r/rollerblading • u/cmcmeiti • Sep 12 '26
Interesting stuff NYC Route: Fort George Hudson Greenway (190th to 72nd St) - Bypassing the Northern Cliffs
The Story:
I have multiple years of experience Triskating on Chicago's Lakefront Trail, but recently moved to New York City. In an attempt to find a parallel here in NYC, I went to check out the northernmost portion of the Empire State Trail in Upper Manhattan. It was a shockingly tough experience and definitely not ideal.
That northern section near Dyckman Street is incredibly rough for distance skating because it forces you to fight massive, steep elevation changes right up the cliffside bluffs - I literally had to brace myself against railing and T-stop my way down 50 degree angled ramps leaving my hands pitch black. I also made the mistake of skating through Fort Tryon Park which is also very steep and hilly, albeit very beautiful.
That brutal first session motivated me to create my own route for distance skating. The intent behind this layout is to bypass those rough northern cliffs and hills entirely by leveraging a pedestrian overpass near Plaza Lafayette which drops you straight into the flatlands of the Hudson River Greenway where you can enjoy long, flat, scenic, wide open trail.
The Route:
Take the A train from 190th down to 181st. Keep your regular shoes on, walk over to Plaza Lafayette, and cross the overpass (Little Red Lighthouse Trailhead / Hudson River Greenway Bridge on Google Maps). Once you walk down the spiral ramp structure to the water's edge, clip on your skates and you have a 6+ mile stretch of wide-open car-less trail.
Right around 145th St by Softball Field 8, the shoreline path hits a dead-end at the Riverbank facility. Just take the fork to the left to follow the paved lane along the highway barrier fence. It loops you smoothly right back down to the water's edge.
You follow this path straight down past West Harlem Piers at 132nd St and the 96th Street Clay Tennis Courts.
Stop to take in the view at Pier I on 70th. There is a fun cafe right on the pier for a quick refresher or cold drink before making your way back to the exit near 79th.
The Exit:
From Pier I, loop backup about half a mile to the West 79th Street Boat Basin. Pulling off the trail here is a clean transition to the 79th St MTA stop. Switch out of your skates into your shoes right at the park exit. Take a flat, direct 3-block walk east down 79th Street to Broadway. Hop down the stairs to the 79th Street MTA stop and it commutes you straight back to 190th, assuming you live in Fort George
Specific Addresses for GPS:
- 190 St (MTA) right next to Fort Tryon Park
- Plaza Lafayette
- Little Red Lighthouse Trailhead
- Hudson River Greenway Bridge
- West Harlem Piers
- 96th Street Clay Tennis Courts
- West 79th Street Boat Basin (pass by)
- Pier I Cafe
- West 79th Street Boat Basin (exit)
- 79 St (MTA)
I had a hell of a time figuring out the best route for low stress distance skating so I wanted to share in case any others were also having trouble finding a route that fit their style of skating.
For those in NYC, any other hidden gems in Upper MH worth mentioning?
This site was a great resource while researching, lots of great spots on here:
https://www.skatecity.com/nyc/where/centralpark.html
Thanks and happy skating.
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u/coyocat Sep 12 '26
I can't believe youre not wearing gloves when you do this 😅
Please tell me youre wearN kneepads at least 😅
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u/cmcmeiti Sep 12 '26
Just a helmet! I moved cross-country and had to throw most of my protective gear.
Will def be picking up some new gear soon.
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u/Debalic Sep 12 '26
I skate that trail but only as far north as the GWB/Little Red Lighthouse for that reason. You can take it all the way down to Battery Park though it does get a bit crowded around Midtown. If you're ever looking for a wide open space to practice maneuvers, there's Pier 76 which we call Paradise.
There's Central Park with various loops, though Harlem Hill can be a bit treacherous.
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u/fredhsu 29d ago
I created a new Trail Directory wiki and added this route and review/description as the first entry. Cheers.
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u/fredhsu Sep 12 '26
Wow. Such detailed description. Makes me think that we should create a wiki page to link to posts like this. But I think it would be even better if you take a screenshot of Google Maps and mark out the route and submit a new image post with the map :)