Free rowing, kayaking and canoe trips put New Yorkers out on the water

A nonprofit boathouse on Pier 40 in Hudson River Park takes members of the public rowing on the Hudson River for free twice a week, one of several no-cost ways to get out on New York City’s waterways.

Free rowing on the Hudson River at Pier 40

Village Community Boathouse runs the sessions in 25-foot wooden boats, with a volunteer coxswain at the front calling out when to pull harder or ease off. On one recent Wednesday outing, a crew of seven people who had never met needed more than 30 minutes before their strokes fell into near sync. The boat held a grandmother of three, two rowers in their 20s, and a Paris resident in town with his daughter, who is 12.

Phil Yee, a board member who steers the boats, retired after more than three decades with the NYPD. For him, volunteering is a way to stay connected to people, to the river and to the past. “You don’t get wet like when you row in a kayak,” he said.

The group formed nearly 20 years ago as an offshoot of Floating the Apple, an organization that pushed for more recreation on New York’s waterways. Besides the public outings, it runs programs for young people and enters teams in rowing competitions. Its warehouse on Pier 40 also houses a workshop.

Shelly, a 24-year-old software engineer who lives in Chelsea, was out for her third row. She said the sun and open space took her mind off work, and she liked talking with a whole boat of people. The river is not always calm: passing jet skis sent wakes rocking the boats, and when someone in another boat got seasick, the two boats pulled alongside each other so she could move over and take their place at the oars.

More free kayaking and canoe trips in NYC

Free options exist in all five boroughs, from 20-minute paddles to trips lasting hours, in kayaks, canoes, dragon boats and other vessels on lakes, rivers, bays and canals. Volunteer-run nonprofits host many of them. Jamaica Bay is a destination for no-cost kayak outings led by rangers from Gateway National Recreation Area, while the Parks Department’s Urban Park Rangers take people on free canoe trips around the city.

In Manhattan, the Downtown Boathouse offers kayaking on the Hudson. Graeme Birchall, its former president, said people who enjoy time on the water “begin to feel like it’s their harbor” and start to care whether it stays clean and safe.

Free boating programs in New York City run on seasonal schedules that change with the weather. Check the boathouse or operator before you head out.