Reporter Journal: A sunrise trek through wild solitude in New York City

By Brian Mann

Published November 30, 2024 at 5:00 AM CST

New York City shimmers sunrise. From the wildest corners of Central Park, the city is framed by forests. The sound of traffic and sirens is softened by the murmur of streams and geese taking flight from lakes.

It was super early, not yet four o'clock in the morning, when I set out on a Bronx-bound local train at the start of an urban hike that would take me through some of the wildest places in Manhattan.

This isn't how my hikes usually start. Usually I'm driving back roads searching for a hiking trail.

But on this day the subway dropped me at 125th street on the edge of Harlem. I climbed out of the station to a city still asleep, just one solitary guy setting up a fruit stand on the sidewalk.

An early morning trek in New York City leads through urban streets where New Yorkers are starting their day and through peaceful parklands full of birds and winding streams. At this hour, the crowds are absent.

After getting my bearings, I put on my headlamp and set off into the tangled wilds of Morningside Park. This isn't really wilderness, but in the early darkness it felt like it.

A few minutes walking brought me into winding trails where I was surrounded by birds flitting through the trees.

The 36-acre Ramble is designed to resemble a wild forest in upstate New York. There are millions of people within a few miles but the winding trails feel remote.

I hiked on and it was magical how remote the park could seem. The trail was so windy in places, the trees so thick, I had to use my phone to figure out where I was. I managed to get lost in a forest in the center of Manhattan.

In Central Park, woodland paths lead through arched tunnels. The first dawn light and the electric glow of the city shine on the stonework.

I hiked on and in places I could see the stars merging with the lights of the skyline. I love New York City, the noise, the encounters with strangers and the hectic pace.

But I also have a hunger for solitude. On this walk, under a glowing moon, it felt like I had this beautiful place all to myself. One discovery — in Morningside Park and after crossing into Central Park — was the abundant water. There are lakes and ponds everywhere. Winding streams tumble down in little waterfalls.

Parts of Manhattan that are crowded with tourists during the day turn into wild, solitary places in the pre-dawn hours of morning.

My goal was to reach what may be the wildest corner of Central Park - 36 acres of hills and forest near the Upper West Side called the Ramble. These woodlands were planned and planted this way over a century ago, made to resemble the Catskills or the Adirondack Mountains.

I made it just in time to see the sun rise, scrambling up an outcrop of stone as the skyscrapers turned orange and rose and blue. Millions of people all around me, but here it was just birds and wind in the trees and the sun rising over the city..

After hiking through New York City under the stars, NPR's Brian Mann watched the sun rise from the Ramble, the 36-acre wild forest in the heart of Central Park. A Narnia-like lamp post glows in the thicket.