it is home to many of the NYRR races including the finish of the NYC Marathon. The standard Central Park Loop is 6.1 miles but there are a few ways to shorten the loop if you like. If you are running the full loop be sure to leave some gas in the tank to get you up the famous “Harlem Hill”, the rollers on the west side of the reservoir, and “Cat Hill” with its cougar statue taunting you from a rocky perch. The streets are closed to vehicles on the weekends and Monday through Friday from 10AM – 3PM and 7PM – 10PM. At all other times you’ll want to stay in the designated lane for pedestrians. And always be sure to go with the flow of traffic and run counter-clockwise.
Created By
Strava Athlete
Route and Elevation
Segments
| Name | Distance | Elev. Diff. | Avg. Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus circle start 9.8km CP loop | 6.11 mi | 105 ft | 0.0% |
| C Circle Full Lap | 6.03 mi | -105 ft | -0.0% |
| Horse Carriage Hill | 0.51 mi | 30 ft | 1.1% |
| Central Park Loop | 5.50 mi | -95 ft | -0.0% |
| Cat Hill Mile | 1.01 mi | 62 ft | 0.4% |
| counter-clock central park horse shoe | 5.34 mi | -105 ft | -0.0% |
| CP East Drive Terrace to 86th | 0.72 mi | 62 ft | 1.0% |
| CP east btw cross | 1.72 mi | 69 ft | 0.2% |
| CP 72nd to 79th Climb | 0.37 mi | 52 ft | 1.4% |
| Central Park Cat Hill | 0.28 mi | 52 ft | 3.5% |
| Central Park Cats Paw Hill | 0.23 mi | 52 ft | 3.7% |
| 6k North CP | 3.91 mi | -92 ft | -0.2% |
| Final Quarter | 0.28 mi | 13 ft | 0.7% |
| eastSideofReservoir | 0.65 mi | -20 ft | -0.2% |
| Final straight to Engineer's Gate | 0.17 mi | 13 ft | 1.3% |
| Harlem Meer Mile | 1.02 mi | -52 ft | -0.8% |
| Zero Loss North Hill CP | 1.12 mi | -75 ft | -0.1% |
| Harlem hill | 0.49 mi | 92 ft | 3.5% |
| Central Park - North Hill | 0.48 mi | 85 ft | 2.6% |
| Harlem Hill Repeats | 0.26 mi | 69 ft | 4.8% |
| The Triplets | 0.93 mi | 59 ft | 1.1% |
| th Street Transverse Climb | 0.19 mi | 164 ft | 15.9% |
| westSideOfReservoir | 0.57 mi | 23 ft | 0.7% |
| Denise Hill | 0.25 mi | 30 ft | 2.1% |
| CP West Dr South Bound From Summit Rock | 0.30 mi | -39 ft | -2.5% |