A Visit to Harlem River Park

Yesterday I was officially sworn in as a member of the New York State Bar. Since I got the day off of work, naturally I did a celebratory run. Normally I celebrate with long runs (example, on the last day of law school I celebrated with a 14 mile run along the New Jersey side of the Hudson) but with a half-marathon next weekend I decided to keep the run short and easy.

There's been a whole lot of Central Park in my life lately (thanks in part to the "race" I did this weekend) so I decided to head north to Harlem River Park. Right now waterfront access on the East side is a little spottier than on the West. Currently you can run or bike along the water pretty much all the way from Batter Park to Inwood Hill Park on the West side without being interrupted by city streets. On the East Side, the pathways aren't as comprehensive.

Harlem River Park, built in 2009, was an effort to add a few more missing links to the East Side's waterfront greenway system. Right now the park stretches from E 132st St to W 145 (it ends at 5th Ave which we all know divides the West Side from the East Side). You can access the park at 135th Street, 139 Street, and 142 Street. Eventually the city hopes to extend the park southward so it can connect with the East River Greenway, which currently ends at E 125th Street, and the northern Harlem River Greenway, which runs from W 155th Street to Dyckman Street. For now, it's just a nice quiet little park that's definitely worth a visit if you're in the neighborhood.