The 6-mile rolling road circling the park, Central Park Drive, has a lane set aside for bikers, joggers, and in-line skaters. The best time to use it is when the park is closed to traffic: Monday to Friday 10am to 3pm (except Thanksgiving to New Year's) and 7 to 10pm. It's also closed from 7pm Friday to 6am Monday, but when the weather is nice, the crowds can be hellish.

Biking -- Off-road mountain biking isn't permitted; stay on Central Park Drive or your bike may be confiscated by park police.

You can rent 3- and 10-speed bikes as well as tandems in Central Park at the Loeb Boathouse, midpark near 72nd Street and Park Drive North, just in from Fifth Avenue (tel. 212/517-2233 or 212/517-3623), for $9 to $15 an hour, with a complete selection of kids' bikes, cruisers, tandems, and the like ($200 deposit required); at Metro Bicycles, 1311 Lexington Ave., at 88th Street (tel. 212/427-4450), for about $7 an hour, or $35 a day; and at Toga Bike Shop, 110 West End Ave., at 64th Street (tel. 212/799-9625), for $30 a day. No matter where you rent, be prepared to leave a credit card deposit.

Boating -- From March through November, gondola rides and rowboat rentals are available at the Loeb Boathouse, midpark near 74th Street and Park Drive North, just in from Fifth Avenue (tel. 212/517-2233 or 212/517-3623). Rowboats cost $12 cash for the first hour, $2.50 for every 15 minutes thereafter, and a $20 deposit is required; reservations are accepted. (Note that rates were not set for the summer season at press time, so these may change.)

Horse-drawn Carraige Rides -- At the entrance to the park at 59th Street and Central Park South, you'll see a line of horse-drawn carriages waiting to take passengers on a ride through the park or along certain of the city's streets. Horses belong on city streets as much as chamber pots belong in our homes. You won't need me to tell you how forlorn most of these horses look; if you insist, a ride is about $50 for two for a half-hour, but I suggest skipping it.

Ice-Skating -- Central Park's Wollman Rink, on the east side of the park between 62nd and 63rd streets (tel. 212/439-6900) is the city's best outdoor skating spot, more spacious than the tiny rink at Rockefeller Center. It's open for skating from mid-October to mid-April, depending on the weather. Rates are $9.50 for adults ($12 on weekends), $4.75 for seniors and kids under 12 ($8.25 on weekends), and skate rental is $5; lockers are available (locks are $3.75). Lasker Rink tel. 212/534-7639, on the east side around 106th Street, is a less expensive alternative to the more crowded Wollman Rink. Open November through March. Rates are $4.50 for adults, $2.25 for kids under 12, and skate rental is $4.75.

In-Line Skating -- Central Park is the city's most popular place for blading. See the beginning of this section for details on Central Park Drive, the main drag for skaters. On weekends, head to West Drive at 67th Street, behind Tavern on the Green, where you'll find trick skaters weaving through a New York Roller Skating Association (NYRSA) slalom course, or to the Mall in front of the band shell (above Bethesda Fountain) for twirling to tunes. In summer Wollman Rink [ST] converts to a hotshot roller rink, with half-pipes and lessons available.

You can rent skates for $20 a day from Blades Board and Skate, 156 W. 72nd St., between Broadway and Columbus Avenue (tel. 212/787-3911). Wollman Rink also rents in-line skates for park use at similar rates.

Playgrounds -- Nineteen Adventure Playgrounds are scattered throughout the park, perfect for jumping, sliding, tottering, swinging, and digging. At Central Park West and 81st Street is the Diana Ross Playground, voted the city's best by New York magazine. Also on the west side is the Spector Playground, at 85th Street and Central Park West, and, a little farther north, the Wild West Playground, at 93rd Street. On the east side is the Rustic Playground, at 67th Street and Fifth Avenue, a delightfully landscaped space rife with islands, bridges, and big slides; and the Pat Hoffman Friedman Playground, right behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art at East 79th Street, is geared toward older toddlers.

Swimming -- The only pool in Central Park, Lasker Pool (on the east side at around 106th St.; tel. 212/534-7639), is open July 1 through Labor Day weekend. Rates are $4 for adults, $2 for kids under 12. Bring a towel.

