I wanted to get off the beaten track of the streets today, especially since it was so hot out and explore the paths of the parks in the area. Inwood has so many beautiful parks, rock formations, valleys and peaks that when you walk the remote paths to the middle of Inwood Hill Park, with the exception of a train passing by you would never know that you were in Manhattan and not in the middle of the wilderness.
In the Spring of 2026, I revisited Inwood again for a more extensive tour for the afternoon and revisited the neighborhood and explored the blocks to see if anything changed since my original visit. The parks were really lush and in full blooming trees and flowers.
Getting off the subway stop at 207th Street. The artwork on the wall of the subway station said it all about coming back to this neighborhood.
I made my way up Broadway and have to say that the stores and restaurants keep changing with the economy. More of the upscale restaurants have closed and newer cafes, coffee shops and some Dominican gourmet restaurants have opened in their place. The neighborhood is so beautiful in the warmer months.
Getting off the 207th Street subway by Isham Park walking up Broadway
I started the day at 218th Street and started my walk of Inwood Hill Park (See review on TripAdvisor). I walked the Muscota Marsh at 218 Indian Hill Road (See review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum@Wordpress.com) part of the Columbia campus, again at low tide and observed the many birds that call the marsh home. More people were enjoying their day at the park and all over the ball fields and lawns people were enjoying baseball games, soccer and picnics. There was a lot of activity at the upper end of the park and as you start the walk up the hill into the paths leading to the woods, you really are transported to another world.
Muscota Marsh at 218 Indian Hill Road near the Columbia Stadium
https://www.nycgovparks.org/highlights/muscota-marsh
The Columbia C inside the Inlet of the Harlem River
As I walked the paths to the upper reaches of the park, I was reminded that once upon a time when Manhattan was all wooded and what the Dutch must of thought of Manhattan when they arrived. It is quite the experience walking around the park in the middle of the afternoon and no one is around this part of the park. For the all the ballgames and soccer games below, it is peaceful, relaxing and a sense of tranquility is the feeling you get as you walk along the hills and valleys of the park. These are things that you don’t see from the apartment buildings and streets below.
Muscato Marsh in the summer of 2023
Walking around the park and up through the paths into the woods is like going to another world. It is so quiet and peaceful with beautiful views, you forget that the City surrounds you.
Before you exit the playing fields and make your way through the paths that take you up through Inwood Hill, you will pass the Shorakkopoch Rock, the spot where Peter Minuet ‘bought’ the island of Manhattan from the Native Americans.
The historic Shorakkopooh rock. This is where Peter Minuet ‘bought’ Manhattan from the Native Americans
A closer view of the plaque
The upper paths of the park offer logs to sit and relax on, the view of Indian Caves, beautiful rock formations and dozens of types of wildflowers along the paths. When walking this part of the park, wind down multiple paths before reaching street level. There is lots to see in the middle of the park and if you want to be by yourself this is the part of the park you want to be in.
Walking through Inwood Park is like stepping back through time when there was nothing in Manhattan but woods.
Inwood Park
Inwood Park pathway
Inwood Park in the Spring
Walking through the paths
Walking through Inwood Park
In the middle of the park are the old Indian caves when Lenape Indians once camped. These rock formations have a history older than the City itself.
The old Indian caves
The Indian Caves in Inwood Hill Park
The Indian Caves of Inwood Hill Park
The Indian caves
Inside the Indian caves
The Indian cave at the top of the hill
Inside the second Indian Cave
Inwood Hill Park up by the Hudson River paths
The paths of Inwood Park during the “Great Saunter”.
The rock formations in Inwood Park.
Rock formations in Inwood Park
Reaching the highest point of Inwood Park gives you the best views of the Hudson River.
The Hudson River behind the trees
The views of the Hudson River and inlet from the highest point of Inwood Park
Walking down the path through Inwood Park
As you exit the park by Dyckman Street, make a left and head back to the pier and little beach at the end of the street. It is a nice place to relax after a long walk around the park.
