In Part 2 of this tour we continue to wind our way down the steps.  Again, be careful as the railing is missing in places. 

At one point, the stairway is broken up by a long path -- about 25 yards, or so.  The picture at left was taken a few months ago.   

Today, we found the same path blocked by a fallen tree.  It had a really thick trunk, and though it doesn't look it, it was a little tricky to pass.  As I clambered over it, my sneaker got caught and got pulled off.  Then, before I could put it back on, I stood on a thorny branch and yelped.  My wife laughed, but stifled it and denied it afterwards. 

Below is another look at the tree.  Compare the shot below left to the one above.  See?  It's a little further off the ground than it appears above -- an optical illusion!  Below right you get a glimpse of the root.  As people were walking up (or down) the stairs, we were warning them that the path was blocked.  A few people turned back -- others shrugged.  We saw one girl nimbly leap over the fallen tree.  Show-off!

Below you can see that we're reaching Park Lane South and Forest Parkway.  In this picture (and one below that one) there was a man walking his dog and he didn't want his picture taken.  However, I promised him that I would blur out his image and he was satisfied with that.  Right to the end, these steps twist and turn -- this would be a great place to film a chase scene . . .     

Again, you see many missing railings.  But this is a nice spot to sit if you like watching people and watching traffic.  That's a busy intersection. 

And here is the view we're all familiar with -- the steps leading into the park from Park Lane South. 

Here is the map we ended up with - there are 16 separate sets of steps for a grand total of 125 steps.  This map below is way too crude -- and doesn't do the zigs and zags justice -- but it's good enough to give you an idea how it's laid out.  The top of the map is up by the Golf Course -- and the yellow star is the lovely little spot we were recommending.  As a frame of reference, if you were to park in the lot by the bandshell, it would take about 10 minutes to reach this spot -- and well worth the walk. 

125 steps makes this -- by far -- the largest staircase in Forest Park.  The first one we looked at, the one by 76th Street, seemed quite big and that was only 94 steps.

We've enjoyed presenting these tours -- and in a week or so, we'll have to go out and grab some other steps in the park.  We hope you've enjoyed these tours and will go out and walk these steps yourself -- and if you take some interesting pictures, please send them in! 

If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com.  

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