Keep it classy people! The beautiful San Remo apartment building on Central Park West and The Lake (yes, that’s the actual name of the lake) serve as the backdrop to your classic AND classy Central Park picnic.

PROS: Instagram worthy

CONS: See above (Instagram worthy), so this area can get crowded in the afternoons. We recommend a bagel & nosh breakfast picnic to avoid the crowds.

Strawberry Fields (forever) is a memorial to the British rock musician and peace activist John Lennon (1940–1980). The memorial consists of a five-acre landscape near the West 72nd Street entrance and includes the Imagine mosaic, where many (read, MANY!) come to pay tribute to Lennon.

PROS: Free live music! Musicians rotate every hour and most sing Beatles tunes.

CONS: While the benches and area around the mosaic get VERY crowded, the lawn just south of the mosaic usually does not. Elbow your way through the crowds and to a slice of NYC paradise.

Sheep in the City? Why yes, actually. Sheep Meadow was named for the flock of sheep that grazed there from 1864 to 1934. Iconic Central Park picnic spot with the classic Manhattan skyline as your backdrop. Enchanted (2007), It Could Happen To You (1994), The Fisher King (1991), Wall Street (1987), and Ghostbusters (1984) all filmed scenes here.

PROS: Very popular NYC picnic setting with LOTS of action. There’s Frisbee, Slam Pong, birthday parties, sun worshipers, etc. Everyone should do a Sheep Meadow picnic at least once!

CONS: Again, VERY popular picnic spot that can get crowded on perfect picnic days. Also, not a lot of shade.

Inhale > exhale. From mid-April to early May, Mother Nature gives us the sweet, intoxicating fragrance of lilacs in Central park. Lilacs in bloom is a perfectly valid reason to call in healthy and enjoy a relaxing afternoon, lazing about under the lilac brandhes. Located in the middle of the park, north of Sheep Meadow.

PROS: Gorgeous, beautiful, fragrant lilacs! The remaining 362 weeks of the year provide a similar backdrop as Sheep Meadow + shade, with less action.

CONS: Alas, lilac season in Central Park only lasts a couple of weeks.

"Life isn't a matter of milestones, but of moments." This perfect picnic spot is beautiful, quiet and convenient to the American Museum of Natural History. It’s easy to access via the Naturalists Gate on Central Park West and W. 77th St.

PROS: Lots of shade and not well-known. Shhhhhh!

CONS: We can’t think of any!

“Ha ha ha ha! I'm not telling. It would ruin the surprise” (Tigger, The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh).

At Central Park Picnic, we’ve been picnicking in Central Park for over 15 years! We visit the park almost daily and know all of the nooks and crannies. Tell us your vibe and we’ll recommend the perfect secret spot!