Walking through the back of the park on Payson Avenue
Walking to the pier at the end of Dyckman Street offers some of the most breathtaking views of the Hudson River. One side is the Hudson Restaurant which has the most amazing views of the Hudson River and look in the other direction and there is the Palisades for miles along the river.
The view of the Hudson Restaurant and looking down the Hudson River to the George Washington Bridge
Looking up the Hudson River from the pier at Dyckman Street offers
Enter the park from the lower side of Dyckman Street and enter the ball fields. On a busy Saturday, I watched a soccer game that had the intensity of an Olympic match. It was the Mexicans vs the Mexicans and you could feel the pressure from the fans. There were loads of families watching the game and picnicking by the river. What was nice was the food carts offering all sorts of Mexican food choices at very reasonable prices.
A special note when walking this section of Inwood is that there are lots of choices of places to go to the bathroom. You have the public bathrooms under the bridge, you have the public bathrooms in the playground on the corner of Dyckman Street and Payson Avenue and at the local library by the corner of Dyckman Street and Broadway.
Inwood Hill Park Rose Garden
I crossed Dyckman Street and walked into the Fort Tyron Park. At the beginning of the park is Lt. William Tighe Park Triangle. This park was open today and offered much relief from walking around Broadway. The park was named after William Tighe, a decorated veteran of two wars and a local resident (NYCParks).
William Tighe Park at Dyckman Street and Broadway during a recent art show
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/lt-wm-tighe-triangle/history
This little gem of a park reminds us of the positive benefits when a neighborhood of volunteers bans together to create a little park so magical and polished. There is a little pool full of golden fish to the back of this little pocket park, colorful flowers and small benches perfect to relax and read a book.
The inside of William Tighe Square Park in one of the rare days it was open
William Tighe Square Park during the art show
The reflecting pools at William Tighe Square Park
The gardens were open again in the Spring of 2026 and this section of the park was called “Jardin Abierto”. The gardens were in bloom and it was really relaxing to walk around.
The Jardin Abierto in William Tighe Park
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/inwood-hill-park
The garden in Spring
The gardens in the Spring
The gardens in the Spring
I walked through the extremely busy Anne Loftus Playground again. It was some afternoon trying to avoid all the kids running all over the playground, splashing in the fountain area and chasing one another up the jungle gym while parents chatted amongst themselves or read books. This well-laid out playground is very popular with the locals at all times of the day because as I passed it one night late in the evening, the kids were still running around the park. Kids of all ages, shapes and sizes play together and they show real neighborhood unity by watching out for one another.
The Anne Loftus Playground is really popular in the late Spring and early Summer
The Anne Loftus playground was named after the District Manager and Community Board Leader for District 12, who tirelessly fought for improvement in the parks and the neighborhood. The park was name after her in 1990 when it opened. It has currently received a face lift and is being enjoyed by children and families from all over the neighborhood.
Anne Loftus Playground at Broadway and Dyckman Street
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-tryon-park/highlights/11234
Ann Loftus Playground in the summer of 2023
The park in the Fall of 2025
In the warmer months, the neighborhood has a wonderful Farmer’s Market on Isham Street right next to the park area. Many upstate New York vendors come down the to market and there is a nice selection depending on the season.
The Inwood Farmers Market during a Summer of 2025
The vendors are more plentiful during the summer and the beautiful produce in the summer months
At the corner of Isham Street is the Catholic Church of the Good Shepard, where I have stopped in on quiet afternoons to sit and cool down and charge my phone. The church building is beautiful inside and out.
The Catholic Church of the Good Shepard at 4967 Broadway
History of the church from the church website:
The Church of the Good Shepherd, built by the Paulist Fathers on land purchased from the Isham family, has been a spiritual and social center for Inwood’s Roman Catholic community for more than one hundred years. The priests ‘ ultimate aim was to establish a great Catholic centre in a part of the city which, in the near future, is destined to have a large population. Good Shepherd Church 1915 (from the church website).
