New York is better to run in than its reputation suggests, and the reason is that the
island has water on both sides of it. Greenways run almost the full length of the Hudson
and the East River, Central Park's drives have been closed to cars since 2018, and so
has Prospect Park's. Between them that is a great deal of running where nothing has to
stop for a light.
Manhattan is flat until suddenly it is not. Measured against terrain data across
the nine routes below, seven carry under five metres of climb per kilometre — and the
run up at Fort Tryon carries seventeen. The island's bedrock rises hard north of about
155th Street, and that is where the only real hill in this set lives.
18 named features9 examples belowManhattan and Brooklyn, New York
Nine routes in New York, nine different requests
Nine, drawn on demand
Asked for“an easy 5K by the water”
Roosevelt Island loop
The Roosevelt Island loop is a 5.5 km run round the island in the East River, opposite midtown New York, with 17 m of climb in the whole thing. The loop road runs the perimeter, so there is water on one side of you for every metre of it.
Distance5.5 km
Ascent17 m
Steepest1.3%
On path0%
East RiverRoosevelt IslandFour Freedoms Park
Why this one
There is barely any climb to place: 17 m across 5.5 km, and never steeper than 1.3%. Only 0% of it leaves tarmac, less than any of the other eight — it is the one to run when you do not want to pick your feet up.
The Prospect Park loop is an 8.2 km run in Brooklyn, out of the middle of New York, on a park drive that has been closed to cars for years now. The drive carries no road crossing at all, which is the whole of the ask, and 21% of the route is off tarmac.
Distance8.2 km
Ascent59 m
Steepest3.3%
On path21%
Prospect ParkBrooklynTraffic-free
Why this one
46% of the climbing is in the last third. It finishes uphill, which is worth knowing before you set off. Almost none of it is run twice: 2% doubles back, less than any of the other eight.
Central Park and the bridle path is an 8.1 km loop in the middle of New York, and the most off-road of the nine at 37% off tarmac. The bridle path round the Reservoir is cinder, the North Woods is genuine trail, and neither is what people expect of Manhattan.
Distance8.1 km
Ascent34 m
Steepest1.5%
On path37%
Bridle pathCentral ParkThe Reservoir
Why this one
There is barely any climb to place: 34 m across 8.1 km, and never steeper than 1.5%. 37% of it is off tarmac, more than any of the other eight.
Asked for“something short, right through downtown”
City Hall and the financial district
City Hall and the financial district is a 6.4 km loop through the oldest part of New York, where the grid gives up and the streets go where the Dutch put them. Past the Brooklyn Bridge approach, down to the Battery and back up through Tribeca.
Distance6.4 km
Ascent24 m
Steepest1.8%
On path2%
City Hall ParkBrooklyn BridgeBattery Park
Why this one
There is barely any climb to place: 24 m across 6.4 km, and never steeper than 1.8%. Almost none of it is run twice: 2% doubles back, less than any of the other eight.
Grand Central and the East Side is a 10.0 km loop from the terminal in New York, and the flattest of the nine at 29 m of climb. Out to the river at the UN, south along the greenway and back up through Murray Hill, passing within 15 m of a public toilet.
Distance10.0 km
Ascent29 m
Steepest1.8%
On path2%
Grand CentralEast RiverRestrooms
Why this one
There is barely any climb to place: 29 m across 10.0 km, and never steeper than 1.8%. 3% of it doubles back on ground already covered, and it stays within 1.3 km of the start.
The East River Greenway is a 13.0 km loop from East River Park in New York, north along the water on the separated path and back through the Lower East Side. The bridges — Williamsburg, Manhattan, Brooklyn — go over the top of you one after another.
Distance13.0 km
Ascent50 m
Steepest2.6%
On path0%
East RiverEast River ParkGreenway
Why this one
49% of the climbing sits in the middle third — you start flat and you finish flat. Only 0% of it leaves tarmac, less than any of the other eight — it is the one to run when you do not want to pick your feet up.
Riverside Park and Morningside is a 7.2 km loop on the Upper West Side of New York, along the terraces above the Hudson and back through Morningside Heights. It is the quietest ground in this set that is still properly in the city.
