Fort Tryon Park Conservancy

Open House New York: Fort Tryon Park Cottage and The Heather Garden
2019-10-20 12:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York)
Here’s your chance to see inside of the Fort Tryon Park Cottage! The 1908 cottage flanking the Heather Garden was originally the gatehouse of the C.K.G Billings Estate and has retained its charm over its many uses in the last 110 years.
The Heather Garden is part of the larger Fort Tryon Park, which was donated to NYC in 1935 by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and designed by the renowned Olmsted Brothers. It boasts over 500 varieties of plants, trees, and shrubs, and breathtaking views of the majestic New Jersey Palisades.
Come on a tour to learn more!
There is limited space and tours will be first come first serve. There is no early registration*
30-minute tours will be given at the Cottage beginning at 12 pm. If you show up at 12 pm you can sign up for a later tour that has available space but must report back at least 10 minutes before the tour begins. The last tour begins at 3:30 pm.

Autumn Highlights Garden Tour with Public Garden Designer Ronda M. Brands
2019-11-03 13:00 - 14:00
Join public garden designer Ronda M. Brands for a behind-the-scenes look at the particular design emphasis on the garden’s Autumn assets, and the plant selections made to ensure a remarkable blend of fall colors throughout the three-acre Heather Garden with its 550 varieties of plants, trees, and shrubs.
Brands and colleague Lynden Miller have served as garden consultants to the Fort Tryon Park Trust since 2009. Learn how they worked with the park’s gardeners and the Olmsted Brother’s original 1935 plant list to strengthen and rejuvenate the Heather Garden to make it a destination with horticultural interest in every season. Their Framework Plan also equipped the Fort Tryon Park Trust and NYC Parks gardeners with information on how to best sustain the garden for future generations.
Register with Eventbrite!

Heather Garden Birds & Tree Tour
2019-12-01 13:00 - 14:00
Join expert naturalist Tod Winston and bring your binoculars to Fort Tryon Park! The park is home to a diverse bird population, with 20 bird species that live here year-round. Tod teaches NYC Audubon’s Beginning Birding Course and a series focused on “planting for birds.” Learn more about the winter birds and the importance of native plant species within Fort Tryon Park on this tour.
These tours are wheelchair-accessible but persons with mobility issues may find the tour route challenging because of the park’s many steep paths.

Heather Garden Conifers Tour with Author Leslie Day
2020-01-05 13:00 - 14:00
Come tour Fort Tryon’s Heather Garden and the former Billings Estate entrance area and learn about Fort Tryon’s many conifers and evergreens with Leslie Day, author of A Field Guide to New York City.
Find out which conifers pre-date the park, and which have been added in recent park restoration projects to add to the year round beauty and horticultural appeal of the park.
These tours are wheelchair-accessible but persons with mobility issues may find the tour route challenging because of the park’s many steep paths.

Heather Garden Winter Tour with Naturalist Ken Chaya
2020-02-02 13:00 - 14:00
The heather and heath are usually quite beautiful this time of year! Join expert naturalist, Ken Chaya, for a tour of the Heather Garden to identify the heaths and heathers. Find out which plants are in bloom during the winter while searching and identifying winter birds in Fort Tryon Park!

First Signs of Spring Tour
2020-03-01 13:00 - 14:00
Join a walking tour of the Heather Garden in Fort Tryon Park with horticulturist Madeline Byrne. Learn about the plants currently in bloom and the garden’s history. Compare the Heather Garden with the plants found at the New York Botanical Garden, where Madeline Byrne has over 15 years of experience.
These tours are wheelchair accessible but people with mobility issues may find them challenging because of the park’s steep paths.

85 Years of the Heather Garden: Building on the Olmsted Brothers Legacy (Online)
2020-09-15 18:30 - 19:30
Watch the recording of the Zoom workshop HERE.
The Heather Garden: Building on the Olmsted Legacy for 85 Years. Join an online workshop with Public Garden Designer Ronda Brands and travel through the 8+ decades of the Heather Garden’s evolving landscape. Starting with the Olmsted Brothers planting plan for John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in the 1930s, through the 1950s, into the fiscal crisis of the 1970s and beyond into the present day. Learn which plants were selected for placement in the Heather Garden and the planning decisions involved; and how increased knowledge of invasive species and a desire for year-round interest, color, and contrast helped the garden evolve into a world-class horticultural destination.

Autumn Highlights Garden Tour with Public Garden Designer Ronda M. Brands
2021-11-07 13:00 - 14:00
Join public garden designer Ronda M. Brands for a behind-the-scenes look at the particular design emphasis on the Heather Garden’s autumn assets, and the plant selections made to ensure a remarkable blend of fall colors throughout the three-acre site with its 550 varieties of plants, trees, and shrubs.
Brands and colleague Lynden Miller have served as garden consultants to the Fort Tryon Park Trust since 2009. Learn how they worked with the park’s gardeners and the Olmsted Brother’s original 1935 plant list to strengthen and rejuvenate the Heather Garden to make it a destination with horticultural interest in every season. Their Framework Plan also equipped the Fort Tryon Park Trust and NYC Parks gardeners with information on how to best sustain the garden for future generations!
RSVP here.

Late Autumn Bird & Tree Tour
2021-11-21 10:00 - 23:30
Take a tour of historic Fort Tryon Park, now in its 86th year, to look for late fall aviary migrants with urban naturalist Ken Chaya. This nature tour will search for songbirds throughout the Heather Garden grounds and along the Hudson River. We will also observe the local flora of the garden!