The Catholic Church of the Good Shepard
The first church was a wood frame building that was moved across Cooper Street around 1930 and later razed to make way for an addition to the elementary school. As Inwood’s population increased in the 1930s following the opening of the IND subway under Broadway, the need for a larger facility for the predominantly Irish congregation was recognized. Architect Paul Monaghan was commissioned in 1935 to design the present church, a handsome, Romanesque-style building featuring a random coursed granite facade with limestone and granite trim and a roof of terra-cotta barrel tile. Three stained glass windows set between stepped buttresses are recessed above a prominent porch that projects onto the street. The building’s massing gives it prominence as a work of architecture and a symbol of the community. An impressive interior space seats approximately 1,000 people (from the church website).
The arch on the doorway
From the arch
I try to take a break in the church when I am hot and tired from all the walking. It is so beautiful inside.
I took some time to walk around both Isham Park and Bruce Reynold’s Garden which is part of the park along Cooper and Park Street. Like all the other gardens in the neighborhood, the flowers were all in bloom, there were places to sit and relax in the shade and it was so peaceful just to walk around and have some time to myself.
Isham Park at the end of Coopers Street
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/isham-park
History of Isham Park:
(From NYCParks.org)
Like other parks in northern Manhattan, the site of Isham Park played a crucial role in the battle of Fort Washington during the American Revolution. The site served as a landing point for Hessian troops coming up the Harlem River to drive the American forces to Westchester and New Jersey (the park website).
Isham Park in the Spring of 2026
The Isham Park oval in the Spring
The oval during the Spring
The oval with the roses in bloom
All the cars were turning around at the end of the oval and what was really pretty was the roses were in full bloom at the time I visited.
The roses in bloom
Isham Park in the Spring
The Bruce Reynolds Garden was open when I was there as volunteers were cleaning and trimming the plants in the park that afternoon. It is always so nice to walk around the paths and see all the flowers and well maintained garden beds.
Bruce Reynolds Garden inside of Isham Park:
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/isham-park/highlights/14066
The gardens inside Isham park were created and maintained by Officer Bruce Reynolds, who died on 9/11 while rushing to help people escape the falling towers. The gardens were his pride and joy and he along with many volunteers took a neglected section of Isham Park and created this area to revitalize this section of the park as a place of peace and tranquility (Park website).
The Bruce Reynolds Garden
The Garden in the Spring
The gardens in bloom
The gardens in the Spring
The roses were in full bloom
The gardens were in full bloom
What I love about visiting this area of the City is that the Metropolitan Museum of Art has their Cloisters Branch of the museum on the top of the hill in Forty Tryon Park. This is where the museum houses some of its Medieval collections and the gardens inside the Cloisters when they are in bloom are so colorful to see.
I love to tour the Cloisters during any season especially in the Summer months and during the holidays. I try to walk around the upper reaches of the park before nightfall. If you like this type of art, it is one of the best of its kind. Do not miss the courtyard area to sit and relax amongst the flowers and the patio area to overlook the park.
‘The Hunt of the Unicorn Tapestries’ at the Cloisters Museum
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/467642
One of my favorite exhibits is the ‘Hunt of the Unicorn’ tapestries. These world renown tapestries show the pursuit and capture of the mythical unicorn. The artwork and detail are breathtaking considering the age of these works. You can spend as little or a lot of time here, but it is a small museum.
The Cloisters at 99 Margaret Corbin Drive in Fort Tyron Park
https://www.metmuseum.org/visit/plan-your-visit/met-cloisters
The Cloisters Gardens in the summer of 2024
The Cloisters Gardens in the summer of 2024
In 2015, I ended my day back in Inwood Hill Park and stopped at the Indian Road Café at 600 218th Street #3 (it is now Inwood Farm Restaurant), a farm to table concept restaurant for dinner and a history lesson. First off, this restaurant is amazing. It is small and cozy and I was lucky to snag a table by the screen on ‘History Night’.
