DESTINATION: NEW YORK

Active adventures in New York City

Forget those workers shuffling on and off the subway. You can go biking, kayaking and rock climbing within this urban center.

By Yi Shun Lai, Special to The Times
12:00 AM PDT, September 17, 2006

A recent week's schedule looked like this:

Monday: Bouldering with Naomi after work

Wednesday: Kayaking with Karen and clients after work

Saturday: Trail running race, 8 a.m.

Sunday: Cycling with group

*

IF you guessed that I was bouldering in the mountains of Colorado, you'd be wrong.

If you guessed that I was paddling among the orcas in Washington's Puget Sound, you'd be even farther off.

I spend most weeks like this getting to know New York City. Yes, that New York, the one whose name invokes images of pallid workers trudging through underground subway tunnels day after day.

But my New York is different. The city I know intimately is not from the pavement but from the waters of the Hudson River, the mean back hill of Central Park, the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge and the steep, unforgiving trails of Van Cortlandt Park.

Below, you'll find four of my favorite outdoor activities and places in the city to try them out.

*

Paddling

Seeing New York City from a kayak on the river, where the only sounds are the water lapping against your boat and the occasional thrumming of a passing ferry, is an otherworldly experience. The city should always be this peaceful.

Where am I?

This is a city known for great old architecture. And it's a desert spot and has a long-standing tradition of hospitality.


National Parks

America's 20 most-visited national parks in 2009.

My Trips

Subscribe to the Daily Deal blog Daily Travel & DealBlog

Vermont: Tame that tension with $999 in spa treatments at Equinox Resort
If you believe there's no such thing as too much time in a spa, then this New England speci...
Read more »

SIGN UP Newsletter_icons

Taking restless Southern California on vacation

Los Angeles Times e-mail newsletter, delivered every Thursday


Expedia
  • Departing from:
    Depart:
  • Going to:
    Return:

Subscribe to this section    

Subscribe to
Save and share