Thanksgiving in New York: Parade, Turkey Trots and Where to Eat

At a glance

• Where: Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx (parade on Central Park West to Herald Square)
• When: Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November; the parade is usually Thanksgiving morning
• Cost: The parade and most holiday markets are free to enter; dinners and races are priced by the organizer
• Plan ahead: Dinner reservations, race bibs and volunteer shifts fill early; check each official site

Thanksgiving in New York is built around one big morning: the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade down Central Park West to Herald Square, usually on Thanksgiving morning. Around it you can run a turkey trot in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, book a holiday dinner or take-home meal, volunteer with a meal-delivery charity, and then walk into the start of the holiday season over the long weekend.

This guide groups the picks by when they happen: Thursday morning, the meal, and the long weekend. Every pick below was checked against its own official or tourism-board page. Dates for the current year sit in one section near the end, so the rest of the page stays true year after year.

How we chose

We kept only things we could trace to an official site: the organizer, the venue, or NYC Tourism. If an official page did not confirm Thanksgiving hours or a Thanksgiving menu, we left the place out or said plainly that you should call. Prices, start times and hours change, so we give them only where an official page states them, and always tell you to check before you go.

What happens on Thanksgiving morning?

Thursday morning in New York is the parade, a race, or a volunteer shift, and all three start early.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a free, annual parade that starts at Central Park West and West 77th Street on the Upper West Side and ends at Macy's Herald Square, 151 West 34th Street, in Midtown. NYC Tourism's official event page lists it as free and describes giant inflatables, floats and Santa closing the procession.

The insider move is to think about where you stand, not just when you arrive. Our pick is the Upper West Side stretch near the start, because you are near the Upper West Side side streets and the park rather than in the Herald Square crush. Dress for standing still outdoors in late November. Official viewing-area and street-closure details change, so look at the Macy's and NYC Tourism pages the week before. Details: NYC Tourism parade page.

Prospect Park Track Club Turkey Trot (Race for Reconciliation 5-Miler)

The Prospect Park Track Club Turkey Trot is a 5-mile race held on Thanksgiving morning in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, near Park Slope. The club's official page describes it as an annual event, starting on Center Drive and finishing at Harry's Wall, run in waves, with overall prizes limited to the first wave.

Regular bibs can sell out before race day, and the club's page says that once they are gone, charity bibs are what remains; there is no waitlist. Register through the club, not a resale listing. Details: Prospect Park Track Club.

Volunteer on Thanksgiving: Citymeals on Wheels

Citymeals on Wheels is a New York charity whose official holiday page says hundreds of volunteers prepare, pack and deliver festive meals across the city on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Its office is at 360 Lexington Avenue in Midtown. Sign-up goes through the links on its holiday volunteering page, and the page gives no dates or times, so register early. Details: Citymeals on Wheels holiday volunteering.

Volunteer on Thanksgiving: God's Love We Deliver

God's Love We Deliver, based at 166 Avenue of the Americas near SoHo, has a dedicated Thanksgiving volunteer page. It says drivers use their own car to deliver a meal and a holiday tote to about six to eight nearby households in a shift of about three hours, and it also lists on-site roles at distribution centers. Sign up through the page. Details: God's Love We Deliver Thanksgiving volunteering.

Year-round food bank shifts

City Harvest (150 52nd Street, Brooklyn) and Food Bank For New York City (Hunts Point, the Bronx) both take volunteers through online calendars. Neither volunteer page mentions Thanksgiving specifically, so treat them as good options for the days around the holiday and ask about holiday dates. City Harvest requires a virtual first-time orientation. Details: City Harvest and Food Bank For New York City.

Where can you eat Thanksgiving dinner in New York?

The River Café in Brooklyn is the dinner we can confirm from the restaurant's own site, and Katz's Delicatessen offers a Thanksgiving package you can order for home. Many New York restaurants post Thanksgiving menus only close to the date, so book directly with the restaurant.

The River Café, Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo

The River Café, at One Water Street under the Brooklyn Bridge, has an official Thanksgiving Day page for a fixed-price dinner. The menu on that page features roasted turkey with trimmings and lists several other main courses for guests who do not want turkey. Reservations are by phone at 718-522-5200. It sits between Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights, so a walk along the water before or after is easy. Details: The River Café Thanksgiving.

Katz's Delicatessen, Lower East Side

Katz's Delicatessen, at 205 East Houston Street in the Lower East Side, lists a Thanksgiving package and a Thanksgiving gift category on its official site. The site does not post Thanksgiving hours or package details in the pages we could read, so call before you plan around it. If you want pastrami on the table next to the turkey, this is the order to ask about. Details: Katz's Delicatessen.

For more places to eat in the city, browse the food and dining listings.

What opens the holiday season that weekend?

The long weekend is when New York switches on its holiday markets, trains and trees. Some open before Thanksgiving, and the tree lighting comes the week after.

