New York

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Summer is the best time to visit this world-famous city when every street is filled with the tantalizing smells of international cuisine and cultural activities. The heart of the city is undoubtedly Central Park where people head daily for picnics and ball games. Climbers have also taken a recent interest in the park and bouldering is another possible activity. The bouldering requires strong arm muscles but no ropes although some distances are extremely steep and vertical. There are three locations in the park for climbing: Cate Rock, Wave Rock and Rat Rock – the third is the most popular.

While not as vast or famous as Central Park, Inwood Hill Park is a 196-acre park offers breathtaking views of the city surrounded by that last of the area’s virgin forest. The story behind the transaction of this particular piece of real estate is also legendary: for trinkets and beads valued at approximately $25, the Lenape Indians sold Manhattan to Peter Minuit. The trail is paved with uphill sections that are short, but fairly steep. If you’re lucky, you’ll even see a bald eagle.

Although famous for it’s free ferry, this forgotten district also offers incredible parks in Staten Island with fantastic options for off-road biking in the southern reaches, for example in Wolfe’s Pond Park. There are also trails that are appropriate for a variety of experience levels and are among the increasing network of courses for mountain biking in the metro region. There’s also a range of topography from forests to sandy beaches and even frozen ponds.

While in the city, you should definitely check out the ghostly trail of old Brooklyn and take a paddle on one of the city’s most contaminated bodies of water. The US government’s Environmental Protection Agency recently declared the canal to be a Superfund site. The Gowanus Canal is much loved by locals and traverses a fashionable neighbourhood in the area. Since its days as an industrial waterway, the Gowanus has progressed to a cleaner environment with crabs and other species. From April to October, you can do a free canal tour with the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club during which you’ll certainly see the occasional heron and hipster.

Another park that has changed completely from a dumping ground to a magnificent 1,255-acre recreational area is Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, which inspired The Great Gatsby’s valley of ashes. You’ll find a variety of cultural activities here from the Queens Museum of Art to the New York Hall of Science as well as sports and environmental options like Citi, USTA National Tennis Centre, the Queens Wildlife Centre and the Botanical Gardens. All of these places are left over from the World’s Fair of 1964. Sailing on Meadow Lake in the park is the perfect alternative to being on the open sea for people who don’t like to leave land. Prices are reasonable for lessons in the American small Craft Association where you can learn the basics of boating including engineering.

Park in Brooklyn is a worthy contender and extremely popular with runners, cyclists and bird enthusiasts. Over 200 bird species are seen in the park during the migration season and the park plays an important role in the Atlantic Flyway. You can do weekly hour tours for bird watching for free on Saturday’s at 12:30 with the Audubon Centre. On your way to the meeting point, make sure you stop at the farmer’s market at Grand Army Plaza for a baked good.

You don’t need to travel to the Catskills or Adirondacks to go hiking and camping. Families can camp right in the city’s parks designated by the New York City Parks Department. Van Cortlandt Park, located on the Bronx’s northwest, and Marine Park, on Brooklyn’s southern tip, are two of these parks. Camping is free, but spots are allocated by lottery draws that are worth the effort. If you win one of these spots, you’ll do a variety of activities—led by Urban Park Rangers’ staff—including hikes at night and cook outs.

Part of the city’s Water Trail, the Bronx River is the only true river in New York City and has had the best environmental success in the city. Even the Hudson, which runs through the west side of Manhattan, is just a tidal estuary. The Bronx River Alliance advocacy is responsible for the river clean up of the city’s rivers over the last few decades. This has led to the return of herons, turtles and many fish that are often spotted by the increasing number of paddlers on the river. You can also explore the New York Botanic Gardens and the waterfalls that are downstream of the river.

At 1,150 acres with public links for golf, Van Cortlandt Park is the city’s fourth largest park and the country’s oldest part. It is also known for it’s tough cross-country course with numerous woody trails that’ll truly put you through your paces. You don’t have to be an Olympic athlete to make it through the trails, but you should brace yourself for an intense workout. The Old Croton Aquaduct Trail cuts northward to Westchester County and runs through the Bronx.

TriBeCa, formerly wharfs on the west side of Manhattan, have slowly transformed to parkland that attracts skaters at Hudson River Park’s Tribeca Skate Park. The park covers 8,000 square feet, so there’s more than enough space for everyone. It has numerous stairs, niches and barriers in the wide plaza and is made of granite and stone. It’s popular with local skaters due to it’s street-style and it is open from 8:00 until nightfall daily.