Overnight camping in New York City parks is normally off-limits, but one small group will soon get to turn Central Park into a legal summer sleepover. The free campout is designed for families, first-time campers and anyone willing to trade a bedroom ceiling for a few hours under the Manhattan sky.
The Central Park event runs from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. next Friday, with Urban Park Rangers hosting about 30 campers through the city’s lottery system, according to the New York Post. Friends and other camping enthusiasts can apply, although the odds may be more city-lottery than Adirondack getaway: up to 300 applications can be submitted for a single event.
Central Park Campers Need To Win The Lottery
Applications for each campout are accepted during a four-day window beginning Monday, and Central Park hopefuls have through Thursday to enter this week’s drawing. The selected campers are expected to be notified Thursday, giving winners just over a week to locate their sleeping bags and prepare for a night outdoors.
The program is free and aims to introduce people who have never camped before to the basics of sleeping outside. As reported by Time Out New York, the events are assigned through a lottery because demand is far greater than the number of available spots.
Rangers Bring The Tents, Campers Bring The Snacks
Urban Park Rangers provide the tents, while campers must bring their own food, snacks, sleeping bags and bedding. The overnight programs include ranger-led nighttime wildlife hikes, storytelling, ice-breaking games and s’mores, according to the NYC Parks Family Camping program.
That makes the Central Park outing less of a rugged survival test and more of a carefully supervised introduction to camping. Participants should still expect a long night, closed-toe shoes, bugs and the unmistakable experience of waking up in a tent while the city starts moving outside.
More NYC Campouts Are Planned Through September
The city’s overnight schedule continues with a campout this Saturday at the Salt Marsh Nature Center in Marine Park, Brooklyn, followed by events at other parks across the five boroughs. The program also includes September 18 overnights at Rockaway Beach in Queens and Blue Heron Nature Center on Staten Island, the New York Post reports.
For New Yorkers who have always wanted to try camping but have never managed to organize the gear, transportation or wilderness logistics, the setup is unusually forgiving. The hard part is getting chosen; after that, the city handles the tent and the rangers handle the nighttime nature lesson.
