CENTRAL PARK — Central Park is letting the public in on a 4-acre secret it's kept for more than 80 years.
The park's Hallett Nature Sanctuary, one of the more wild areas of the park, is open on a regular basis to the public for the first time since 1934, when NYC Parks Commissioner Robert Moses closed it and preserved it as a bird sanctuary, according to the Central Park Conservancy.
Adventurers can visit the area Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 2 to 5 p.m., through June 30, with different hours starting July 1.
The park will have open birding hours on Thursday, from 8 to 10 a.m., according to the Conservancy.
The sanctuary, which is named in memory of birdwatcher, naturalist and civic leader George Harvey Hallett Jr., surrounds a pond at the southeast corner of Central Park near East 60th Street with a peninsula that juts into it.
The garden includes paths that wind around fallen trees, colorful flowers, a waterfall and native plants, like wild ginger, red columbine and woodland sunflower.
“Come and discover such native species as Trillium, May Apples, Echinacea and you may even find a Lady Slipper orchid,” said Doug Blonsky, the Conservancy’s president and CEO. “Over the last 15 years the Conservancy has been planting pollinators to create habitat for wildlife. Now this 4-acre site is truly an outdoor classroom."
The Conservancy began restoring it in 2001 as part of its $40 million Woodlands Initiative, replacing invasive plants like like Norway maples, wisteria and Japanese knotgrasses with native ones in several areas of the park, according to the New York Times.
"The absence of visitors played a large part in the Conservancy's successful restoration of the Hallett Nature Sanctuary," the Conservancy notes on its website.
A new rustic gate, new pathways and benches were added thanks to Sima Ghadamian, a local fine jewelry dealer who donated them in honor of her parents, the Times reported.
The garden was open on a limited basis beginning in 2013, offering people people "a rare opportunity to explore one of Central Park's best-kept secrets and learn about what it takes to revitalize and care for a seemingly natural landscape," the Conservancy said.
But it wasn't fully open to the public until just last month.
"The Hallett Nature Sanctuary is a perfect example of how even the 'wildest,' most naturalistic habitats in Central Park require constant planning and care in order to thrive," the Conservancy noted.
For more information, visit the park's website.
The gates to the Hallett Nature Sanctuary will be open to the public on a regular basis.
The sanctuary is still wild compared to the rest of the mostly-manicured park.
Visitors to the sanctuary can stand at the top of a waterfall.
Benches at the top of the Promontory for the Mahrokh & Iradj Sakhai Sanctuary were donated by a local fine jewelry dealer.
A pathway splits inside the sanctuary.
A fallen tree creates an awesome spectacle inside the sanctuary.