Indian Road Cafe at 600 West 218th Street food is excellent (now called ‘Inwood Farm’)
https://www.facebook.com/TheInwoodFarm/
https://www.indianroadcafe.com/
The restaurant is now named Inwood Farm since 2020
https://www.theinwoodfarm.com/menus
My review on TripAdvisor:
The front of Inwood Farm Restaurant in Spring 2026
I love the inside of the restaurant with its interesting artwork and fixtures. The room is as innovative as the menu. They also have a very nice outdoor cafe in the warmer months where you can people watch. It is a real neighborhood restaurant as many of the patrons were greeted by name and it looked like a lot of the neighborhood eats here on a regular basis.
The inside of Inwood Farm
The inside of the dining room Inwood Farm Restaurant
The bar area of the restaurant
The speaker from the Museum of Natural History, who had just given us a talk and tour on Inwood Hill Park for a museum tour that afternoon, was there talking about the history of the neighborhood and you would be floored by the number of adults hanging on every word. The gentleman discussed the history of the area with details on the amusement parks that were once here, the trolley and bridge systems and the progression of development in Inwood. The food was fantastic that evening.
When I visited in 2015 when it was Indian Road Cafe, I ordered the Cuban Panino sandwich with an iced tea for dinner that I really enjoyed. The restaurant is a ‘farm to table’ concept and you can see it in the taste and freshness of the entrée. The pork was perfectly cooked and sandwich combination worked. The salad was the right amount with a light dressing.
When I revisited again in 2026 when when the name changed to the Inwood Farm Restaurant, the food was the same high quality and I had to have the Cuban sandwich again, this time with freshly cut French Fries. The sandwich was packed with meat and cheese and pressed to perfection. I could barely finish it.
The Urbano Cubana sandwich with French Fries
The Urbano Cubana sandwich with French Fries
The sandwich was over sized and delicious
For dessert, in 2015, I had a Blueberry Cobbler that was more of a dump cake with fresh blueberries baked inside. The whole meal was wonderful, and the service was friendly and not rushed. In 2026, this was no longer on the menu so I had the Croissant Bread Pudding that had layers of honey and chocolate in it and was topped with Vanilla Gelato. It was a pretty sizable piece for dessert and it was delicious.
The Honey Bread Pudfing
The Bread Pudding with Vanilla Gelato
I sat back, ate my dinner and enjoyed my lesson on the history of Inwood. Check out the restaurant’s website for other special events and I have read many reviews on their wonderful weekend brunch. It was a nice way to end my evening touring the parks. (Special note though, watch the pricing here. They charge for refills on Ice Tea and overcharged me for the Cuban sandwich the second time by $2.00. Make sure to double check the menu on these things).
Walking up Seaman Avenue in the Spring of 2026 to tour the park again
I finished my afternoon with a quick walk around Muscato Marsh again and enjoyed the view on this warm sunny afternoon.
The inlet during the Spring by Muscato Marsh
As I headed down Broadway in the late afternoon on my way back to the “A” subway at Dyckman Street, I passed the Inwood Animal Hospital and admired the paintings of a dog and cat that were on the roll down doors. The doors just happened to be down that afternoon and I was able to get a good look at them.
a
The Inwood Animal Hospital at 4846 Broadway
https://inwoodanimalclinic.com
The Dog painting
The Cat painting
The paintings had been created by artists from Art Jar, a collective of Graffiti artists from New York City.
The artist Go Art Jar
https://artjar.com/experience-1
I covered a lot of ground between all the parks and walking all the streets on Inwood on the west side of Broadway. There is a lot to see and do and please be prepared to walk when you go up and down the pathways in Inwood Park. It is an amazing neighborhood especially in the warmer months.
Christmas in Inwood:
Even during Christmas time, the area is really beautiful. There is also lots to do as the parks have their own Christmas trees, holiday celebrations, farmers markets and holiday traditions.