Distance7.2 km
Ascent48 m
Steepest4%
On path1%
Riverside ParkHudson RiverMorningside Heights
Why this one
80% of the climbing sits in the middle third — you start flat and you finish flat. 18% of it doubles back on ground already covered, and it stays within 1.4 km of the start.
Fort Tryon and Washington Heights is an 11.6 km loop at the top of Manhattan in New York, and the hilliest of the nine by a distance — 196 m of climb and 9.7% at its sharpest pitch. This is where the island's bedrock comes up, and where the Cloisters sits on top of it.
Distance11.6 km
Ascent196 m
Steepest9.7%
On path1%
Fort Tryon ParkThe CloistersWashington HeightsHilly
Why this one
48% of the climbing sits in the middle third — you start flat and you finish flat. 8% of it doubles back on ground already covered, and it stays within 2.0 km of the start.
The two rivers long loop is a 21.1 km run from East River Park in New York, and the longest of the nine. Up the East Side, across midtown, down the Hudson greenway and back round the Battery, with 83 m of climb in the whole distance.
Distance21.1 km
Ascent83 m
Steepest3%
On path1%
Long runEast RiverHudson River
Why this one
The climbing is spread evenly — no third of the route carries more than 40% of it. Almost none of it is run twice: 2% doubles back, less than any of the other eight.
Each of those nine started as one sentence. Tell RunFlex the distance, the surface and when you need to be back, and it draws one from your front door — not from the middle of New York, and not from a list of runs other people have already done. If it isn’t right, say what is wrong and it draws another.
You describe it, it draws itA sentence in, a route on real streets out. Say “make it flatter” and it redrafts from what you already have.
It shows its workingEvery route above opens on the measurements it was judged against — where the climb sits, how much of it you run twice, what it never gets further than.
Then it goes to your wristOne tap sends it to the watch, which navigates turn by turn on its own GPS.
What you get here that you don't get from a route list
Side by side
Other route sites
RunFlex
What you get
Routes other people ran, in a fixed order
A route drafted for the run you asked for, tonight
Where it starts
Wherever that person started
Your front door
Why this route
No reason given
The scoring is on screen while it drafts
If it is wrong
Scroll to the next one
Say what is wrong and it redrafts
On the run
Your phone, in your hand
Turn by turn on your watch, phone left at home
Who has run it
Thousands of people, and the mud and the closed gate are in the comments
Nobody. It is drawn fresh, so you are the one finding out
That last row is the real trade. A library of routes has been tested by other runners
and a drafted route has not. RunFlex bets that being able to say what you want tonight
is worth more than that.
Leave the phone at home
Send any route above to an Apple Watch and it navigates on its own GPS, turn by
turn, with a tap before each one. The run syncs back when you are home. None of
the other sites on this search can do that, because none of them are an app you
run with.
What you can run to from Lower Manhattan
All inside 15 km of City Hall
Water
East RiverHudson RiverProspect Park LakeThe Reservoir
Parks
Central ParkProspect ParkRiverside ParkFort Tryon ParkEast River ParkBattery Park
Traffic-free
Hudson River GreenwayEast River GreenwayCentral Park DriveProspect Park Drive
Landmarks
Brooklyn BridgeThe CloistersGrand Central TerminalRoosevelt Island Tramway
Daylight in New York, month by month
Sunrise to sunset
The other thing that shapes a run here is how much light there is. The sun sets at
4:29 PM in mid-December and 8:29 PM in
mid-June, so the same after-work hour is a summer evening or a
night run depending on the month.
Computed for New York at 40.7130°N 74.0060°W, on the 15th of each month in 2026.
Times are local — daylight saving time where it applies — and the clocks
go back on November 1, 2026, after which sunset on the Monday is
4:50 PM. First and last light are civil twilight.
