Best NYC outdoor adventures — from surfing to forest walks

New York Post

2 days ago

Get 'em while it's hot.
August's not only here, but half over — its swift march toward September whittling down the number of days left to enjoy NYC's great outdoors in (fingers crossed!) equally great weather.
While al fresco activities in Gotham may bring to mind casual strolls in Central Park or catching the summer sun's last rays on your building roof, the concrete jungle crawls with under-the-radar fresh air fun — in more than 31 square miles of natural open space, from secret forest to sandy coastline.
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And exploring these sometimes under-appreciated spaces isn't just a refreshing change of pace — new Stanford University-backed research shows it's essential for our mental well-being.
Busy Big Apple dwellers don't even need that much time outdoors to feel better, either, the data revealed — city slickers can get 'significant mental benefits' from as little as 15 minutes in nature.
Bump that time up to more than 45 minutes, the experts say, and you'll see significant reductions in stress levels — not to mention boosts in vitality.
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As a service to perennially vitamin D-deprived New Yorkers, The Post has rounded up five less-than-expected fresh air adventures — before lower temperatures send everyone running back indoors.
Surf's up in Far Rockaway
11 Locals Surf School instructors Amine Farji (from left), Kailani Mergen and Mason Fahey demonstrate wave-riding poses at Rockaway Beach in Queens.
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Surfing within view of the NYC skyline might seem as incongruous as the 'Cool Runnings' Jamaican bobsled team.
But since 2012, the Locals Surf School in Arverne, Queens, has taught the ways to wave-shredding — right off Rockaway Beach.
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'[It's about] discovering that you can do something that you didn't think was possible,' the school's co-owner, Mike Reinhardt, a fifth-generation Rockaway resident, told The Post of NYC's unlikely surf scene. 'It really is a novelty to be like, whoa, I had no idea that I could just jump on a bus, ferry or subway and within 45 minutes to an hour, be in a completely different environment.'
The surf school teaches wave-riding seven days a week all year, offering private, semi-private and group lessons for people of all skill levels.
11 '[It's about] discovering that you can do something that you didn't think was possible,' Locals co-founder Mike Reinhardt told The Post.
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'The instructors make it so easy and approachable for you that you get that amazing feeling of riding a wave, even on the first time,' said Reinhardt, who is a Master Level Instructor with the International Surfing Association (ISA).
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He and fellow founder and Rockaway lifer Mike Kololyan's began the business as a pipe-line dream, offering surf lessons out of a van for pocket cash. They now function as a year-round, vibrant hub with classes, corporate outings and kids' camps.
Just off the boardwalk, the pair also operate Locals Collective, a coffee shop and surf boutique.
11 Reinhardt (not pictured) said that Queens might not be as 'established as places like Hawaii and California,' but he could foresee Rockaway becoming like Venice Beach in five or 10 years.
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Unlike the Himalayan water walls of the Pacific, Rockaway's surf generally measures an 'ideal' two to three feet for learners, per Reinhardt — who noted that the surf is at its most challenging during the fall hurricane season.
While Reinhardt said that Queens might not be as 'established as places like Hawaii and California,' he could foresee Rockaway becoming like Venice Beach in five or 10 years — but perhaps with more fuggedaboudits than cowabungas.
A tree grows in The Bronx
11 A true Bronx gem, the Thain Family Forest offers NYC nature lovers a portal to the Big Apple's pre-industrial past.
NYBG.org
Want to glimpse what NYC looked like before it became an urban jungle? Disappear into the New York Botanical Garden in The Bronx and explore the Thain Family Forest, one of the last bastions of original woodlands that once blanketed the city — perched above a pretty stretch of the Bronx River.
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The unspoiled oasis is, at 50 acres, the 'largest remnant patch of old growth forest left in New York City,' Thain manager John Zeiger told The Post.
'This forest has been used by people for a very long time, but it's never been significantly altered,' the eco expert said. 'It's never been cut down. It's never been farmed. We don't think it was ever pastured. There's kind of a continuity literally going back when forests came back after the last Ice Age.'
