NYC Workout Adventure: Central Park Run and Hudson River Kayak

Running and Kayaking Cross Training

Last week me and my college roommate went on a spur of the moment NYC workout adventure that turned out to be a great cross-training workout. Pier 96 on the west side of New York City offers free kayaking from 9:00AM to 6:00PM during the summer months in an enclosed area of the Hudson river. Around 4:00 we decided we would run through central park diagonally to reach the boathouse for some free kayaking.

Pier 96 Boathouse Location: West Side and 96th

The Route – 3.1 Mile Run

We left my apartment on 87th and Lexington around 3:30 PM and began a swift jog across central park, following the sun to make a diagonal path across the park as seen in the above diagram. It was a really warm day out to run in central park and our hearts were racing by the time we reached the wall at the west side of the park.

We had a dilemma, either jump the wall or keep running along the perimeter to find an exit. Naturally we decided to jump the cobblestone wall on to around 69th street, a nice extra upper body boost. From here we ran down a few streets and avenues for another mile, running up and down the concrete streets to reach out destination at pier 96 boathouse.




The run incorporated a mix of hills, dirt, grass and concrete terrains and interval spring training. It was a solid 3 mile run and we still had kayaking to look forward to.

Kayaking – Upper Body Workout

We arrived at Pier 96 and within 10 minutes we were on the beautiful Hudson river kayaking away. It was completely free and all we had to do is sign a waiver and lock our belongings up in a locker. They even provided a lock.

Kayaking is a great upper body workout and we spent about 45 minutes in the water and even had a few races of our own. It is very peaceful and relaxing on the water and a nice change of scenery from concrete jungle of the city.

Post Workout Walk

After we were done with kayaking (and pretty tired at this point) we decided to walk back to my apartment to top off the workout. We had a nice brisk 3.1 mile walk back to my apartment and stopped at Papaya king for a nutritious 10oz papaya drink to refuel. Overall this workout hit upper body, lower body strength and cardio and provided a nice change of scenery. Will have to try this workout again in a group setting! This was quite the NYC Workout Adventure.

Workout Stats

  • Cost: Free
  • Total mileage traveled: 6.1 Miles
  • Muscle groups worked: legs, core, arms, shoulder, back
  • Intensity 8/10

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