What we’re about
The New York Afternoon Hiking Group is founded on the belief that civilized people like to sleep in on weekends, and lead their active lives in the afternoon. Hiking is not only exercise, it's also a great chance to socialize in pleasant surroundings, making both platonic and romantic friendships.
We lead hikes, roughly one per month, in New York City. All hikes start and end near subway stations or bus stops, and those interested can go to a restaurant nearby for dinner afterward.
We only use restaurants that take separate checks so everybody can pay with their own credit card and we don't have to split the bill.
We aim to arrive at the restaurant at 6pm if on Sunday, 7pm if on Saturday, or a half-hour before sunset, whichever is earlier. For all but the longest hikes, this means we start in the afternoon.
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We have enough routes that we generally don't repeat any of them multiple times in a year.
One thing about most of these hikes is that since they are within NYC, if you get tired, you can just drop out and jump on public transport at any time.
The pace is about 2 miles an hour. We find that people walk a bit slower in summer and faster in winter (trying to keep warm). The pace is slow enough that pretty much everybody is able to spend the entire time engaged in conversation.
We don't appoint sweeps because we find that if there's a sweep, people no longer fear being left behind and abuse the situation, walking really, really slowly as they get lost in conversation, risking our not completing the hike before sunset. We may consider adding sweeps in the future, but only if they can carry a cattle prod.
We don't do headcounts. What happens is that some people show up looking for social opportunities, decide partway through the hike that they don't really want to meet anyone else present, and then quietly drop out and jump on a subway without telling the leader. And if we did a headcount and came up short, what should we do? Send out search parties scouring New York City for "a human being, no description"?
Once, a guy sent word up from the back that he had hurt himself, then everyone was held up for 45 minutes while the leader went back looking for him and couldn't find him because he had jumped on a subway without telling anyone. The guy was expelled from the group for that.
Suggestions for new routes are welcome. Keep in mind the following criteria:
- Must start and end near subway or bus stops.
- There must be a restaurant near the end that can handle a large group, that will do separate checks for that large group, and that takes credit cards. It's desirable that there be vegetarian options on the menu.
- Greenery and bridges along the way are preferred.
- Route must be at least 4 miles long, preferably more.
- Information about restrooms we can use along the way is very helpful.
There is no financial charge for attending these hikes, but you participate in exchange for your relinquishing the right to sue the organizers for anything unfortunate that may happen during the outing. By attending an event, you agree to the terms of a lengthy legalese waiver that can be read here. In the agreement you give up any right whatsoever to sue, to the fullest extent permissible by law.
Upcoming events
1
5 Mile Three Bridges Hike
West of the Marcy Ave Subway Stop on J/M/Z Subway, Havermeyer St & Broadway, Brooklyn, NY, USWe'll walk across the Wiliamsburg, Manhattan, and Brooklyn bridges, and end with dinner in Chinatown.
There is no vaccination or mask requirement to attend the hike or the dinner afterward.
We'll be on the sidewalk in front of MacDonald's on the corner, just west of the west end of the Marcy Avenue subway station of the J/M/Z subway line. We'll almost certainly be the only people hanging around there, and I look like my picture. If you buy a coke, you can use the bathroom at MacDonald's.
The Z train doesn't run on weekends.
- F line: change to the Brooklyn-bound J/M at Delancey Street.
- G line: get off at the Broadway stop and walk west 11 minutes along the overhead J/M/Z subway tracks past Marcy Ave to Havermeyer street and you'll see the MacDonald's on the corner.
- 6 line: change to the Brooklyn-bound J at Canal St or the Brooklyn-bound M train at Bleecker/Broadway-Lafayette.
- 4/5 lines: change to the Brooklyn-bound J at the Brooklyn Bridge Stop.
- 1/2/3 lines: change to the Flushing-bound 7 at Times Square to Bryant Park then take the Brooklyn-bound M or for 2/3 change to the Brooklyn-bound J at Fulton St
- A/C/E: change to the Brooklyn-bound M at West 4th, or for A/C change to Brooklyn-bound J at Fulton St
The hike will end at the Brooklyn Bridge / Chambers St stop on the 4/5/6/J/Z subways, then those interested will continue on about a dozen blocks to dinner in Chinatown.
We should be arriving at the restaurant around 4:30pm. The restaurant is Sichuan Chinese, and are willing to do separate checks for us. Everyone can pay with their own credit cards. Sunset will be at 5:04pm.
Originally I was going to do the bridges in the other order and eat in Williamsburg, but it turns out that I didn't like any of the restaurants I tried in Williamsburg. So we'll be going the other way and eating in Chinatown.
It gets windy on the bridges, and on the Williamsburg and Brooklyn bridges your hat might blow off and land on subway tracks or a road where you can't recover it. It's best to do this hike in the cold months, even though it's cold and windy on the bridges, because the Brooklyn Bridge is horribly mobbed by tourists any other time. At least now they have separate lanes down by the cars to get the bicycles away from the pedestrians.
Attendance at this event is free, and all participants attend at their own risk. By attending, you agree to a release waiver that basically gives up any right whatsoever to sue, to the fullest extent possible by law. You can read the current draft of this waiver at http://bluejacket7.com/legal/WalkingWaiver.doc70 attendees
Past events
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