The surprisingly expansive bit of wilderness, where winding paths still follow original Lenape Native American hunting trails, is said to be the reason that Botanical Garden co-founder Nathaniel Lord Britton picked the shaded spot to establish the local landmark, all the way back in 1895.
With its semi-hidden gem status, these tranquil woodlands remain relatively untrodden — and are perfect for solo walks, particularly on weekdays. One-hour guided tours are also offered, with the next one to be held Sun. Aug. 17, at 1 p.m.
The hottest patio in town
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11 'We wanted the outdoor patio to make guests feel like they're on holiday by the sea,' Crevette co-owner Patricia Howard told The Post.
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When it comes to peak al fresco seafood experiences in Summer 2025, the pearl in the grit is Crevette in the West Village — a red-hot Mediterranean fish depot from the team behind the tony neighborhood's Lord's and Dame restaurants.
And while coveted Resy reservations released two weeks out (daily at noon) are gone in a flash, the proprietors typically hold the palatial patio area for walk-ins — meaning everyone gets a shot at a seat on the double-wide sidewalk, where diners, A-list and otherwise, tuck into oysters ($4-$4.50 each), red shrimp carpaccio ($22) and bright pink 'Sicilian Sashimi' ($20/$38).
11 Mussels on toast with aioli, peppers, pickled carrots and more.
@crevette_nyc/Instagram
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11 The double-wide sidewalk setting allows for a more expansive patio setup than is typical in Lower Manhattan.
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The relatively sprawling outdoor area offers far more than the usual al-fresco arrangement — a luxuriant-for-Lower Manhattan space with a lounge-y vibe, designed to feel more like Saint Tropez than Sixth Avenue, according to co-owner Patricia Howard.
'We wanted the outdoor patio to make guests feel like they're on holiday by the sea,' Howard told The Post.
High but not dry
11 'We needed it to be something that really made it worth the trip and the experience for New Yorkers,' said Bathhouse co-founder Jason Goodman.
Stefano Giovannini for N.Y.Post
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In a city where skyscraper swimming holes can be barely bigger than a bird bath, the Bathhouse Williamsburg has lavished bathers with a high-altitude pool that's nearly half a block long.
At 120 feet from end to end, the plus-size attraction is billed as NYC's largest rooftop swimming pool.
Cofounder Jason Goodman told The Post the plus-size piscina came about when loyal customers of the popular two-location spa, already enamored with the existing 'immersive' indoor baths and other facilities, made clear their desire for an equally impressive outdoor space.
11 The pool measures a whopping 120 feet long, just 40 feet shy of its Olympic counterparts.
Adrian Gaut
They weren't going to just put in a 'little backyard pool,' Goodman said of the aquatic add-on, which was completed in 2023.
'We needed it to be something that really made it worth the trip and the experience for New Yorkers,' he said of the sky-high splash zone, which was built in 11 sections and then craned onto the rooftop and welded in.
Accessing the behemoth basin, situated on an 11,000-square-foot deck with a bar, requires booking a day pass, which sells for as little as $35, or a pricier spa treatment. This grants clients first-come-first-serve admission to the space. Reserved lounge chairs start at $89, daybeds $175.
Visitors also have full access to all the indoor amenities, including thermal pools, saunas and steam rooms.
Back to the garden
11 The Elizabeth Street Garden barely dodged the bulldozer — and they've been celebrating their new lease on life this summer.
G.N. Miller/New York Post
After nearly a 12-year back-and-forth battle between developers, city officials and stalwart supporters such as Robert De Niro, Nolita's beloved Elizabeth Street Garden has been spared the wrecking ball.
The city walked back plans to erect senior housing on the 20,000-square-foot lot — and in light of escaping the jaws of urban renewal, the sculpture garden brought back its acclaimed outdoor film series for another sunny season.
Alas, this summer's al fresco movie marathon is coming to a close, but cinephiles can still catch Wes Anderson's offbeat NYC opus 'The Royal Tenenbaums,' on Wednesday, Aug. 20.
11 The popular downtown enclave brought back its summer movie nights, a series which will wrap up shortly.
@elizabethstreetgarden/instagram
It's first-come, first-served for outdoorsy film buffs.
'There has definitely been a general sense of celebration and joy during the programs and throughout the community with the Garden no longer under threat,' Executive Director Joseph Reiver told The Post.