This page includes route maps and basic details for all Zwift routes on the New York City course.
Looking for other courses? Jump to Watopia Routes, London Routes, Innsbruck Routes, Yorkshire Routes, Crit City Routes, Bologna TT, or Richmond Routes.
New York’s “Astoria Line 8” is named for NYC’s first subway line. This route covers all the ground-level roads in Central Park. Created from GPS data of the actual park roads, this route accurately reproduces the Central Park ride experience.
Dave Chauner (photo at right), who raced Central Park back in the late 60’s/early 70’s, had this to say after riding the roads on Zwift: Rode the new Central Park course this morning. It’s been a long time but I recognized every meter of the circuit, like this one, a mile or so from the base of Cat’s Paw Hill. But I couldn’t come close to the 13/14 minute lap times we routinely did way back when (’68, ’69, ’70, ’73) during the springtime Central Park Series. Great job Eric and the NYC boys at Zwift!
(“Cat’s Paw Hill”, by the way, is the small rise leading up to the start/finish banner.)
New York’s “Astoria Line 8” is named for NYC’s first subway line. This route covers all the ground-level roads in Central Park. Created from GPS data of the actual park roads, this route accurately reproduces the Central Park ride experience.
Dave Chauner (photo at right), who raced Central Park back in the late 60’s/early 70’s, had this to say after riding the roads on Zwift: Rode the new Central Park course this morning. It’s been a long time but I recognized every meter of the circuit, like this one, a mile or so from the base of Cat’s Paw Hill. But I couldn’t come close to the 13/14 minute lap times we routinely did way back when (’68, ’69, ’70, ’73) during the springtime Central Park Series. Great job Eric and the NYC boys at Zwift!
(“Cat’s Paw Hill”, by the way, is the small rise leading up to the start/finish banner.)
Route Basics
Length: 11.5 km (7.1 miles)
Elevation: 141 m (463‘)
Lead-In: 0.4 km (0.2 miles)
Map: New York
Start & Finish
Begins and ends at the main NYC start/finish, traveling northeast.
Achievement Badge: 230 XP
Strava Segments
Strava SegmentsBike Selection
While this route is a bit lumpy, none of the climbs are long or steep enough for a lightweight setup to beat out an aero one. So run the most slippery frame and wheels you can afford!
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Route Description
Route profile by ZwiftHub – the place to plan and track your route achievements!
Central Park’s ground-level roads are best understood as three interconnected loops of continuously rolling, curving roads. To the north you have a small loop which includes Harlem Hill. In the middle you have a large loop which covers approximately 50% of the park and includes the start/finish banner and start pens. Lastly to the south you have another small loop which includes the sprint point. This route covers all three loops in a figure 8 fashion.
New York’s “Everything Bagel” is the longest route on the NYC course, and the perfect route for a hard ~1-hour effort. It covers nearly every road section, many of them in both directions. Looking for a challenge? You’ll get several chances to test your legs against the leaderboards as you hit the KOM and sprint sections in both directions.
New York’s “Everything Bagel” is the longest route on the NYC course, and the perfect route for a hard ~1-hour effort. It covers nearly every road section, many of them in both directions. Looking for a challenge? You’ll get several chances to test your legs against the leaderboards as you hit the KOM and sprint sections in both directions.
Route Basics
Length: 34.2 km (21.3 miles)
Elevation: 525 m (1,722‘)
Lead-In: 0.2 km (0.1 miles)
Map: New York
Achievement Badge: 690 XP
Banners and Leaderboards
(in order of appearance)
NYC KOM Reverse
NYC Sprint Forward
NYC KOM Forward
NYC Sprint Reverse
Strava Segments
Bike Selection
The Tron bike is probably your best choice – it turns in the fastest overall time and some of the fastest climbs. Canyon Aeroad 2021 + DT Swiss ARC 62 wheels are a good option for lower level Zwifters. (Lightweight Meilenstein wheels will give you the fastest climbs, but cost a lot in overall lap time.)
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Route Description
Route profile by ZwiftHub – the place to plan and track your route achievements!
Be warmed up before you start a race here because the route takes you almost immediately onto the reverse KOM. Cool down as you cruise for a loop around Central Park at ground level which includes a sprint, then get ready to push again as you return to the glass roads for a go at the forward KOM before descending and hitting the sprint in the opposite direction. Hope you enjoy your bagel!
New York’s “Gotham Grind” was created in January 2019 and is currently only available as an event route (no free-riding).
New York’s “Gotham Grind” was created in January 2019 and is currently only available as an event route (no free-riding).
Route Basics
Length: 9.3 km (5.8 miles)
Elevation: 96 m (315‘)
Lead-In: 0.3 km (0.2 miles)
Map: New York
Start & Finish
Begins and ends at the main NYC start/finish banner.
