North Woods

The North Woods is a 90-acre forest in the northern section of Central Park, the largest woodland area in the park and one of the most convincing illusions of wilderness in any urban park in the world.

The woods contain the Ravine, a dramatic landscape of cascading streams, rustic stone bridges, and a waterfall (the Loch) that creates scenes indistinguishable from the Adirondack Mountains. The water system was designed by Olmsted and Vaux to mimic a natural mountain stream.

The Blockhouse, a stone fortification built during the War of 1812 to defend against a potential British invasion of Manhattan, stands in the North Woods as the oldest structure in Central Park. The British never attacked, and the blockhouse remains as a relic of the city's defensive history.

The North Woods is the least visited section of Central Park, making it the quietest and most genuinely wild-feeling landscape in the park. The dense canopy, the sound of flowing water, and the absence of crowds create an experience of solitude that is almost impossible elsewhere in Manhattan.

The North Woods demonstrate Olmsted and Vaux's genius at its most ambitious: a 90-acre forest with streams, waterfalls, and a War of 1812 fortification, all hidden in the northern reaches of the most visited urban park in the world.