Inwood Hill Park holds the last natural salt marsh in Manhattan and a forest of old tulip trees, and NYC Parks' Urban Park Rangers are leading two walks through them this weekend: a night hike on Halloween and a walk on Sunday about the Lenape, who lived on this land long before it was a park. Both are free.

After Dark Hike, Saturday, October 31

The rangers take a group through the park as night falls, with bats, bones, owls and local lore along the way. The hike runs from 4 to 5:30 p.m. and meets at West 218th Street and Indian Road, at the park's northern edge.

Lenape History and Ethnobotany, Sunday, November 1

November is Native American Heritage Month, and the rangers mark its first day with a short walk through the park's stand of tulip trees. The walk covers the Lenape's connection to this landscape, stops at the rock shelters in the park, and covers traditional knowledge of the plants that grow there. It runs from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and meets at Seaman Avenue and Isham Street.

Also in the park

  • A movie at Dyckman Marina, Saturday, October 31. NYC Parks has a free family movie showing at the marina tonight, starting at dusk, with a listed start time of about 7 p.m. Bring a blanket.
  • NYRR Open Run, Saturdays. New York Road Runners' free weekly community 5K meets at the Seaman Avenue and Isham Street entrance on Saturdays from 8:45 to 10:30 a.m., including October 31 and November 7. The course is three loops of hilly trails and paths through the woods and along the salt marsh, and walkers are welcome.
  • Forest restoration, Saturday, November 14. The Parks stewardship team is recruiting volunteers to work in the park's forested areas from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Space is limited and registration is required; volunteers under 18 need a chaperone, and groups of 10 or more can write to stewardship@parks.nyc.gov.

About the park

NYC Parks notes that the park's caves, valleys and ridges were left by retreating glaciers, that much of it was never developed, and that evidence of its use by Native Americans is still being found. It is also one of the places in the city where bald eagles are seen.

Getting there

The A train ends at Inwood and 207th Street, a few blocks from the Seaman Avenue and Isham Street entrance. For the night hike at West 218th Street, the 1 train stops at 215th Street. Dress for the trails: the paths are uneven and the after-dark hike ends after sunset.

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