Restriction: Event Only
Achievement Badge: none
Strava Segments
Route Description
This is figure 8 route which stays on the ground-level roads of the lower and middle Central Park loops. It avoids the upper loop (and thus Harlem Hill), giving this route a rolling profile with no substantial climbs.
The lower ground-level loop includes a sprint section, making this route ideal for events which include sprint efforts.
Route Basics
Length: 6.8 km (4.2 miles)
Elevation: 137 m (449‘)
Lead-In: 1.6 km (1.0 miles)
Map: New York
Achievement Badge: 140 XP
Banners and Leaderboards
(in order of appearance)
NYC KOM Forward
Strava Segments
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Route Description
Route profile by ZwiftHub – the place to plan and track your route achievements!
New York’s “Grand Central Circuit” is a butt-kicker, plain and simple. It has more elevation gain per kilometer than any other course in New York City, and if that’s not enough, the short “recovery portion” of the loop takes you over the sprint section. Ouch!
Named after Grand Central Station, the loop keeps you on the southern end of Central park, beginning and ending at the sprint banner. It covers a mix of Central Park’s ground-level roads and the elevated roads including the KOM and sprint. Beginning at the sprint banner, you are quickly taken onto the reverse KOM (1.14km, 5.9% grade) before descending down onto ground level for a go at the sprint in the downhill direction. Then it’s back up the KOM again for the next lap!
With riders turning in sub-12 minute times on a loop with 137m of climbing, you can expect to get a lot of elevation packed into your ride on this route.
Route Basics
Length: 22.5 km (14.0 miles)
Elevation: 346 m (1,135‘)
Lead-In: 0.4 km (0.2 miles)
Map: New York
Achievement Badge: 450 XP
Banners and Leaderboards
(in order of appearance)
NYC KOM Forward
Strava Segments
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Estimate ride time, IF and TSS, plan your power, and more!
Route Description
Route profile by ZwiftHub – the place to plan and track your route achievements!
New York’s “Knickerbocker” covers the same roads as the Astoria Line 8, with the KOM thrown in for good measure. (A Knickerbocker is simply a New Yorker, although the word itself has a long and interesting history.) This is the second-longest route on the NYC course.
On ground level, this course is rolling, curvy, and scenic, allowing riders to enjoy the classic sites of Central Park. But don’t get too comfortable, as Zwift has thrown the forward KOM (.8 miles, 6.4%) into this idyllic setting. Get ready to push up gradients that top out at 17%!
Route Basics
Length: 22.5 km (14.0 miles)
Elevation: 364 m (1,194‘)
Lead-In: 0.2 km (0.1 miles)
Map: New York
Achievement Badge: 450 XP
Banners and Leaderboards
(in order of appearance)
NYC KOM Forward
Strava Segments
Route Description
Route profile by ZwiftHub – the place to plan and track your route achievements!
New York’s “Knickerbocker” covers the same roads as the Astoria Line 8, with the KOM thrown in for good measure. (A Knickerbocker is simply a New Yorker, although the word itself has a long and interesting history.) This is the second-longest route on the NYC course.
On ground level, this course is rolling, curvy, and scenic, allowing riders to enjoy the classic sites of Central Park. But don’t get too comfortable, as Zwift has thrown the forward KOM (.8 miles, 6.4%) into this idyllic setting. Get ready to push up gradients that top out at 17%!
Route Basics
Length: 12.3 km (7.6 miles)
Elevation: 197 m (646‘)
Lead-In: 0.4 km (0.2 miles)
Map: New York
Achievement Badge: 240 XP
Banners and Leaderboards
(in order of appearance)
NYC KOM Reverse
Strava Segments
BestBikeSplit Model
Estimate ride time, IF and TSS, plan your power, and more!
Route Description
Route profile by ZwiftHub – the place to plan and track your route achievements!
New York’s “Lady Liberty” route is named for NYC’s most famous landmark, the Statue of Liberty. The overall elevation gain on this route is more than twice her height though, so be prepared to work!
This route travels south from the start pens, then takes you up onto the reverse KOM (.7 miles, 5.9%) in short order. You’re then taken down for an uphill sprint followed by a rolling loop around most of Central Park at ground level, only missing the northernmost portion of the park.
Route Basics
Length: 2.8 km (1.7 miles)
Elevation: 23 m (75‘)
Lead-In: 1.6 km (1.0 miles)
Map: New York
Restriction: Event Only
Achievement Badge: none
Route Description
New York’s “LaGuardia Loop” is named for famed NYC mayor Fiorello LaGuardia (1882-1947, photo at right). LaGuardia was energetic, charismatic, and short: he was only five feet, two inches tall! Like the mayor, this route is quite short–but the constant turns and rollers keep things interesting. This course is perfect for crit-style races with a high number of laps.
