Candy Cane Holiday Market Ramble 🎀 7 miles

For those of us who’ve never passed a holiday fair we didn’t like, let’s hit four Manhattan holiday markets in one festive walk, with time to browse in each, and brisk walking in between to clear our heads. About seven miles, on a route that traces the shape of a candy cane, through Union Square Holiday Market, Grand Central Holiday Fair, Columbus Circle Holiday Market and Bryant Park Winter Village.

Meet: 9:30 a.m. Monday, December 8, 2025, Staten Island Ferry terminal. R/W (Whitehall-South Ferry) and No. 1 (South Ferry), inside by the restrooms.

The Plan: We’ll walk at a moderate-brisk pace. We'll spend about 30 minutes on our own in each holiday market, then regroup and continue the walk. We’ll visit the markets in Union Square and Grand Central, break for lunch in Central Park (BYO), hit the Columbus Circle market, and end around 3:00 p.m. at Bryant Park Winter Village. In Bryant Park, you can shop, make reservations to skate ($$), or join Maureen and Christine for hot cocoa at The Lodge.

Return: From Bryant Park, all 42nd Street subway stations are either on site or 2-3 blocks away. Also, there are early exit points at each fair along the route.

Bring: Water, lunch, snacks (or purchase at the markets). Restrooms at the start, Union Square, Grand Central, Central Park, and Bryant Park/NYPL.

Rain cancels.

Contact (day of hike only): Christine 646-491-0764, and Maureen 718-954-1581

Guests: You may invite a guest but you must have them sign Shorewalkers’ ****waiver and release at this link.