As the air gets crisper and the leaves begin to float down in colors of red, orange and yellow, you know that fall is here. For New Yorkers and Fordham University students alike, this means sweaters and hot coffees — preferably pumpkin spice flavored. After a summer full of heatwaves and humidity, fall is coming as a much needed release from getting sunburnt and sweating anytime you leave the house. Now is the perfect time for people to enjoy the beauty of fall in New York City.
Even though one might assume that being in the city will limit the amount of fall foliage they get to see, there are so many good places to go. In Manhattan, Central Park is a popular destination for both locals and tourists. Due to its size, there are so many places to sit down and enjoy the nice cool weather while watching the leaves fall. Picnics, bike rides, visiting the Belvedere and sitting by the lake are all great activities to be enjoyed on a pleasant fall day. On Oct. 30, Central Park will also be hosting their annual Halloween on the Harlem Meer celebration, in which people are encouraged to bring their own carved pumpkins that will then be floated across the water. The event is free and open to all ages with many crafts and entertainment available.
If Central Park is too crowded for your liking though, Fort Tryon Park, located almost on the tip of Manhattan’s North end is a much quieter alternative, due to being so far from the more bustling part of the city. From the walking paths you can enjoy views of the Hudson River and the George Washington Bridge. It also hosts many activities such as birding tours, garden walking tours and access to the former gatehouse to the Billing’s Estate, a historic cottage that now houses the NYC Parks offices. With a cup of hot chocolate and a good book, I can see myself spending hours just overlooking the water. Additionally, within the heart of Fort Tryon Park is The Met Cloisters, an extension of the Metropolitan Museum of Art located on the Upper East Side. It features medieval European Art within it as well as the surrounding gardens that will be perfect to explore on a fall day.
Continuing north from here and entering into the Bronx, we reach Van Cortlandt Park, which is less than a 30 minute bus ride from Fordham’s Rose Hill campus. The park features seven different hiking trails and Van Cortlandt Lake, making it a great place to walk around on a chilly day. If you are able to make the trek up Vault Hill and take in the scenery, you will be met with an uninterrupted view of the Manhattan skyline framed by the fall colored leaves. It is one of the most beautiful views in the whole park and certainly worth the trip.
The Rose Hill campus also has its own NYC park right across the street — or should I say garden? The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG), free to Fordham students, features so many different fall activities. From Sept. 25 to Nov. 30, they are hosting a “Nightmare Before Christmas” light trail that can serve as a fun and accessible weekend activity for students looking to get into the Halloween spirit. With the foliage and multitude of pumpkin-related activities, NYBG becomes the personification of fall each year. The Thain Family Forest in particular is NYC’s largest remaining old-growth woodland and will make visitors feel as if they are no longer in the city at all.
For those who would rather spend a day enjoying the foliage at Fordham, instead of exploring one of these parks, Fordham Rose Hill is always an option. Lincoln Center students have the opportunity to take the Ram Van uptown alongside the Hudson River. From the windows of the van they are able to take in the wonder of this tree-filled drive and relax until they arrive at Rose Hill where the trees are sprinkled with bits of orange and yellow while the ground beneath them is beginning to gather piles of leaves. It is a much needed break from midterms to simply hang out with friends and enjoy one another’s company in the cool fall air, and even with our somewhat rainy weather there are still so many students out experiencing the changing of the seasons.
The start of fall is a special time with so much change that is evident across the city from the trees lining the sidewalk to those towering overhead in Central Park. There is so much to explore during this time and so much opportunity to do so. So take a break from stressing over midterms, order a pumpkin spice latte and just watch the leaves fall.
