Loading

Postcard from a bike ride to Fort Tryon Park

Postcard from a bike ride to Fort Tryon Park

During the last long days of summer, I decided to bike up to Fort Tryon Park on a Saturday morning. I first visited Fort Tryon Park last August, and located off 190th Street, it just seemed so incredibly far away–even though I was staying on the Upper West Side around 116th Street at the time. However, it was my last weekend living in Manhattan (on the Lower East Side), the humidity wasn’t too overpowering and a friend lent me her bike for the weekend: the perfect trifecta for a long bike ride up the West Side Highway.

Bike ride on the West Side Highway, New York

So I biked from the Lower East Side across town to Chelsea, and then hopped on the West Side Highway bike path that borders the Hudson River. Up to 181st Street, and then cut in and across the highway and up to Fort Tryon Park off 190th–all in all, it’s about 13 miles each way. Along the way, I stopped for flowers and lighthouses, boats and bridges; once I arrived, I happily set up on the grass with a snack and a book. Not a bad way to spend a solo Saturday morning if you ask me!

Blue Bottle Coffee in Chelsea, New York

Because the key to any good day is good coffee, right across the street from the West Side Highway is Blue Bottle.

Flowers on the West Side Highway, New York

Flowers on the West Side Highway, New York

Fort Tryon Park in New York

Fort Tryon Park in New York

Bee on a flower in Fort Tryon Park

IMG_1961

Fort Tryon Park in New York

Fort Tryon Park in New York

Fort Tryon Park in New York

Flowers in Fort Tryon Park in New York

Little red lighthouse on the West Side Highway, New York

The Little Red Lighthouse is quite possibly the most delightful and unexpected thing I’ve come across on the island of Manhattan (although the Irish Famine Memorial comes a close second).

Road on the Upper West Side, New York

View from the West Side Highway, New York

Road on the Upper West Side, New York

View from the West Side Highway, New York

What’s your favorite photo of the bike ride of Fort Tryon?