Van Cortlandt Park natural areas

Broadway, Jerome Ave,City Line,Van Cortlandt Pk S

Van Cortlandt Park's natural areas are the City's third largest, and comprise more than half of the 1,150-acre park. The northern section of the park has five distinct natural areas totalling 640 acres: the Northwest and Northeast Forests, Croton Woods, Tibbetts Brook/Hester & Piero's Mill Pond, and Vault Hill. Among the many animals that burrow, nest, feed, and rest in this park, some of the most noteworthy are red fox (Vulpes vulpes), which have been seen in the hilly forests, and a small flock of eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis), New York’s state bird, which have been glimpsed crossing the Vault Hill meadow. In recent years, coyotes (Canis latrans) have also denned in Van Cortlandt Park, with the first report of coyote pups in the park in 2002. The park is best experienced by exploring one of its many nature trails.

Fordham gneiss, one of the oldest rock formations on Earth, creates Van Cortlandt’s dramatic cliffs in the Northwest Forest, the largest forest in the park (188 acres). This oak-hickory forest grows on rocky heights overlooking valleys dominated by tulip trees (Liriodendron tulipifera) and century-old oaks. Ground layer wildflowers are extraordinarily diverse in the Northwest Forest, including bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), trout lily (Erythronium americanum), rattlesnake root (Prenantles racemosa), and many asters, such as heart-leafed aster (Aster divaricatus). The forest contains one of the highest concentrations of rare plants in the city, including giant yellow hyssop (Agastache neptoides), golden seal (Hydrastis canadensis), and wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia). The Northeast Forest's low-lying, moisture-retaining land is ideal for sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), red maple (Acer rubrum), and pin oak (Quercus palustris). Meadows are not typically found within the city, yet Vault Hill, the Van Cortlandt family burial grounds, boasts one of the prettiest and most varied, composed of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), and such wildflowers as birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), ironweed (Veronia noveboracensis), and Joe-Pye weed (Eutrochum sp.).

Tibbetts Brook and its associated wetlands are a must-see for bird watchers, who have observed predators like barred owls (Strix varia) and red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) hunt, and wood ducks (Aix sponsa), known for jumping from their high nests soon after hatching. Tibbetts Brook flows north-south through the Park and cuts through soft Inwood marble on its way from Westchester to Spuyten Duyvil (now the Harlem River), and feeds Hester & Piero's Mill Pond (previously known as Van Cortlandt Lake), which was first created by a mill dam around 1700. Through community advocacy and a collaboration with NYC Parks and New York State, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection is reconnecting Tibbetts Brook to the Harlem River by constructing a new channel and diverting it out of the sewer system into which it was piped in the early 1900s.