Someone reached Dog Jaunt via this query yesterday, and it’s question I’ll have, too, when I head off to NYC next week for the TBEX bloggers conference. Happily, it’s easily answered, because the Central Park Conservancy, in its wisdom, created Central Park PAWS, whose website is a key part of its mission to keep a dialogue going between the park and the many, many dog owners who love the park.

Look at the Park Guide page for all the details and for a map marked with Central Park’s dog-friendly areas, but the short answer is that signs will tell you where dogs are never allowed (e.g., the Sheep Meadow) and where dogs must be leashed at all times (e.g., the Ramble and the Bridle Path). Otherwise, dogs may be off-leash only between 9 pm and 9 am.

[6/16/16 A quick update from my walk today through the park and past Bethesda Terrace. That lake just beyond the fountain is temptingly full of romantically drifting rowboats, but alas, your pup can’t drift with you (per the guy in the rowboat booth). Drat!]