Riverdale Park

When you think of New York City's pressurized real estate market, the amount of dedicated parkland along New York City's Hudson River shoreline is pretty astounding. There's Robert F. Wagner Park down by the Battery, Rockefeller Park to the north of it, and then Hudson River Park, which snakes its miles-long way up the riverside. Hudson River Park runs into Riverside Park, which continues lining the river all the way up to the West Harlem Piers. Riverbank State Park juts out over the the water, and Riverside Park continues northward to Fort Washington Park, by the Little Red Lighthouse and the George Washington Bridge.

Further up Manhattan we have Fort Tryon Park, and finally, at the tippy-top of the island, Inwood Hill Park with its remnants of old-growth forest. Continue north and cross Spuyten Duyvil Creek into the Bronx, and before you know it, behold: Riverdale Park, hugging the river for more than a mile.

The city began acquiring these stretches of riverfront property as far back as 1888 to preserve them from development. The New York Central Railroad came through in the 1850s, making the Riverdale neighborhood popular among rich folks who wanted summer mansions. Many beautiful houses on scenic properties remain to be gawked at today.

But Riverdale Park is a marked contrast. Note the trail marker: You can hike a marked trail all the way through the long, thin, 144-acre park.

Trains still run through, but for long stretches of your walk, they might be the only sound you hear, aside from birds, small mammalian wildlife, and the occasional urban hiker or dog walker. The Parks Department website notes that 27 species of birds have been confirmed as breeding in Riverdale Park, including the screech owl.

About 50 of the park's acres are forested, according to the Parks Department, but the impression one gets hiking through is that almost of it is wooded. All is definitely green in the height of summer—so much so that only in a few spots can you get a good glimpse of the river.

The above marker notes, I think, a restoration project that has improved the Alder Brook (or Alderbrook) wetland and surrounding forest, unclogging the sediment from the stream, compacting soil, and replacing invasive vegetation with native varieties.

The Wikipedia page on Riverdale Park details the different sections of the park. The information there is all sourced from a "Riverdale Park Map and Guide" published way back in 1984. (And I feel bad about linking to merely 10-year-old posts on this blog!) So take the info with a grain of salt (or a speck of sod). The Wikipedia page itself was only created in 2022, though, so I would guess that the writer knows of what he speaks. Wave Hill, the beautiful "public garden and cultural center" that adjoins the northern part of the park, published the original map and guide.

Sources mention ruins and relics, like lime kilns. If I saw any, they didn't register as such. I did come upon these witchy-looking structures, though. "Welcome!"...but to what? There was no one inside, not that I could see anyway, but I sure didn't dare enter.

The best way to get to Riverdale Park by public transportation is via MetroNorth. The Riverdale station is at the park's northern end. The Spuyten Duyvil station is near the southern, and also near Henry Hudson Park and the Half-Moon Overlook, as well as Villa Charlotte Brontë. (Spuyten Duyvil Park (or Spuyten Duyvil Shorefront Park) is here too, but when I tried to access it I found it closed, or at least the entrance I found was closed—what dangerous mystery lurks within?).

Above: the view from Half-Moon Overlook
Above: A glimpse of Villa Charlotte Brontë, a fanciful apartment building dating from the 1920s

However you go, wear hiking shoes. There's no climbing to speak of, but a walk through Riverdale Park is a walk on a real forest trail.

All photos © Oren Hope

Orchard Beach in Summer

Park Odyssey's first trip to Orchard Beach was on a chilly spring day in the early throes of the pandemic. We returned this summer for an Urban Park Rangers tide pool walk, which started at the Nature Center. While there, we made it a "beach day" too. Which, for us, usually means an hour or two at most, taking turns going in the water.

Down the middle of the photo below you can see the transition between the sparsely populated section with no lifeguards (on the left) and the crowded part of the beach where the swimming zone starts (on the right). The lifeguards were pretty strict about keeping swimmers out of the water outside the zone.

The beach is a long curve of sand built on landfill at the innermost armpit of Long Island Sound. The water's very calm, with no waves to speak of. And you can go quite far out and it's still only up to your waist.

But back to our main plot: Armed with nets supplied by the Nature Center, our group walked out towards the rocks at a point far from the crowds.

Did this tide-pool excursion mostly draw parents with their kids? Sure. But clearly we, Mr. and Mrs. Odyssey, are in a certain way kids at heart.

After catching, viewing, and releasing a whole assortment of small sea creatures temporarily stranded in tide pools (tiny fish, clams, etc. – even a jellyfish), we took a mini-hike to a spot at the edge of one of the adjacent former islands (now attached by landfill) to look at the hermit crabs scuttling in and out of their holes in the sand.

