To listen to the weather forecasters, a MONSTER storm is expected with massive amounts of snow to blanket the Northeast of the United States. For most of the region, they are pretty accurate — up to 3 feet of snow… power outages….impassable roads. New York City, on the other hand, seems to “dodge the bullet” (in the words of Mayor Bloomberg). Only 11.5 inches blanket the city, enough to turn it into a 48-hour winter wonderland especially in Central Park.

Completed in 1873, based on the design of Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux, the 843-acre Park is “the jewel in the crown” of the city. Two and a half miles long and half a mile wide, it is bordered by West 110th Street to the north, West 59th Street to the south, Central Park West and Fifth Avenue on the West and East. Eighteen gated entrances provide access through a low brownstone wall, none more dramatic than Merchants Gate at Columbus Circle with its snow-covered Maine Monument. It is the City’s playground.

When we enter the park early in the morning after the “Blizzard,” it is already bustling with people out to enjoy New York’s version of Narnia. Joggers navigate their way along the icy roads; cross-country skiers pole themselves forward under some of the 25,000 trees that fill the park. Today, their boughs are drooping, snow piled high. The slightest gust of wind dumps it onto unsuspecting passers-by. Snowshoers tramp across the wide-open English-style meadows where dogs frolic in the fluffy white blanket. Some of the smaller ones disappear entirely whilst the retrievers and sheepdogs sink in up to their chests with every leap and bound. There are even a few daredevil cyclists. And armies of sledders and tobogganers!

Central Park’s topography includes several substantial hills. Belvedere Castle crowns the highest point in the park overlooking Turtle Pond, which is covered by a thick slab of ice. Climb to the top, and you have an unparalleled view of the wintery scene below. Nearby in front of the Delacorte Theater where Shakespeare in the Park holds sway in the summer, a white-accented Romeo and Juliet embrace romantically in the snow.

Follow the winding snow-covered paths away from the main road, and you will find yourself in the Rambles, with its undulating hills, which are transformed into sledding runs. Children, adults, and even dogs climb the sides to come barreling down the slope on sleds, inflatable rings or even pieces of cardboard. Below you, one of the 36 bridges in Central Park (no two are the same) nestles over a gorge with skyscrapers of the city as a backdrop. Red cardinals and small yellow finches hop along branches overhead. This is one of the best birding spots in the city, even in winter.

Climb back down off the Rambles to the Lake with its wide-open vistas of the buildings along Central Park West. A snowman, with a Henri Bendel bag (this IS New York) swinging from one of its arms, surveys the scene near Bow Bridge which connects the Rambles to Cherry Hill near Bethesda Terrace. Here you will find the famous Bethesda Fountain, overlooking Loeb Boathouse where in summer you can rent a rowboat or even a gondola. Today it is buried in snow and icicles hang off the edges.

The snow muffles all sound in the nearby Mall, a wide boulevard with some of the Park’s 29 sculptures as well as rows of American elm trees. Follow it to the Dairy, a Victorian-style cottage. Once, cows were milked here, now it is the Central Park Visitors Center. If you are feeling particularly energetic, strap on a pair of ice skates and take a spin on the ice at Wollman rink, just beneath the Dairy. When you are done (or even if you don’t skate), this is one of the few places where you can get a hot chocolate to warm up after your time in the snow. Abutting the rink is another of Central Park’s small lakes. As we watch, a solitary Great Blue Heron flies across the ice to alight on a snow bank beneath the venerable Plaza Hotel.

Despite the cold, we (and thousands of other New Yorkers as well as tourists from around the world) spend several hours playing in this winter wonderland. Two days later the rains start and the beautiful white world is washed away… Until the next “Big” one.

PHOTOGRAPHY TIP
Photographing in the snow can be a challenge if you want to preserve the detail of the white and not blow out your highlights. We use a Nikon D800 camera with a 28-300 mm lens and Nikon D3S with a 14-24 mm wide angle lens. We prefer to shoot on Manual settings starting at F16, a speed range of 1/60-1/100 and ISO of 200.  Settings are adjusted as required depending on the level of light, using the histogram to ensure that the edge of the white graph is as close to the right edge without touching it. Using a polarizing filter offsets some of the glare from the snow and ice

IF YOU GO
Central Park is accessible from all sides of Manhattan between 59th and 110th Streets. It is open daily from 0600 to 0100.

Wollman Rink is located just inside the park at 59th St and 5th Ave.

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