When you think of New York City, nature is probably one of the last thoughts that enters your mind. Being known as an urban jungle, New York City is often associated with everything but the outdoors.
However, you might be amazed to know that New York has some great nature that is completely assessable. The blend of urban and natural environment is a hidden gem often only experienced by locals.
This route has it all. The skyline, the nature, and the culture. This 4.5-mile loop takes you through a wide variety of scenery, starting and ending at the Chauncey J station. Once you get off the train, you’ll walk through Bushwick heading towards Highland Park.
Once getting to Cypress Avenue the scenery starts to change with the addition of a hill that leads up to the park. This hill offers a full panoramic view of the NYC skyline that shows from Long Island City to Downtown Brooklyn. To see this just make sure look behind your back as you walk up the hill as the view improves with the elevation.
Towards the top of the hill is a right turn after the cemetery. The path to the park hugs the expressway to the left with continuing views of the skyline to the right. After the baseball fields will be an entrance to the Highland Park loop on your left and up the stairs.
This loop is a beautiful, forested walkway that is best viewed outside of winter to get the full lush effect. Early into the loop you’ll be surprised with a hidden lake (the Ridgewood Reservoir) which is an awesome picture spot and looks great with the moon in the sky if going towards sunset.
After the lake, the loop continues with elevated plateau views of Brooklyn. The overlook areas provide great views of the Cyprus Hills and Highland Park neighborhoods. The elevation can definitely come as a surprise as the city is often associated with primarily being flat.
You will want to exit the park loop by staying on Highland Boulevard at the Vermont place intersection. Walking along this road takes you through a unique street with historic mansions overlooking the hill. This is one of the best areas of the whole walk and makes you feel like you’re not in the city at all.
Continue walking Highland Boulevard until you reach the Bushwick Avenue intersection. Turn right here and head back towards Bushwick. This part of the walk is the least pedestrian friendly as the area is pretty industrial with a multi lane highway cutting through. Be sure to follow the sidewalk and use the crosswalk at the traffic light.
Bushwick avenue is one of the better historic walks in Bushwick. Unfortunately, the majority of the more unique buildings are in the west side of the neighborhood but there are still some great ones on this walk. Continue on Bushwick avenue until you get to Moffat Street. Take a left here and walk towards Broadway. At the end of the street look on your left to see an awesome Snoop Dogg mural.
At this point you will be back at the Chauncey J station and will have made a full loop. This urban hike definitely has some distance but can normally be done within an hour or two. It’s become one of my favorites because of the great variety of scenery you get along the way. I’ve included my All-Trails map of the hike to make it easy to follow along. Be sure to try this one out and enjoy!