When the party broke up we headed to the beach to partake of the sun and sand, and do a little "swimming." Other beachgoers, though, were enjoying the grass and trees – or partying like it was Labor Day weekend.

Condé Nast Traveler recently named Orchard Beach one of the best beaches near New York City. But there's a caveat: There are no fewer than 17 beaches on the list. So, is Orchard Beach really New York City's "Riviera"? It depends how far you want to stretch your imagination. For sure, though, the Bronx's only beach stretches a long mile-and-change, fronts swimmable waters, and is absolutely right here in NYC.

All photos © Oren Hope

Ferry Point Park

Ferry Point Park in the Throgs Neck neighborhood of the Bronx is named for the ferries that used to traverse the waters between Queens and the Bronx. It's a nice bit of synchronicity, then, that the latest addition to the 21st-century NYC Ferry network is an extension of the Soundview line to a dock right here.

Today's ferry takes you north along the Harlem River, past populated Roosevelt Island, scenic Randalls Island with its athletic fields and urban farm, uninhabited North Brother Island and South Brother Island (pictured below), and Rikers Island with its sprawl of jails.

North Brother Island

South Brother Island

Then it motors eastward through the crooked East River, under the flight path of the planes landing at Laguardia Airport (also in sight), until the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge looms overhead and the final landing is reached.

And just like that: Welcome to the Bronx.

But where to go first? Randomly deciding, we turned right, toward the bridge.

This turned out to be the picturesque – and desolate – end of the park.

Worn stairways lead up to a fence behind which cricket players labored under the blaring sun (we got a better look at them later).

Continuing toward the bridge, the gravel path parallels a stretch of sandy, stony, debris-strewn beach.

The towers of Manhattan lie sprinkled in a line in the distance.

Away from the water a patch of forest rises.

As we approached the bridge, it looked like the end of the line.

But up ahead we encountered a lone man fishing, who told us we could skirt the fence and continue past the bridge.

Sure enough, a wider stretch of beach opened, with several more fisherfolk at work.

This, finally, was the last accessible stretch of coastline in this direction. So we reversed course back toward the dock, and then hiked up through some trees. There we found the cricket field.

The paved path heads north alongside Westchester Creek. Westchester Creek is a tidal inlet of the East River that runs northward, narrows, and then disappears near Herbert H. Lehman High School. In earlier times the creek extended further north; Westchester Square, the first permanent European settlement in the Bronx, is said to have been founded at the then-head of the creek. Westchester Square is still the name of a neighborhood there.

Ferry Point Park, though, abuts the waterway's mouth, where it's far wider than what one normally thinks of as a "creek." On a hot day, the water looks appealing. But best leave the swimming to the ducks.

On the open fields along this more heavily used part of the park, cricket gives way to soccer, the dominant language is Spanish, and the dominant moods are "party" and "family."

The non-sports action was in the field, by the parking lot, and by the water.

What looked like some sort of closed-up bandstand stood empty. But it's not a bandstand. It is, The City reported, NYC's "most expensive park bathroom ever," constructed over 12 years at a cost of $4.7 million – a cost that City Council Member Joe Borelli described in a most interesting formulation as "borderline astronomical."

Other dominant moods: "beach." And blowing bubbles.

Ferry Point Park is easily big enough to find solitude, though, should that be your desire.

Either way, the park can be enjoyed at minimal or zero cost, whether you drive, cycle, scoot, skate, or sail in as we did.

The same can't be said of the adjoining public golf course, completed about 10 years ago on a former landfill site and recently renamed Bally's Golf Links as part of New York City's divestiture of connections to a certain real estate demagogue. The first part of the park, which opened as such in 1941, got an upgrade when the golf course opened.

However unfortunate the course's former association with Donald Trump, it was "inspired by the rolling hills of Scotland and designed by golf legend Jack Nicklaus," according to the Parks Department website.

But wait a minute, you say. Isn't Bally's a gambling company?

Bingo! Bally's hopes, as reported by the Bronx Times, "to build an integrated resort that combines the existing golf course with a first-class hotel and spa, banquet and events center, and a new gaming facility" that would occupy a part of the current golfing grounds outside the course itself. Stay tuned.

The website also states that including the golf course, Ferry Point Park is about half the size of Central Park. Not too shabby.

In May the park hosted the Bronx County Fair, which included a carnival ride called Alien Abduction.

"It’s pretty crowded, a little unorganized," raved one Fair attendee, who had brought her five-year-old son.

All photos © Oren Hope except where noted