A brisk autumn breeze scattered crimson maple leaves that fluttered from trees lining a pond glittering in the morning sun as my friend Bob Graham and I loped along a narrow path the other morning.

We crossed a stone bridge, slowed to watch a pair of mallards paddle by and soon emerged into a different world: New York City’s Fifth Avenue, passing The Plaza Hotel, Trump Tower, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and other landmarks. Unlike the night before, when throngs jostled us on Broadway and Times Square, Manhattan’s streets and sidewalks remained virtually free of cars and pedestrians at this early hour.

“Doesn’t get any better than this,” I remarked, as we hooked a right on West 50th Street and headed toward Rockefeller Center.

Though my rambles usually take me to the mountains, woods, rivers and the sea, I’ve always found urban forays rewarding because even the busiest cities maintain such extraordinary havens as New York’s Central Park, Boston Common, London’s Hyde Park and the Bois de Boulogne in Paris.

I’ve seen osprey diving for fish, fox flashing across trails, turtles sunning themselves on rocks and other woodland creatures, all within short distances of skyscrapers.

Of course you don’t have to travel to the Big Apple or European capitals to enjoy serenity surrounded by sprawl. Here in southeastern Connecticut you can find quick escapes from city streets at Riverside Park, Bates Woods and the Connecticut College Arboretum in New London; Bluff Point and Haley Farm in Groton and Mohegan Park in Norwich.

Farther afield are Harkness State Park in Waterford, Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme, Lantern Hill in Ledyard and Barn Island in Stonington. Once you stray only slightly farther into North Stonington, Voluntown and other rural communities, more extensive refuges beckon, such as Pachaug State Forest, the largest in Connecticut, spreading over 27,000 acres and containing miles of pristine hiking trails.

Urban and suburban escapades needn’t be confined to land. Some of my most memorable city adventures have been by kayak, including a 341-mile, 11-day paddle along the Erie Canal from Buffalo to Albany, and my favorite one-day excursion, a 28-mile circumnavigation of Manhattan.

I’ve bounced through Class IV rapids in Northern Maine and surfed on 8-foot waves in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, but nothing is quite as breathtaking as shooting through Hell Gate on New York City’s East River on an ebb tide and then rocketing past the United Nations and Empire State buildings, and beneath the Brooklyn Bridge.

I prepare for city excursions much as I do for woodland hikes: a day pack containing water bottle, snacks and a change of clothes – especially if the itinerary includes a Broadway play, visit to a museum and restaurant dining.

Admittedly, I don’t venture to New York only to run through Central Park, just as I would not confine a Parisian sojourn to the Tuileries Garden. They are icing on the cake.

All to often though we overlook these treasures, here and afar. They do more than offer respite; they allow us to breathe and to reflect, and serve to inspire.