Summit Rock

At more than 140 feet, Summit Rock is a massive bedrock outcrop and the highest natural elevation in Central Park. The south slope has carved stone stairs that lead to a vista at the peak. The lawn next to the stone “amphitheater” has views to the wooded slopes to the south and east.

The rock outcrop commanded views in all directions, including of former Seneca Village, west to the Hudson River and beyond to the hills of New Jersey, as well as the river through the corridor of 83rd Street. When Central Park was constructed, the elevation made it a natural place for designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux to build a carriage and pedestrian overlook.