Umpire Rock — Attraction in New York

One of the best examples of Central Park's rich endowment of exposed bedrock, Umpire Rock is likely named for its commanding view of nearby baseball diamonds. Central Park has an unusually rich endowment of exposed, ancient bedrock — rocks that are not only highly decorative, but also contain visible evidence of epochal events dating back hundreds of millions of years... Lying between Heckcher Playground and Heckscher Ballfields, Umpire Rock gets its name for the commanding view visitors get of the baseball field from atop the mound of, mica-flecked stone that comprises 90 percent of the bedrock under Manhattan. The schist was formed from sedimentary shale by intense subterranean heat and pressure some 450 million years ago in the Paleozoic Era. While the schist of Umpire Rock was being formed, it was twisted and folded by upheavals in the earth's depths. Minerals scattered in the former shale were fused into crystals of quartz, mica, feldspar and garnet within the schist. Lighter-colored veins of granite and coarser granite pegmatite are visible across the grain. These inlays were actually once liquefied rock from the earth's interior before they were injected into fissures in the schist and cooled into bands...

such a fun trip! Went on a picnic there with the wife and the in-laws, the wife visting was such a surprise she got some nice pictures of us, without us noticing! That’s me on the left with the cool bow tie, and her parents on the right! lovely spot for a picnic, 10/10 would go again! Totally worth the climb, amazing view, perfect for a mid-trip picnic! NYC is always beautiful in the spring, but it gets slightly chilly, so bring a coat!! Overall 10/10 a bit noisy but there’s a playground nearby and it’s a popular tourist attraction in the middle of Central Park, so that’s to be expected! edit: ACTUALLY MY IN-LAWS WHO WERE ALSO MY BEST FRIENDS DIED A FEW HOURS AFTER I POSTED THIS 0/10 WOULD NOT GO AGAIN RIP AMELIA/AMY AND RORY WILLIAMS-POND YOU WILL BE MISSED DO NOT GO HERE I CANNOT CHANGE MY STAR RATING UNFORTUNATELY...

We have been coming to Central Park for many years and try to always pass this big rock so that my daughter can climb the side of it like a rock climber. You actually see rock climbers practicing here! There is a playground adjacent to it that connects to the top of this rock formation, so if you have little ones, you should definitely keep an eye on them so they don't wander onto this big rock and get hurt. However, my daughter has been climbing up and down this rock since she was like 4-5 years old, so with some ground rules and some oversight, they will be totally fine. That said, it is not something that you can spend hours doing... Climb, enjoy the view, and play...