From Central Park to the Hudson River, there is always a place to run in New York!

New York, the concrete jungle where dreams are made. What a great city it is. However, for someone looking for a nice running trail or at least an uninterrupted five mile stretch, things can get a little difficult. Do not fear, this guide should provide a very solid foundation on which to build your house of running upon. Further, there are many hidden gems of the city out there waiting to be discovered that are best reached through running! The world is your oyster dear reader. 

This guide will assume all runs begin at the 116th Street and Broadway gates at Columbia.  Distances will be estimated from this location. Enjoy!

Central Park

Distance: 2–8+ miles

Busy?: During peak hours yes, but it is manageable.

Surface: Paved/crushed gravel

Central Park provides a wonderful running experience with a plethora of options depending on how you are feeling. The north end is very wooded, allowing you to immerse yourself in the nature that exists there. The southern end is surrounded by iconic New York City buildings and rolling fields intended for recreation. On the east side, you run past the Met and the cherry blossoms are essential to check out during the spring. 

It is about one mile to the park from Columbia and one mile back. A full loop on the main trail (which is very easy to follow) is just over six miles, meaning a complete run would be around eight miles. This trail is entirely paved and winds throughout the entire park, providing lots of visual stimulation. Of course, you can turn around at any point to accomplish any distance between that. Further, if you are looking to go further than eight miles, looping the main loop as much as needed is a great way to build up uninterrupted miles even if it involves seeing the same thing twice. One thing to note is that like the entire park, the mail trail is quite hilly, especially around the northeast corner and northwest corner which both feature long inclines and declines. 

Furthermore, the reservoir provides a nice trail to run around. It is crushed gravel and can be accessed through a variety of side trails from the main trail. Depending on where you get on and where you get off, this run can be between four and five miles. The gravel is nice and light on the knees but the trail can get somewhat thin at portions meaning that if it is busy things can get a bit tight. 

Riverside Park

Distance: 2-5 miles

Busy?: No

Surface: Paved

Riverside Park is an easy choice for a run due to its accessibility and beauty. You have two options when embarking on this journey. You can either stay on the sidewalk on the top of the hill and run along the street or you can enter the park and run on the path down there. 

The sidewalk option has more lights but removes the hassle of having to weave in and out of the park as you encounter highways. Furthermore, if you are running as the sun is setting or rising this option is the most recommended as it has streetlights and higher visibility meaning you can more easily see what is in front of you (which is always nice). 

The in-the-park option is gorgeous, especially on a weekend morning when there are people out enjoying the park. There are often lots of dog walkers to brighten your day (unless you are lowkey afraid of dogs like me but we can’t unpack that right now). You will have to weave in and out of the park as you encounter highways but that does not dampen the shine of this route. Both options involve running southbound and potentially require stops due to traffic.

Hudson River Greenway Trail

Distance: 2-20+ miles

Busy?: Varies, but frequently no

Surface: Paved

The Hudson River Greenway Trail is my personal favorite location to run for a plethora of reasons. First and foremost, this route is reliable. Rain or shine, snow or heat, this path gets the job done. It is uninterrupted by streets, scenic, never too busy, and can fit whatever mood you are looking for. Further, it is very close to campus meaning that if you stretch afterwards you can do so in the privacy of the park and walk/jog home after your run. It also connects very well with the 1, 2, and 3 train, meaning that you have the option of turning around and running back or seeing more of the trail and catching a train back to campus. 

This route involves you entering Riverside Park and running on it for about a mile before you can enter the trail. Because of the highway that does unfortunately run right next to the trail (smh urban planning) there are very few access points to the trail itself. 

Once on the trail, you have two options: south or north. The general rule of thumb is that the north is much more nature focused and scenic, while the south features a great display of New York city and its architectural beauty. 

If you go south, you will run along a split bike path and running path that does connect for a portion, meaning you do have to be aware of bikers zipping past you. The four mile turnaround sees you approaching the restrooms which are located in a public building in the park. The five mile turnaround is Pier I, which is gorgeous to run to the end of, especially at sunset. The six mile turnaround is right before the trail merges with the bike trail at 59th Street. After that, the route gets increasingly more urban. 

The seven mile turnaround is near The Intrepid which is very cool to run past even if you are not interested in actually visiting it. Between the seven and eight mile turnaround, you pass a great boat that loudly proclaims “Eat tacos on a boat!!” It’s always a good time seeing that. 

The further you go, the further into the city you get, with the 13 mile turnaround being right next to Tribeca. If you keep going, you can round the tip of Manhattan and continue running on the east end of the Island, although the southeast end is frequently covered by a highway that runs overhead and it’s less kept than the southwest end. However, the view of the east side with all the bridges is a great sight to behold. 

The further south you get, the busier it becomes, meaning especially at peak hours (weekend mornings) you will have to people dodge. 

This route also is great because it can connect very well with the Brooklyn Bridge. Although frequenting this bridge is not recommended because it is always incredibly busy with pedestrians, running across it once is incredible.

