The Staten Island Greenbelt
Two thousand eight hundred acres of genuine forest with thirty-five miles of marked trails — bigger than Central Park, quieter than anywhere, and the only place in the city that feels like actual hiking.
- What it costs
- Free.
- Best in
- Fall, Spring, Summer
- Where
- 200 Nevada Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10306
- Official site
- sigreenbelt.org
It's bigger than Central Park and it's a forest
2,800 acres across the spine of Staten Island, with around 35 miles of marked trails. Oak-hickory forest, wetlands, kettle ponds left by the glaciers, and hills — Todt Hill is the highest natural point on the eastern seaboard south of Maine, at 401 feet.
This is the only place inside New York City where you can walk for two hours, gain real elevation, and not see a building. Van Cortlandt and Pelham Bay come close; the Greenbelt is a different order of thing.
The trails
Colour-blazed and interconnecting, so you can build a loop of almost any length:
- Blue Trail — the longest, about 12 miles end to end, crossing the whole Greenbelt.
- White Trail — around 7 miles, through High Rock and the wetlands.
- Yellow Trail — about 5 miles, and the easiest introduction.
- Red Trail — the shortest, good for a quick loop from High Rock.
Start at High Rock Park, take the Yellow or the White, and give it three hours.
Autumn is the reason
The Greenbelt has the best fall foliage in New York City and it is not close. Mature hardwood forest, real topography, and almost nobody on the trails.
Peak is usually mid to late October. Go on a weekday and you will have miles of it to yourself.
Practical notes: wear proper shoes, bring water — there is none on the trails — and check for ticks afterwards, which is a genuine and year-round consideration in this forest.
Getting there
Ferry to St. George, then the S74 bus toward Richmond Town for the High Rock Park and Moravian Cemetery entrances, or the S62/S92 to the western side. Budget 90 minutes from Midtown, honestly.
The High Rock Park entrance at 200 Nevada Avenue is the best starting point — there's a nature center, maps, and the trailheads are right there.
Download a trail map before you go. Signal in the interior is patchy.
Getting around once you're there
These are real woodland trails — unpaved, rooty, with significant elevation change. The Greenbelt is not accessible in any meaningful sense once you leave the nature center car park. The **Willowbrook Park** section on the western edge has flat paved paths and a lake loop that is step-free.