A few weeks ago, I began thinking about our pending departure from New York. I wanted to do something memorable before we left that would allow us to see some of our favorite parts of the city again, as well as explore some new ones neither of us had seen. I thought "Wouldn't it be cool to walk the perimeter of Manhattan?" Well, after one Google search, it turns out this is an annual event hosted by Shorewalkers and it's called The Great Saunter. We'd missed it this year (it takes place the first Saturday of every May, FYI) but decided to follow the course ourselves (but in reverse).
Mom, Sarah, me and Nick (and a bunch of tourists already swarming The Charging Bull).
We started our walk at 7:30am down at Bowling Green. This is the same starting point as the official Great Saunter, but we wanted to walk up the east side and finish on the west side (the official map takes you up the west side to reduce sun exposure). The first couple miles were pretty easy - the path along the East River is well maintained and we were shaded by the FDR or trees for most of it.
DUMBO.
The pedestrian walkway ends around 35th Street and we had to walk up 1st Avenue until we got past the Queensboro Bridge. Beginning at 60th Street, we could get back over to the water and continue north-bound until around 125th Street.
Roosevelt Island. Looking south around 90th Street.
The next part is a bit tricky as you have to zig-zag through Harlem until you can return to the water around 155th Street. By that point, it was around noon and we could see Yankee Stadium - somewhat of a reality check on how far we'd actually walked. We continued north along the Harlem River Drive to about 210th Street, then headed west to Inwood Hill Park.
The George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and High Bridges.
We stopped to eat the lunch we'd brought along at Inwood Hill Park. It was a beautiful day for baseball and we were able to watch a little of the action while we rested our feet and changed our socks (a key for success on a walk this long - bring extra socks!).
Recharged (and re-socked) my mom, Sarah and I headed for the west side. Nick wore hiking boots that were not properly broken in and got some pretty bad blisters as a result. He took the subway home with 17 miles under his belt. Still worthy of the relaxing afternoon he had by the pool afterwards!
The west side is much easier to navigate than the east side. There is a path by the Hudson River for the entire route south and the views were great given the slowly setting afternoon sun.
View from under the George Washington Bridge.
Hudson River looking south, just below the George Washington Bridge.
We helped motivate ourselves by agreeing to stop at The Boat Basin for a drink along the way. By the time we arrived (around 5pm), it was so crowded we could only perch on a step, but the brief rest was very welcome. The views weren't too bad either.
Boat Basin.
From here it was only 6 more miles to the finish line. We were exhausted, sore and our joints ached, but we were determined to finish! Mom and Sarah listened to music for most of this last leg (I let my mom borrow my headphones) so I was left to listen to them hum (and sing!) along out loud to their music. Turns out my mom is quite the Katy Perry fan...
Almost there!
We made it to Stone Street by 7:45pm. The walk had taken us 10 hours and we rested for about another two along the way. We were all ready for bed, but first we enjoyed a cold beverage and Mexican food as a reward for the ~3,000 calories we'd just burned.
All-in-all it was a great experience. There were some interesting parts of upper Manhattan that we'd never seen before (and some we probably would be okay if we didn't see again). The weather was perfect. We broke in some of the gear we'll need on our trip. And most importantly we all had fun. I'd highly recommend this to anyone adventurous enough to commit a day to the walk and two to recovering!
Beer, margarita and Mexican food at Mad Dog.