Meet at Fort Tryon Park’s Margaret Corbin Plaza entrance.
Tour capacity is limited. Register with Eventbrite!
Program supported by the Greenacre Foundation.

Winter Walk in Inwood Hill Park
2022-01-15 09:00 - 10:30
Join the Fort Tryon Park Trust and naturalist, Mike Feller, for a winter walk and talk focusing on Inwood Hill Park’s seasonal treasures!
Meet at Inwood Hill Park’s 218th Street/Indian Road Entrance.
Face masks are required.
rsvp here

Urban Park Rangers: Fort Tryon Rocks!
2022-01-23 11:00 - 12:30
New York City is the site of ancient earth-shaking and earth-shaping events. The bedrock that anchors the city’s skyscrapers tells a story of a place going back more than a billion years. The island of Manhattan is built on three strata known as Manhattan Schist, Inwood Marble, and Fordham Gneiss. Meet the Rangers at Fort Tryon Park’s Broadway and Arden Street entrance. Contact number for questions (212) 304-2277.

Winter Tree Online Workshop
2022-02-06 13:00 - 14:30
RSVP HERE for a virtual tree tour of Fort Tryon Park with author, naturalist, and teacher, Leslie Day!
You will receive the Zoom link details in a confirmation email.

Tour: Legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted in the Heather Garden
2022-06-26 14:00 - 15:00
Join Public Garden designer Ronda M. Brands for a tour of Fort Tryon Park’s world-class Heather Garden, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted’s sons in 1933 to be a key feature in this 67-acre Scenic Landmark park. Learn about the Olmsted vision for the garden, its decline following the City’s fiscal crisis, the birth of the Fort Tryon Park Trust, and the Framework Plan developed by Brands and Lynden B. Miller that helped make it the destination it is today.
To enrich your tour, please read about the Heather Garden Framework Plan HERE.

Winter Interest Heather Garden Tour with Ronda M. Brands
2022-12-18 13:00 - 14:30
Bundle up and join Public Garden Designer Ronda M. Brands for a winter walk through the 3-acre Heather Garden and learn about the plant selections made to ensure the garden would delight visitors even in the cold winter months. Learn about the multitude of conifers, seedpods, barks, and berries that add to the color, contrasts, and textures of our year-round garden and how you can use our Plant Finder to identify them.
Hot chocolate will be available!
This program is brought to you by the Greenacre Foundation.

Autumn Highlights Tour of the Heather Garden
2023-11-05 13:00 - 14:30
Join public garden designer Ronda M. Brands for a behind-the-scenes look at the particular design emphasis on the Heather Garden’s autumn assets, and the plant selections made to ensure a remarkable blend of fall colors throughout the three-acre site with its 600+ varieties of plants, trees, and shrubs.

Brands and colleague Lynden Miller have served as garden consultants to the Fort Tryon Park Trust since 2009. Learn how they worked with the park’s gardeners and the Olmsted Brother’s original 1935 plant list to strengthen and rejuvenate the Heather Garden to make it a destination with horticultural interest in every season. Their Framework Plan also equipped the Fort Tryon Park Trust and NYC Parks gardeners to best sustain the garden for future generations!
This program is made possible in part by the Greenacre Foundation.

Public Art Tour of Fort Tryon Park
2024-02-24 14:00 - 15:00
Saturday, February 24, 2024 | 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Fort Tryon Park (meet near pictured sculpture (“UDD” by Wolf) at the northern end of the Cloisters Lawn), Manhattan
Celebrate Art in the Parks! Creator MJ Levy Dickson leads a free public art walking tour. Fort Tryon Park’s newest installation, Appearances, operates with the goal of bringing awareness to the majesty and fragility of our environment. Artists featured in this exhibition include Elizabeth Akamatsu, Katharina Chichester, MJ Levy Dickson, Rosy Keyser, Dorothy Palanza, Billy Sherry, and Wolf.
This event is FREE and open to the public. No raindate.
For accessibility information, please email accessibility@parks.nyc.gov or call (212) 360-1430.

Public Art Walking Tour of Fort Tryon
2024-03-23 14:00 - 15:00
Saturday, March 23, 2024 | 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Fort Tryon Park (meet near pictured sculpture (“UDD” by Wolf) at the northern end of the Cloisters Lawn), Manhattan
Celebrate Art in the Parks! Creator MJ Levy Dickson leads a free public art walking tour. Fort Tryon Park’s newest installation, Appearances, operates with the goal of bringing awareness to the majesty and fragility of our environment. Artists featured in this exhibition include Elizabeth Akamatsu, Katharina Chichester, MJ Levy Dickson, Rosy Keyser, Dorothy Palanza, Billy Sherry, and Wolf.
This event is FREE and open to the public. No raindate.
For accessibility information, please email accessibility@parks.nyc.gov or call (212) 360-1430.

Public Art Walking Tour
2024-04-20 14:00 - 15:00
Saturday, April 20, 2024 | 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Fort Tryon Park (meet near pictured sculpture (“UDD” by Wolf) at the northern end of the Cloisters Lawn), Manhattan
Celebrate Art in the Parks! Creator MJ Levy Dickson leads a free public art walking tour. Fort Tryon Park’s newest installation, Appearances, operates with the goal of bringing awareness to the majesty and fragility of our environment. Artists featured in this exhibition include Elizabeth Akamatsu, Katharina Chichester, MJ Levy Dickson, Rosy Keyser, Dorothy Palanza, Billy Sherry, and Wolf.
This event is FREE and open to the public. No raindate.
