The New York Afternoon Hiking Group

You will need a Metrocard or Omnicard to ride the cable car.

There are no vaccine or masking requirements on this hike.

We'll start in Manhattan, then cross the 59th St Bridge to Queens, then take the Roosevelt Island Bridge to Roosevelt Island, then the cable car back to Manhattan, then we'll walk 2 miles north along the East River to 103rd St, then take the Ward's Island Bridge to Randall's Island, then the Triborough/RFK Bridge to Astoria.

After we reach Astoria, I'll direct those who want to go home to the Astoria Blvd subway station on the N line, then those interested in dinner can follow me to dinner at a Greek restaurant in Astoria that does separate checks.

The walkway over the Triborough/RFK Bridge has no chain link fence guarding it, just a railing that's only 3 feet high, so if you're a tall person there is a very strong feeling of the height, much more so than on the George Washington Bridge. And if your hat blows off, you'll never see it again -- it's recommended that you tie your hat to a shoelace around your neck. If you fall over, it's probably not high enough to K*ll you, just high enough to break your back and paralyze you.

If you're driving to this hike, it's recommended you park your car for free on the streets near 23rd Ave and 31st St in Queens, take the "N" train from the Ditmars Blvd stop to Lexington Ave and then walk to the start point.

The amount of time this hike takes has varied a lot by year. In 2015 we finished it in 3 hours, in 2018 the same route took 5.5 hours. The mistake in 2018 was that we had a "sweep", so people knew they wouldn't get left behind no matter how slowly they walked, and they totally abused it, dawdling really, really slowly, taking forever to catch up. The hike took an hour longer than planned. We won't make that mistake again. Then plan is to be in the restaurant by 4:00pm, before the sun sets at 4:28pm.

We'll be stopping for half an hour by a supermarket on Roosevelt Island for a lunch / bathroom break. There's a deli in the supermarket, so you won't need to pack a lunch unless you want to.

Attendance at this event is free, and all participants attend at their own risk. By attending, you agree to a release waiver that basically gives up any right whatsoever to sue, to the fullest extent possible by law. You can read the current draft of this waiver ().

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Host or Publisher Bill Chapman