Running -- Marathoners and wannabes regularly run in Central Park along the 6-mile Central Park Drive, which circles the park (please run toward traffic to avoid being mowed down by wayward cyclists and in-line skaters). The New York Road Runners (tel. 212/860-4455), organizers of the New York City Marathon, schedules group runs 7 days a week at 6am and 6pm, leaving from the entrance to the park at 90th Street and Fifth Avenue.

Here are the New York Road Runners' top picks for routes in Manhattan:

* Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir: Possibly the most famous running route in the world; presidential candidates have run this 1 1/2-mile route as well as the famous former first lady for whom it is now named.

* The Loop in Central Park: I used to run past Madonna and her bodyguards when she was a frequenter of the 6-mile loop. Now I see Howard Stern jogging, no bodyguards in sight, but usually with a female companion or two.

* East River: Entering on 63rd Street and York Avenue and running up to 125th Street and back is a 6-mile jog where you will pass Gracie Mansion, high-rises overlooking the river, and fishermen testing the river waters.

* Hudson River South: Enter at Chelsea Piers at West 23rd Street and continue down to Battery Park City and back for this approximately 5-mile run. In the warm months it's a carnival downtown, with in-line skaters, kayakers, musicians, and cyclists crowding the slim downtown park.

* Hudson River North: This approximately 6-mile run starts at Riverbank State Park at 145th Street on the Hudson River and continues through lovely Riverside Park, passing the 79th Street Boat Basin, and ending at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum.

Chelsea Piers

One of the city's biggest -- and most successful -- private urban-development projects is the 30-acre Chelsea Piers Sports & Entertainment Complex (tel. 212/336-6666). Jutting out into the Hudson River on four huge piers between 17th and 23rd streets, it's a terrific multifunctional recreational facility.

The Sports Center (tel. 212/336-6000), a three-football-fields-long megafacility, does health clubs one better. It offers not only the usual cardiovascular training, weights, and aerobics but also a four-lane quarter-mile indoor running track, a boxing ring, basketball courts, a sand volleyball court, a gorgeous 25-yard indoor pool with a whirlpool and sun deck, the world's most challenging rock-climbing wall plus a bouldering wall, and the Spa at Chelsea Piers, which offers massage, reflexology, facials, and the like. Day passes to the Sports Center are $50 for nonmembers; spa treatments are extra, of course.

The Golf Club (tel. 212/336-6400) has 52 all-weather fully automated hitting stalls on four levels and a 200-yard, net-enclosed, artificial-turf fairway jutting out over the water, making it the best place in the city to hit a few. Prices start at $20 for 80 balls (118 balls during off-peak hours), and club rentals are available.

The Sky Rink (tel. 212/336-6100) has twin around-the-clock indoor rinks for recreational skating and pickup hockey games with Hudson River views. General skating is $12 for adults, $9 for seniors and kids 12 and under; skate rental is $6.50 Due to organized skating activities, general skating is limited, so call ahead to find out schedules of availability.

The Field House (tel. 212/336-6500) is mainly for team sports, but young rock climbers will enjoy the 30-foot indoor climbing wall, designed for kids as well as grown-ups. Open climbs are $18, with climbs limited to 2 1/2 hours on weekdays, they start taking same-day climb reservations at 9am, and weekends can book up quickly. Children's lessons are available. Batting cages are $2 per 10 pitches.

Feeling like a little 10-pin tonight? State-of-the-art AMF Chelsea Piers Lanes (tel. 212/835-BOWL offers 40 lanes of fun. Games are $8.75 per person, and shoe rental is $5.

Beyond its athletics, the complex is a destination in and of itself. The 1 1/4-mile esplanade has benches and picnic tables with terrific river views; they serve as the perfect vantage point for watching the QEII head out to sea, or the navy and Coast Guard ships sailing in for Fleet Week each May.

Getting there: Chelsea Piers is accessible by taxi and the M23 or M14 crosstown buses. The nearest subway is the C and E at 23rd Street and Eighth Avenue, then pick up the M23 or walk 4 long blocks west. Another option is to take the A, C, E to 14th Street or the L train to Eighth Avenue, walk to the river, then follow the walking/riding/running path along the river north.