This is Zwift’s first official “event only” route, so you can’t pick it for a free ride from the routes list–you have to join an event which uses this route. (Tip: want to search for events that use this route? Visit the ZwiftHacks events page and search for “laguardia loop”).
This route travels south from the start pens, then stays on Central Park’s ground-level southern loop for as many laps as you can take. The lap banner is the sprint banner, so for events you have a “lead-in” section from the start pens to the banner. We’ve created a Strava segment for this lead-in, as well as the laps. There is also a reverse version of this loop, but we haven’t yet created that segment.
Route Basics
Length: 20 km (12.4 miles)
Elevation: 307 m (1,007‘)
Lead-In: 0.4 km (0.2 miles)
Map: New York
Achievement Badge: 400 XP
Banners and Leaderboards
(in order of appearance)
NYC KOM Forward
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Route Description
Route profile by ZwiftHub – the place to plan and track your route achievements!
New York’s “Mighty Metropolitan” is one of the longer routes on course, taking riders past the largest museum in the US, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Interesting note: “The Met” is the largest structure on the Zwift NY map. Apparently, this was never the plan, but it helps give us an appreciation for the footprint of the real thing.)
After passing the Met, you’ll ride over the Reservoir with its “Manhattan Megadome” on your way to the reverse KOM (1.14km, 5.9% grade). Come down from those heights to ground level and up Cathill Climb through the start/finish banner and your first lap is complete.
New York’s “NYC KOM After Party” was created in February 2019 and is currently only available as an event route (no free-riding).
New York’s “NYC KOM After Party” was created in February 2019 and is currently only available as an event route (no free-riding).
Route Basics
Length: 37 km (23.0 miles)
Elevation: 440 m (1,444‘)
Lead-In: 0.4 km (0.2 miles)
Map: New York
Restriction: Event Only
Achievement Badge: none
Strava Segments
Route Description
This route is basically three laps of Gotham Grind Reverse followed by a trip up the Forward KOM, ending at the KOM banner.
New York’s “Park Perimeter Loop” takes you on the outermost ground-level path around Central Park. Looking to grab an orange lap leader jersey? This is the only timed route on NYC’s course!
New York’s “Park Perimeter Loop” takes you on the outermost ground-level path around Central Park. Looking to grab an orange lap leader jersey? This is the only timed route on NYC’s course!
Route Basics
Length: 9.8 km (6.1 miles)
Elevation: 126 m (413‘)
Lead-In: 0.4 km (0.2 miles)
Map: New York
Start & Finish
This course travels north from the start pens, which means you do not ride through the start/finish banner until the end of the first lap in an event. Therefore, we’ve created two Strava forward segments: one beginning just after you exit the pens to cover your first event lap, and the other beginning at the start/finish banner for additional laps and free rides.
The main start/finish banner is the finish line for this route.
Achievement Badge: 190 XP
Banners and Leaderboards
(in order of appearance)
NYC KOM Forward
Strava Segments
BestBikeSplit Model
Estimate ride time, IF and TSS, plan your power, and more!
Route Description
Route profile by ZwiftHub – the place to plan and track your route achievements!
Every inch of this route is taken from real-world GPS data, so riders acquainted with Central Park will find these roads familiar. The course’s rolling profile is rarely flat or straight, and a few punchy pitches including Harlem Hill to the north mean you must stay vigilant when racing.
Along the way don’t miss the fall colors and many sights of Central Park: hot dog vendors, pedestrians, wildlife, water features, and of course the NYC skyline.
Route Basics
Length: 20.7 km (12.9 miles)
Elevation: 362 m (1,188‘)
Lead-In: 0.4 km (0.2 miles)
Map: New York
Achievement Badge: 410 XP
Banners and Leaderboards
(in order of appearance)
NYC KOM Forward
Strava Segments
BestBikeSplit Model
Estimate ride time, IF and TSS, plan your power, and more!
Route Description
Route profile by ZwiftHub – the place to plan and track your route achievements!
New York’s “Rising Empire” route is a climber’s delight, packing forward and reverse KOM efforts into a short span (they are only separated by less than 3km). Overall you will climb 1189′ on this route, just shy of the Empire State Building’s height of 1224′. Kind of puts the effort into perspective, doesn’t it?
This route travels north from the start pens, taking you to the north side of the park and onto glass roads to travel south over the Reservoir and onto the forward KOM. After that effort you are looped back around onto the reverse KOM, then down to ground level to go through the start/finish banner and do it all again if you’ve got the chutzpah.
