Inwood Hill Park

Inwood Hill Park is a large public park at the northern tip of Manhattan in New York City, preserving natural forest, glacial rock outcrops and a salt marsh. It is one of the borough’s principal natural areas and offers trails and shoreline access.

The park contains carriage roads and footpaths, dedicated recreational spaces such as ballfields and playgrounds, and extensive wooded slopes that are used for walking and birdwatching. The shoreline areas include tidal marsh and rocky shoreline stretches along the Hudson and Harlem rivers.

Archaeological evidence in the park includes Native American sites and shell middens showing pre-colonial use of the area. The park has also served as an urban recreational space throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, with facilities for organized sports and informal waterfront recreation.

The park sits at Manhattan’s northernmost neighborhood of Inwood, bounded by the Hudson River to the west and the Harlem River to the east, adjacent to the residential streets around Dyckman and Isham.

• Park area and character: Covers roughly 196 acres of natural woods, salt marsh and recreational space at Manhattan's northern tip.

What to See #

• Salt marsh and shoreline: A stretch of natural estuarine marsh and reedbeds along the park's shoreline, providing habitat for waterfowl and migratory birds.
• Native forest and glacial outcrops: Forest and old-growth stands on park slopes that represent one of the last remaining pockets of pre-colonial forest in Manhattan, with walking trails through mature trees and glacial rock outcrops.
• Recreation and picnic areas: Recreational facilities including sports fields, playgrounds and picnic areas located in the southern portion of the park adjacent to the neighborhood.