Bryant Park Winter Village, Midtown

The Winter Village at Bryant Park, between 40th and 42nd Streets and Fifth and Sixth Avenues, combines a free-admission ice rink with a village of holiday shops. The official Bryant Park page says the rink is free to enter, with skate rentals sold separately, and the village runs from late October into the new year. Hours vary by day and season, so check the page. Details: Bryant Park Winter Village.

Union Square Holiday Market, Union Square

The Union Square Holiday Market fills Union Square Park, at 14th Street in Manhattan, with vendors chosen through an application and interview process, and entry is free. Its official site says it began in 1993 and is closed on Thanksgiving Day, so go the day after. It opens in mid-November, ahead of the holiday. Details: Union Square Holiday Market.

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, Midtown

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is lit on the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving, according to NYC Tourism, and stays on display into January. It is a standing-in-a-crowd evening, so most locals come on a weekday morning instead, once the lights have been on for a few days. Details: NYC Tourism tree page.

New York Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show, the Bronx

The Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Boulevard in the Bronx, runs in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory from mid-November into early January. The garden's official page lists late evening hours on select dates from the day after Thanksgiving, and does not mention Thanksgiving Day itself, so plan it for the weekend and confirm. Details: NYBG Holiday Train Show.

What is open and closed on Thanksgiving Day?

Union Square Holiday Market is closed on Thanksgiving, and the parade changes the street map of the Upper West Side and Midtown for the morning. We could not read official Thanksgiving schedules for the subway, the museums or the Staten Island Ferry, so confirm those before you go.

• Subway and buses: The MTA's official site is the source for holiday schedules and parade detours. Check mta.info the day before.
• Museums: Holiday hours vary by museum, and some close on Thanksgiving Day. Confirm on each museum's own plan-your-visit page.
• Staten Island Ferry: The city's page says it runs every day of the week, year-round, and is free. It lists no separate holiday schedule, so check it for the day.
• Weather: Late November can be cold and wet. See the weather guide before you stand outside for a parade.

This year's dates

These dates come from the organizers and NYC Tourism and can change, so confirm on each official page.

• Thanksgiving Day: Thursday, November 26, 2026.
• Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Thursday, November 26, 2026, which NYC Tourism marks as the parade's 100th anniversary. We could not confirm a start time on an official page.
• Prospect Park Track Club Turkey Trot: Thursday, November 26, 2026. The official page lists Wave 1 at 8:15 AM and Wave 2 at 9:00 AM, and says regular and early-bird bibs are sold out.
• The River Café Thanksgiving: Thursday, November 26, 2026, from 1:00 to 8:00 pm, at a fixed price of $255, per its official page.
• Union Square Holiday Market: November 13 to December 24, closed Thanksgiving.
• NYBG Holiday Train Show: November 14, 2026 to January 10, 2027.
• Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree: NYC Tourism lists the season from Wednesday, December 2, 2026, the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving, to January 9, 2027.
• Bryant Park Winter Village: the rink runs October 28, 2026 to February 28, 2027, the Holiday Shops close January 3, 2027, and the Bryant Park tree lighting is Tuesday, December 1, 2026.

Save this: a Thanksgiving week checklist

1. Book your dinner or order your take-home meal now, directly with the restaurant.
2. Register for the turkey trot, or a volunteer shift, through the organizer only.
3. Pick your parade spot and check the official pages for street closures.
4. Check mta.info for holiday service and parade detours.
5. Save Friday for the Union Square Holiday Market or Bryant Park.
6. Save the weekend for the Holiday Train Show in the Bronx.
7. Plan the tree for a weekday morning in early December.

For what else is on, see the events calendar.

Last verified: November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What time is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade usually happens on Thanksgiving morning and is free to watch. We could not confirm this year's start time on an official page, so check the Macy's and NYC Tourism pages the week before.

Where does the Macy's parade route start and end?

The route starts at Central Park West and West 77th Street on the Upper West Side and ends at Macy's Herald Square, 151 West 34th Street, in Midtown Manhattan, according to NYC Tourism.

Is there a turkey trot in New York on Thanksgiving?

Yes. The Prospect Park Track Club holds an annual 5-mile Turkey Trot in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, on Thanksgiving morning. Regular bibs can sell out, so register early through the club's official page.

Where can I eat Thanksgiving dinner in New York?

The River Café in Brooklyn publishes an official Thanksgiving Day dinner with phone reservations. Katz's Delicatessen lists a Thanksgiving package on its site. Book directly with any restaurant, because menus and hours are set close to the holiday.

How can I volunteer on Thanksgiving in New York?

Citymeals on Wheels and God's Love We Deliver both publish Thanksgiving volunteer information and sign-up links on their official sites. Sign up early, because shifts such as meal delivery fill quickly.

When is the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lit?

The tree is traditionally lit on the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving, according to NYC Tourism. It then stays on display into January.