The Christmas tree in Washington Heights/Inwood.
The holiday celebration on Dyckman Street.
The Christmas tree in William Tighe Park during the holidays.
Even the Cloisters was decked out for the holidays and for the Epiphany. I have taken museum tours on the history of “Three Kings Day” and the use of plants and greenery during the holidays in the Middle Ages. The museum always have great walking tours during the holidays.
The inside of the Cloisters at Christmas time.
The greenery at the Cloisters at the holidays.
The Pagan symbols of the Christmas holidays that the Catholics adopted into the holiday.
The beautiful plants that decorate the Cloisters during the holidays.
Each of the Cloisters were lined with fresh greens and potted plants giving each of the Cloisters its own special mood. The whole museum was decorated with potted and flowering plants.
One of the Cloisters bright with plants
The stairs leading into the chapel decorated for the holidays
The chapel on the main floor decorated for the holidays
The colorful floral displays lining the window sills of the chapel
This led to a discussion about what each plant, flower and fruit meant in the Christian tradition, a clever way to justify decorating and celebrating during the holidays. Ivies, pine, winter flowers and even late season apples not only lined places of worship but gave a festive look and district smell to these buildings. A symbol of life in the cold winter months while they waited for the arrival of Spring.
One of the artifacts at the Cloisters for the talk on “Three Kings Day”.
This is what I love about the neighborhoods in New York City. You don’t have to go to just Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree. There are many around the City and they are beautiful in their own way. This is what makes a neighborhood as neighborhood.
https://www.grownyc.org/greenmarket/manhattan/inwood
Check out my other blogs on walking around the Inwood neighborhood:
Day Two: Exploring Inwood on Independence Day:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/25
Day Six: Walking the Streets and Parks of Inwood:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/59
Day Seven: Walking the Lower Parts of Inwood:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/67
Day Eight: Touring the Dyckman Farmhouse and the Surrounding neighborhood:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/71
Day Nine: Exploring between the Inwood Parks
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/85
Day Ten and Eleven: Exploring Inwood Parks
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/89
Places to Visit:
Inwood Hill Park
Payson And Seaman Avenues
New York, NY 10034
(212) 639-9675
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/inwoodhillpark
Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-1:00am
My review on TripAdvisor:
Fort Tyron Park
Riverside Drive to Broadway
New York, NY 10040
(212) 639-9675
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-tryon-park
Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-1:00am
My review on TripAdvisor:
My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:
https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/4350
The Cloisters-The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Fort Tryon Park)
99 Margaret Corbin Drive
New York, NY 10004
(212) 923-3700
Open: Sunday-Saturday-10:00am-4:45pm
Review on TripAdvisor:
My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:
https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/680
Anne Loftus Playground (Fort Tyron Park)
4746 Broadway
New York, NY 10040
(212) 639-9675
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-tryon-park/highlights/11234
Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-1:00am
My review on TripAdvisor:
William Tighe Triangle
Seaman Avenue, Dyckman Street and Broadway
New York, NY 10040
(212) 639-9675
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/lt-wm-tighe-triangle/history
Open: Check Website
Muscota Marsh (Columbia University)
218 Indian Hill Road
New York, NY 10034
(212) 639-7695
https://www.nycgovparks.org/highlights/muscota-marsh
https://facilities.columbia.edu/baker-athletic-complex
Open: Sunday-Saturday: 6:00am-1:00am
My review on TripAdvisor:
My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:
https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/1214
Places to eat:
Indian Road Cafe (now called “Inwood Farm”)
600 218th Street #3
New York, NY 10034
(212) 942-7417
https://www.indianroadcafe.com/about/
Open: Sunday: 8:00am-10:00pm/Monday-Friday: 7:00am-10:30am/Saturday: 7:00am-11:00pm
My review on TripAdvisor:
Inwood Farm
Review on TripAdvisor:
