Ringwood State Park adventure

Some hikes are cursed, and it takes several tries to break the curse. 

In March, we scouted for a hike I was supposed to lead in April. On that scout, we learned that the hike description was a little too ambitious, but that was fine. I fine-tuned it.

Then, of course, the April hike was cancelled.

But we put it back on the schedule for August, thinking things would be somewhat normal by then. Ha! The bus the hike relies on is still not back in service.

So, a hike in the same general area was substituted. But I do mean "general" - there wasn't going to be any real overlap with the original hike. I had a vague plan in mind, which unfortunately had a good deal of roadwalking at both ends - the bus stop just isn't near the park.

Sunday turned out to be hot and humid, so on the fly we agreed to stick to more old woods roads and less hilly trail. But first we had to get into Ringwood State Park.

Rather than follow my planned road walk, we tried a woods shortcut suggested by another Rambler. However, we got turned around, so ended up road walking anyway. Fortunately, these were well-shaded, quiet suburban roads. 

Once in the woods, it was a challenge to follow the old roads - and the correct old ones, since the map doesn't show them all. We ended up going to the botanical gardens, although we had less time to explore them than I would have liked.

On the return, we did find the shortcut, so now I know where it is. 

Metropolitan and Grand Bridges

This wasn't a long walk, but last week I found myself in Williamsburg for my first haircut in five months, so I took advantage of this to explore some new territory.

I walked through the East Williamsburg Industrial Park towards Newtown Creek. Now I don't know Williamsburg at all but was surprised to see industry so close to hipster living. If anything, I would have guessed the hipsters would have colonized, but I guess the industrial park designation helps prevent that.

The Metropolitan Avenue Bridge crosses a channel of Newtown Creek, affording views of said creek. The bridge itself is nothing architecturally interesting.

The Grand Street Bridge, which connects Brooklyn and Queens, is a different story. It looks a bit shabby chic and has a surfeit of character.

There are nice views of Manhattan from the bridge itself.

Willis Ave. and Third Ave. Bridges

In the vein of "that's three miles away, why haven't I been there," I walked over to the Willis Avenue Bridge and Third Avenue Bridge this morning. Both bridges connect Manhattan to the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx over the Harlem River.

The Willis Avenue Bridge only has a pedestrian/bike crossing on the north side. Bike traffic, particularly delivery vehicles, was fairly high. From it, you can see the Harlem River Lift Span to the south, and the Third Avenue Bridge to the northwest.

The Third Avenue Bridge has pedestrian/bike walkways on both sides; however, on the Bronx side, access to them is a little confusing. The pedestrian stairs to the north span are closed, but you can use the bike ramp. Pedestrian and bike traffic was almost nonexistent.

I made a bonus stop at the Crack is Wack playground, which has two Keith Haring murals.

I wish there was more waterfront access here, on both the Manhattan and Bronx side. The Willis Avenue Bridge does have a ramp down to the Manhattan shoreline, but it is fenced off.