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Photo: Kevin Millican, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
This 11 acre lake is one of Central Park's finest spots; surrounded by flowering trees and inhabited by several fish and turtle species.
Harlem Meer is a man-made lake at the northeast corner of New York City's Central Park. It lies west of Fifth Avenue, south of 110th Street, and north of the Conservatory Garden, near the Harlem and East Harlem neighborhoods of Manhattan. The lake, as originally constructed, was 12.634 acres (51,130 m2), but after the completion in 1966 of the Lasker skating rink and swimming pool, it was reduced to approximately 11 acres (45,000 m2) in area and approximately 0.75 miles (1.21 km) in circumference.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
On the north shore of the Harlem Meer, the Discovery Center holds education and community programs and seasonal exhibits, as well as offering a popular place for catch-and-release fishing.
A six-acre garden which is Central Park's only formal garden, representing Italian, French, and English landscape styles, with formal plantings and numerous sculptures.
None of Central Park is actual virgin forest, but this is the closest any part of the park gets to feeling like genuine forest. It is beautiful and cool in hot weather. However, like a real forest, it is a mosquito habitat, so make sure to use insect repellent before walking through this part of the park.
One of the highest points in the park, the Great Hill is a hilltop meadow surrounded by stately elm trees and serves as an excellent place to picnic.
One of the most idyllic and tranquil landscapes in Central Park, the Pool is an excellent spot for quiet contemplation, with its grassy banks and nearby waterfalls. A stream, The Loch flows northeast from the Pool, through a stream valley called The Ravine. A trail that follows the Loch, winding under a canopy of tall trees as the stream goes over several waterfalls and passes under a couple of stone arches.
A Western-themed playground with a wooded fortress-like setting, canals, sandboxes, and water sprays.