Walking Off the Big Apple

This walk encompasses the new Whitney Museum of American Art and the High Line. The museum sits at the south end of the High Line in the Meatpacking District on the western side of Manhattan, affording views of the Hudson River. Just to the north, the Chelsea Gallery District straddles the High Line, so the elevated park affords convenient access to tangential art strolls.


The north end of the tracks, self-seeding and intentionally bereft of plant cultivation, winds west to the river and then over to the vast urban redevelopment project known as Hudson Yards and to the Javits Convention Center. At some point in the decade (or next), the construction projects will conclude, and it will be possible to walk directly from the old rail line straight into Neiman Marcus without changing pace or elevation. That's New York for you. (Or, Dallas.)


On good weather weekends, the High Line is a crowd scene. It's not for loners seeking to meander along the railroad tracks. On a recent Sunday…

This walk encompasses the World Trade Center site, Brookfield Place (World Financial Center), the Battery Esplanade, Pier A, and Stone Street. The 2.25 mile walk begins at the E train World Trade Center station and ends at the renovated Fulton Transit Center on Broadway.

A long time ago I stopped updating this website on a regular basis. I had assumed a full-time job in the city and then moved to the upper reaches of Manhattan. With a 9-to-5 job, I found it challenging to keep up with the city, especially anywhere in Lower Manhattan and beyond. Furthermore, the long snowy winter fairly wrecked several of my weekend walking plans. Drudging through the cold commutes took a toll on my energy levels, and my thoughts frequently turned toward the domestic comforts of home and the pleasures of hibernation.


Still, I longed for my old meandering ways, in the way an aging Broadway star might long for the stage. Now with the beginning of a new season, it may be time to come out of hibernation. …