Fort Tryon Park

Story and Photo Credit by Karina Glaser

I moved to the border of Washington Heights and Inwood immediately after graduating from college in 2001. I quickly fell in love with the neighborhood and while out exploring I would think to myself, That would be a great place to get married or, That would be a great place to take kids to. Fortunately for me, I ended up meeting my future husband and got married at my dream location (Fort Tryon Park on the Hudson River between 190^th and 200^th Streets) and now I have the privilege of sharing my love for this neighborhood with my six-month-old daughter.

Washington Heights and Inwood are full of incredible places to take kids. First off, check out the Little Red Lighthouse. Made famous by Hildegard Swift’s The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge , it was commissioned in 1921 but deactivated 26 years later in 1947. Tours are available by calling the Park Rangers at 212-304-2365, and you can get there by taking Lafayette Place at West 181^st Street to the footbridge over the highway and down onto the bike and foot path to Fort Washington Park. The Lighthouse is located at 178^th and the Hudson River.

Fort Washington Park runs along the Hudson River from 145^th Street to 178^th Street, and it is a wonderful place to take kids. A favorite picnic destination for many families in the neighborhood, there are tables and grills available for small groups on a first come, first serve basis. This park also has playgrounds, tennis courts, and basketball courts. A NYC greenway runs right through it, and I believe it to be the most beautiful stretch of bike path in New York City.

On 145^th Street and Riverside Drive is Riverbank State Park, a 28-acre recreational facility with an Olympic-sized pool, a covered skating rink in the summer and a ice skating rink in the winter, an 800-seat cultural theater, a 2,500-seat athletic complex with fitness room, and a 150-seat restaurant. The outdoor space contains two playgrounds, a water splashing area, a soccer and football field with running track along the perimeter, a softball field, four hand/paddleball courts, four tennis courts, four basketball courts, a wading pool, and a 25-yard lap pool.

Fort Tryon Park is undoubtedly one of NYC’s most beautiful parks. Named after Sir William Tryon, the last British governor of colonial New York, it was the place of George Washington’s retreat when Hessian mercenaries fighting for the British captured the area in 1776. The park houses a gorgeous flower garden that is carefully tended by a small park staff and numerous volunteers. If you are in the mood to explore, you can find some interesting rock formations and, for the brave, small caves to venture into.

Housed in the park is the Cloisters, the museum that holds the medieval collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Cloisters has an array of free one-hour family programs on most weekends for children ages four through twelve with themes like, “Angels and Monsters”, “The Medieval Artist”, “Knights and Dragons”, and “Heroes and Heroines” .

If you head north, you’ll encounter Manhattan’s last piece of wilderness. Check out what the land of many hills looked like before it was filled with skyscrapers when you visit Inwood Hill Park. Around the perimeter of the park there are baseball fields, dog runs, basketball and tennis courts, a barbeque area, and playground. The park rangers host many great events for kids each weekend, including nature walks, canoeing, “ranger theater”, and even overnight camping trips. The park has sponsored a bald eagle release project since 2002, so bring your binoculars to see if you can catch a glimpse of our national bird.

Highbridge Park is another great space to bring your kids to. Named after High Bridge which was built in 1848 to deliver water from the old Croton Aqueduct into NYC, the park still contains the original water tower (tours are generally given on weekends) and has the city’s only mountain biking paths. There is also a wading pool and an Olympic-sized outdoor pool on Amsterdam and 173^rd Street which are open from late June until Labor Day (call 212-927-2400 for specific hours). The original bridge was built with a footpath, but was closed in 1960 when the Parks Department assumed jurisdiction. Extensive advocacy and fundraising by the High Bridge Coalition has prompted Mayor Bloomberg to announce in 2007 that this beautiful bridge will be restored and reopened to pedestrian traffic in the near future.

For those like my husband and I who are nerdy history buffs, try out the local historical sites such as the Morris-Jumel Mansion, Manhattan’s oldest house and George Washington’s New York City headquarters (65 Jumel Terrace between West 160^th and 162^nd) and the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum, a Dutch Colonial farmhouse from the 1700’s (Broadway and 204^th Street).