Overview
Central Park bouldering is a great scene to hang out with friends, boulder hard problems on city rock, or just enjoy a few hours from inner-city, day-to-day rituals and get in some good problems. People have been bouldering in the park for decades. Everyone from visiting climbers, kids, famous climbers, and everybody else has climbed, tagged, or written their name on a great deal of the stone in Central park in NYC. The rock is actually pretty good and there are many hard problems and easy problems alike. The rock is some of the most accessible on the planet and presents itself with a vibe and setting you could only get in the Big Apple. Cranking V7s with looming sky scrappers is not what you normally get when boulderig outdoors. If you live in New York or not this place is worth visiting to get an experience you could only have in the City.
Beta
A pad is helpful but not always easy to drag around the city. Most of the landings are very good and there are often enough other boulderers out that are more than happy to help out with beta, pads, etc. That being said Central Park is no stranger to violence and crime. Keep an eye on your stuff and others. As of 2012 the park is a much safer place than it was in years past. Be safe and you will have a great time here. there are lots of friendly locals with a bit knowledge and ideas they are more than happy to share.
Directions
The main areas are Cat Rock, Rat Rock, and Chess Rock and the Worthless Boulder. Rat Rock: Rat Rock is in the SW corner of the park near the 59th Street Columbus Circle station. The SW side of the rock is very easy to see as you approach it from the park entrance.
Chess Rock: Coming from Rat Rock follow the paved foot path that runs east/west south of the softball fields. Follow the path eastward and go under the bridge. When you exit the tunnel make a left and you will see the rock up and right.
Cat Rock: north of Wollman Rink, just to the left (west) of a staircase.
Worthless Boulder: The boulder is at the north end of the park just west of Harlem Meer. It gets a little overgrown in summer and somewhat hard to spot unless you are on very close to it.