Once you cross the bridge, you can easily find the 2 train and take it back to campus for a cool half marathon. Should you choose to continue, you can continue down Flatbush Ave. You can see the Barclays Center en route to Prospect Park for 15 miles. Prospect Park is an excellent park to run in itself, so if desired you can continue in the park for even longer. There is a 2 train at the entrance right near the entrance of the park from Flatbush, providing easy access back to campus. 

Going north on the Hudson River Greenway Trail is my personal favorite spot to run. It is much more secluded from the city, allowing you to disconnect from the city for a bit. You still must enter through Riverside Park and run south until you reach the one mile mark, but upon reaching the river you can take a right and head along the shared bike/run trail. This trail is unique because runners always run on the side closer to the water even if it is not the right side for the direction you are going. A green line (which is often faded away) indicates this and will save you lots of confusion from angry bikers. 

This path sees a slight uphill around two and a half miles for the five mile turnaround. The six mile turnaround is just past the bend in the road that occurs after you pass some cherry blossom trees. The eight mile turnaround is near the basketball courts under the highway and the ten mile turnaround is the Little Red Lighthouse (aka Jeffrey’s Hook Light). This lighthouse is very cute and an awesome destination run for anyone looking to do ten miles or more. 

If you continue on this path, you face a steep uphill right after the ten mile turnaround. At the top of this uphill is a lookout point that may be my favorite location on the entire trail. The view of the Hudson from this point is breathtaking, especially at sunset or when it is rainy.

The 13 mile turnaround is just a bit past the Met Cloisters which you will see on your right. This part of the trail is particularly inaccessible to the public due to the highway so it is seldom traveled, meaning that it is both often unkept and not busy (smh urban planning again). If you continue down the winding ramp, the trail opens up into Inwood Hill Park. Stay on the right side of the road when it splits in the park to encounter a set of metal, green-painted stairs around the eight mile mark. If you take the stairs up, cross the bridge, and continue down the path on the left, you will find yourself on a large uphill with a beautiful view of the Hudson River to your left. 

If you continue, you round the northwestern tip of Manhattan and under Henry Hudson Bridge onto a hilly part of the trail. It then leads down to another section of Inwood Hill Park before the trail terminates at Columbia’s own Baker Athletic Complex. 

Deep down, it breaks my heart that there is no trail that entirely circles the island of Manhattan. However, you can continue on 218th Street to Broadway and catch a 1 train back to campus (this is around the ten mile mark). 

If you take a left on Broadway, you can cross the Broadway Bridge into the Bronx and stay on Broadway until you reach Van Cortlandt Park, which is about 11 miles out. If you continue in the park, you can run one mile out and one mile back and end at the 238th Street 1 train stop. 

However, you can continue onto the South Country Trail from the park. You should enter the park at 240th and Broadway and take a right around the football field and track. Keep right as you enter a small wooded area and make sure to go under the bridge. If you keep straight on this trail, you can basically run for however long you’d like. 

There is a trail marker that officially begins the trail and that marks 13 miles out from where you started. I recommend running out and back on this trail from the beginning of Van Cortlandt, meaning you run eleven miles to Van Cortlandt (or take the train there) and then go out however long you want and back that same distance to end at the 1 train. There is a RiteAid nearby that has Gatorade and water for sale (and very kind workers!). 

This trail goes on long enough to have you actually exit the city and enter (what is debatably) upstate New York. This route is completely immersive in nature and you cannot even see the city from this trail, making it great if you want to disconnect as much as possible.  

George Washington Bridge

Distance: 6-17+ miles

Busy?: Near empty

Surface: Paved, dirt

There is another option for your journey after the Little Red Lighthouse should you choose to take it. If you go up the hill and instead of continuing on the Hudson River Greenway Trail take the bridge into the city, you can find yourself at the George Washington Bridge. There are many routes to get there from the trail, but the important thing to note is that in order to cross on foot you need to enter on the north side of the bridge at the address corner of 180th and Cabrini. 

You can run onto the bridge and take the train back for a six mile route. Between the six and seven mile mark, there is an engraving in the bridge that marks when you cross from New York into New Jersey. The view from the bridge is spectacular. The skyline is gorgeous, the river is lucious, and the cars are very loud. This part can also get busy with bikers as the path is quite narrow. 

If you make it across the bridge, you can go up the stairs and then take a right and then another right to enter a dirt trail in the woods. This trail is rugged and hilly but is a scenic trip through the riverside forests of New Jersey. It features several nice lookout points that give great views of the Hudson. You can turn around and run all the way back for a full run or just cross the bridge back into Manhattan and catch the 1 to get back to campus. 

Conclusion

I hope this has given any prospective or pro runners a sense of the many options that await you as you embark on your runs in New York! As busy as the city is, there remain many gems waiting to be discovered and running provides an excellent opportunity to do just that. 

All photos via author