Where in New York can you go fishing, tour an exhibit, listen to lectures, enjoy jazz, go swimming, and turn the kids loose in a playground? In the Harlem Meer at the very northern tip of Central Park. Meer is a Dutch word meaning lake and harkens back to the city’s Dutch roots being celebrated this year with the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s visit to Manhattan.

On a summer day, there’s nothing more relaxing than to grab a book, sit on a bench, and enjoy the scenery provided by the lake and surrounding property. Running from 106th to 110th Streets off Fifth Avenue, the Harlem Meer consists of eleven acres. Included in that space is the lake, of course, the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, where there are exhibits, tours, and talks, and, at the westernmost end, Lasker Rink and pool, for summer swimming and winter ice skating.

The lighting around the Meer is spectacular any time of the day so bring your camera. Walking around the lake’s three-quarter mile circumference, you can admire some of Central Park’s incredible trees, everything from oak and bald cypress, to beech and ginko. At the Dana Center, you can rent fishing poles for fish-and-release fishing in the lake. When they tire of fishing, you can visit two playgrounds, each with water features to cool off on a hot summer day.

A summer jazz festival every Sunday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. runs through the first week of September held at the Lila Wallace Reader’s Digest Plaza near the Dana Center. Local residents mingle with vistors and everyone enjoys the sounds of jazz, salsa, gospel, and modern dance from an outstanding group of performing artists who truly epitomize the spectrum of cultural heritage that is New York.

For more information, go to www.centralparknyc.org