Besides being the only natural (non-landscaped) park on Manhattan Island, trees in Inwood Hill Park have not been cut since the late 1700’s, when the American forces built Fort Cox.
Popular folklore has it that Peter Minuit made his legendary purchase of Manhattan Island from the Lenape people living here in 1624; lnwood Hill officially became a New York City park in 1916, saving more than just trees. When the heat breaks, I’m looking forward to exploring the parts of the park I have not yet had a chance to see for myself, including the caves, which had been home to the original Lenape residents and the salt marsh, which is home to raptors, waterbirds and migratory species.
Watching an immature bald eagle perched on a branch for three or four minutes before spreading its wings in flight is a delightful way to spend an afternoon in New York. That was one of my foraging hikes.
It has not been a good season for berries, but every salad I eat has more wild edibles - lambs quarters, Asiatic day flower, wood sorrel, purslane, wild garlic, mustard seed - than cultivated vegetables.
I do come out of the woods and enjoy some of Manhattan’s other offerings, but having Inwood Hill Park as my temporary back yard convinces me that New York may well be the best city in the world.