The numbers behind the chart
Month
First light
Sunrise
Sunset
Last light
Daylight
January
6:47 AM
7:17 AM
4:53 PM
5:23 PM
9h 36m
February
6:21 AM
6:49 AM
5:30 PM
5:59 PM
10h 41m
March
6:40 AM
7:07 AM
7:02 PM
7:30 PM
11h 55m
April
5:48 AM
6:17 AM
7:35 PM
8:03 PM
13h 18m
May
5:07 AM
5:38 AM
8:06 PM
8:37 PM
14h 28m
June
4:50 AM
5:24 AM
8:29 PM
9:02 PM
15h 05m
July
5:05 AM
5:37 AM
8:25 PM
8:58 PM
14h 48m
August
5:37 AM
6:06 AM
7:53 PM
8:23 PM
13h 47m
September
6:09 AM
6:36 AM
7:04 PM
7:32 PM
12h 28m
October
6:39 AM
7:07 AM
6:15 PM
6:43 PM
11h 08m
November
6:13 AM
6:42 AM
4:37 PM
5:07 PM
9h 55m
December
6:42 AM
7:12 AM
4:29 PM
5:00 PM
9h 17m
Try it on your own run. Say the distance and the surface, and RunFlex drafts it from your front door — not from the town centre, and not from a list.
Central Park is the obvious start: a six-mile loop on tarmac, closed to traffic, with the reservoir path inside it for something softer. For distance without a single road crossing, the Hudson River Greenway runs the length of Manhattan's west side. Riverside Park sits above it, and across the East River, Prospect Park offers a quieter three-and-a-half-mile loop. All nine routes above start in Manhattan, and RunFlex will redraw any of them from your own front door.
Where can I run 5K in New York?
The Central Park reservoir path is the obvious 5K in New York: 1.58 miles a lap, cinder rather than tarmac, flat, and traffic-free the whole way round. Two laps is a little over 5K. The Hudson River Greenway is the flat alternative if you would rather run out and back than in circles.
Is there a traffic-free running route in New York?
The Hudson River Greenway. It runs the full length of Manhattan's west side on a sealed surface separated from traffic, so it works as an out-and-back at any distance you choose. Central Park's loop is closed to cars as well, and the reservoir path inside it carries no vehicles at all.
Where can I run in New York without a car?
Every route on this page starts inside Manhattan, so none of them needs one. 59 St–Columbus Circle puts you at the south-west corner of Central Park and the start of the loop. 72 Street on the 1, 2 and 3 is a few minutes from Riverside Park and the Hudson River Greenway, which runs the length of the west side without a road crossing. Christopher Street–Sheridan Square reaches the same greenway further south.
Where can I run with other people in New York?
New York Road Runners, who put on the marathon, run open group runs and races in Central Park most weeks, and their events calendar is the simplest way in. November Project meets outdoors, early, free and without sign-up. Running shops across Manhattan and Brooklyn host free weekly group runs. Any of the routes above works as a solo run the rest of the week, and RunFlex will redraw them from your own front door.
What is the flattest run in New York?
The flattest run in New York of the nine on this page is Grand Central and the East Side, at 29 m of climb over 10.0 km and never steeper than 1.8%. Roosevelt Island loop is next, at 17 m over 5.5 km. Both figures are measured off the drawn line rather than estimated from the map.
How hilly is New York?
New York is rolling rather than hilly. Measured across the nine routes on this page, the flattest carries 2.9 metres of climb per kilometre and the hilliest 16.9, and the steepest single pitch on any of them is 9.7%. The climbing sits in the valley sides rather than in any one hill.
When does it get dark in New York?
In New York the sun sets at 4:29 PM in mid-December and 8:29 PM in mid-June. The clocks go back on November 1, 2026, and sunset on the Monday after is 4:50 PM, so from early November most weekday running here happens after dark. The month-by-month figures are in the table above.
Nine of an unlimited number. Yours is not drawn yet.
Say the distance and the surface. RunFlex drafts it from your door and sends the one you pick to your watch. Ask again tomorrow and you get a different one. Free early access while it is being built — no card, and no price to pay yet.
RunFlex is built by Rob Gotlieb, who runs. The nine routes above were
drafted by RunFlex from the New York street and path network, measured by the same
services the app uses, and read by a person before this page went up. Nobody has run
them end to end — that is the trade in the table above.
If something here is wrong, and on a page of nine drafted routes something
eventually will be, tell us and it is fixed on the next build rather than sitting in a
comment thread.