Located just across New York City's Bronx boarder, Yonkers is Westchester's largest city, the first stop in the string of Rivertowns and the fourth largest city in all of New York state. Similar to the nearby boroughs, Yonkers is often seen as a conglomeration of small neighborhoods with distinct histories and cultures. Originally a small farming town, Yonkers was originally part of the series of early 1600 settlements that included Philipsburg Manor and the old saw mill...for which the Saw Mill River is named.
Today, much of Yonkers is a thickly settled urban area with diverse communities and pockets of beautiful parkland. Because the city stretches for nearly 20 miles along the shoreline of the Hudson River, this majestic body of water played a large role in its development as an industrial stronghold and continues to shape the city's unique character. Recent development projects along the waterfront have created a boom in business, restaurants and tourists being drawn to the area, while the completion of Westchester's Ridge Hill has put Yonkers on the map as a shopping destination.
In May, we'll take a closer look at Yonkers and all it has to offer kids and families including the best places to play, eat and shop, starting with our list of 30 things to do with kids in Yonkers.
