Kayak the Hudson
Start the day by kayaking in the Hudson River. Manhattan Kayak offers both instruction and tours year round for beginners and experienced water lovers. Classes include paddle, kayak and rescue basics. Group and private tours are available and vary in length from an hour to a full day. Advanced kayakers have the option of paddling to the Tappan Zee Bridge, Coney Island, or circumnavigating Manhattan, with a special Halloween tour beginning at midnight Oct. 31. Regardless of which activity is chosen, views of the city skyline are impressive.
Manhattan Kayak Company
The Boathouse
Pier 66, 26th Street and 12th Avenue
New York, New York 10001
(212) 924-1788
www.manhattankayak.com/blogs/
Revolutionary Walking Tour
Explore the city on foot by taking one of the city's many walking tours. If kayaking seems a bit too demanding, a walking tour is an appropriate alternative. Walking tours in the city focus on everything from literary tours to tours for chocolate lovers. However, an ideal place to begin is by taking the lengthy Revolutionary War-era tour of downtown Manhattan. Tours are 2.5 hours long and answer such questions as where General George Washington made his headquarters on Broadway. Vivid stories of life in 1776 Manhattan are discussed between visits to landmarks like Fraunces Tavern and Trinity Church.
Patriot Tours
(917) 716-4908
patriottoursnyc.com/index.html
The Cloisters Museum & Gardens
Take the A train uptown to the Cloisters. This less frequently visited branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is perched high atop a hill in upper Manhattan's Fort Tryon Park. The Cloisters showcases a large collection of European art from the Middle Ages housed in a building composed of five different monasteries. Views from the area of the Hudson River and the Palisades of New Jersey can be had while having a picnic in the surrounding gardens. Walk down the trail north of the museum and cross Riverside Drive and Dyckman Street, a 10-minute walk, to reach Inwood Hill Park, the largest remaining stretch of forest on the island. The park is famous as the place where Dutch colonists acquired the park from local Native Americans. The mostly nonlandscaped, hilly paths and trails make for a good hike.
The Cloisters Museum & Gardens
99 Margaret Corbin Drive
Fort Tryon Park
New York, New York 10040
(212) 923-3700
metmuseum.org/cloisters/
Article Written By Mike Biscoe
Mike Biscoe has been writing since 2009. Focusing on travel, sports and entertainment topics, he has credits in various online publications including LIVESTRONG.COM and Trails. He often writes articles covering uncommon travel destinations from firsthand experience. Biscoe holds a Certificate of
Completion in acting from the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts.
