Central Park: Guided Bike Tour with Movie Spots & History

4.64

(296 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We were already wobbling a bit on our rented bikes (okay, maybe just me) when our guide, Sam, waved us over by the Dairy Visitor Center. He had that New Yorker energy—quick jokes, but also this real affection for the park. The air was cool and you could smell grass and something sweet from a nearby cart. I never realized how much Central Park holds until you’re actually pedaling through it instead of just walking one corner or another.

Sam pointed out movie spots—apparently that bridge in Home Alone 2 is just as busy in real life—and then we stopped at Bethesda Terrace. There was this guy playing cello under the arches; his music echoed off the stone and mixed with all the languages around us. I tried to snap a photo but honestly got distracted just watching people dance by the fountain. My legs were starting to feel it but the pace stayed chill, nobody rushing.

Belvedere Castle surprised me—I’d seen it from afar before but never up close. The steps are worn smooth and you get these weirdly peaceful views of trees and skyscrapers mashed together. At the Reservoir, wind whipped across the water and for a second everything went quiet except for sneakers slapping pavement behind us. We finished at Strawberry Fields where Sam told us about John Lennon’s apartment across the street; there were flowers on the Imagine mosaic, and someone humming “Jealous Guy.” I still think about that little patch of silence in such a noisy city.