If your New Year’s resolutions include getting fit and/or getting more fresh air, you’re in luck. Urban park rangers from the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation will host free, guided hikes in all five boroughs on New Year’s Day.
Not only will you be able to break in those new sneakers you just got or work off some of those holiday treats, the hiking guides “will introduce you to the hidden gems of New York City,” the parks department said on its website. “On our hikes, you may explore nature, discover our city’s urban forests or just unplug from the world to clear your head.”
Plus, it’s a great way to discover — or rediscover — your local neighborhood park or one in a completely different borough if you’re so inclined.
All the New Year’s Day hikes are categorized as light, meaning they are, according to the parks department, “a leisurely stroll on mostly paved paths.”
But to us, a walk is a walk and exercise is exercise, so go you for getting up off the couch!
Brooklyn
Audubon Center at the Boathouse in Prospect Park
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Bronx
Van Cortlandt Nature Center in Van Cortlandt Park
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Manhattan
Seaman Avenue and Isham Street in Inwood Hill Park
1 to 2:30 p.m.
Queens
Rose Avenue and Oak Avenue in Kissena Park
1 to 2:30 p.m.
Staten Island
Blue Heron Nature Center in Blue Heron Park
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
(click the borough name for more info on each hike)