New York’s “The 6 Train” is the shortest route available for free-riding around NYC. Named for the most direct subway route between Grand Central Station and Central Park, this route covers the “middle loop” of Central Park’s three ground-level loop sections in a clockwise direction.
New York’s “The 6 Train” is the shortest route available for free-riding around NYC. Named for the most direct subway route between Grand Central Station and Central Park, this route covers the “middle loop” of Central Park’s three ground-level loop sections in a clockwise direction.
Route Basics
Length: 6.4 km (4.0 miles)
Elevation: 61 m (200‘)
Lead-In: 0.2 km (0.1 miles)
Map: New York
Achievement Badge: 130 XP
Strava Segments
Bike Selection
While this route is constantly changing pitch, none of the climbs are particularly long or steep. So get the most slippery frame and wheels you can afford!
BestBikeSplit Model
Estimate ride time, IF and TSS, plan your power, and more!
Route Description
Route profile by ZwiftHub – the place to plan and track your route achievements!
While this route is about as “flat” as NYC routes can get, it’s still best described as a rolling, curvy course with essentially no flat sections. You may be busy powering up the punchy hills, but take the time to smell the hot dogs and enjoy the fall colors. You’re in New York, baby! If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere!
Route Basics
Length: 10.5 km (6.5 miles)
Elevation: 175 m (574‘)
Lead-In: 10.0 km (6.2 miles)
Map: New York
Start & Finish
This route has one of the funkiest lead-in sections of any Zwift route! It’s around 5km long, with 127m (416′) of climbing, and takes you on roads not covered by the actual route as you make your way up to the NYC KOM banner.
The actual route (and our Strava segments) begin at the KOM banner, after the lead-in. When you ride through the KOM banner again, you’ve completed one lap of the route.
Achievement Badge: 210 XP
Banners and Leaderboards
(in order of appearance)
NYC KOM Forward
Strava Segments
BestBikeSplit Model
Estimate ride time, IF and TSS, plan your power, and more!
Route Description
Route profile by ZwiftHub – the place to plan and track your route achievements!
New York’s “The Highline” is aptly named after Manhattan’s “High Line” elevated park, since the route keeps you on the elevated glass roads of Zwift’s futuristic NYC.
Overall, this route is fairly tame in terms of climbing, maintaining a rolling profile except when it takes you over the forward KOM (1.36km, 6.4%) which tops out at 17% grade.
Your website is my go to place for insight into the world of Zwift. Keep up the awesome work you do as Zwift keeps me sane in the dreary days where you cannot ride outside!
Happy to help!
There are new glass roads going towards Midtown from both sides of the KOM summit that are currently closed by barriers. The barriers have been there for a while, but now you can see the actual roads themselves and they are also shown on the overview map. Wondering when this is going to go live…
Love the new Animated Maps. Much easier to visualize the route pre-ride.
Really great resource. Thanks for all the inputs
Hi Eric,
“NYC KOM After Party” says Map: Yorkshire
Is that correct?
I am completely new to Zwift and am completely befuddled by it. I thought I would simply be able to open it up and select one of 100s of routes. But all I seem to be able to access (today, anyway) are various routes within Watopia, Innsbruck, and Richmond. Am I missing something (almost certainly) or is it really a daily random selection of possible routes?
Welcome, Chris!
Yes, you’re missing something. But I don’t blame ya.
There’s a monthly calendar which tells us what courses will be available. Watopia is always available, plus two others. Calendar is in-game, and also here: https://zwiftinsider.com/schedule/
ZInsider is awesome!!!
Where can I find turn by turn descriptions for each of the posted routes?
I’d like to complete a few of the given routes in a single ride without logging off and logging back on again.
Thanks, RD
Thanks Ray!
We don’t have turn by turn directions for any official Zwift routes, since they navigate you automatically when you choose them. Keep in mind if you do them manually you won’t unlock the route badge, either.
That said, if you still want to do it, you’ll have to chart them out yourself! Strava segments would be your friend: https://zwiftinsider.com/verified-zwift-strava-segments/
Great resource! I’m organizing trainings (meetups) for my team and use the maps to build a training by making use of Zwift’s environment (climbs, sprint sections, finish for the final race etc). I however realized yesterday that the lead-in is not always correct: The High-Line has a 10km lead-in per zwift insider/zwift hacks but during my last meetup, I already arrived at the start of the course at less than 5km (basically a 5km lead out iso of 10km). Does anyone know if how the length of the lead out is determined? My workout blocks make use of the km… Read more »
Most likely, Zwift changed the course to reduce the lead-in. The start is now just before 97th Street — see, e.g., https://www.strava.com/activities/4361633543 . Hopefully, Eric can update.