By Maureen Cross
Sunday, September 17, 2023:
I have just returned from a glorious swim in the Hudson River. I feel energized and buoyant. The water was so warm and there is something about salty water that feels cleansing and invigorating. The bottom was a muddy silt that felt like a Russian mud bath in a spa.
Why would I pursue this seemingly strange and unusual activity? It was a beautiful summer day on the Upper West Side on Sunday, who wouldn’t want to take a short bike ride to their local “swimming hole”? I love the water and I love swimming. Riverside Park and the bike path are an incredible UWS resource; I walk my dogs there almost daily. (One of my dogs prefers Central Park so we go there too.)
Let me say I don’t see myself as a radical, uninformed risk-taker. I have a very conservative lifestyle. I don’t drink or smoke. I am in bed most nights at 8:00. I am a “normal” New Yorker. I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art yesterday and MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) this morning. I took a great painting class on 72nd Street at The Paint Place Saturday night and I brought my compost to the 77th Street Farmers Market this a.m. and shopped at Zabar’s this afternoon.
I am a good swimmer, active and in shape, but not a super athlete. I am super picky about what I put in my body. I don’t go to McDonald’s or Starbucks, and I avoid nail salons because I’m sensitive to smells. I think that is one of the many reasons I am drawn to the Hudson, other than the fact that she is strong and beautiful. I have joined several local pools and there are limited times, lots of restrictions, and so much chlorine. It’s terrible for my skin and hair. The Hudson is free, and nobody was in “my lane.”
People walking on the bike path are surprised when they see me, but I have a thick skin. I love doing it. It is one of the endless pleasures I get from living on the Upper West Side. I first got the idea from watching the annual Triathlon, seeing hundreds of people swim 1500 kilometers along the bike path, surviving it quite well, and going on to bike 40k and run a 10k. Another great UWS event. Most importantly, the river is cleaner than it has been in decades. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with the Riverkeepers and other great organizations, have done an incredible job cleaning her up. But still the stigma continues that she is dirty and unusable. I hope I can encourage a few people to give it a try.
Today I biked down the bike path along the river to the landing at the big Department of Public Works warehouse on 60th. There is a boat launch ramp. It’s kind of slippery but I just “scooch down on my butt” the last few feet. It’s very shallow and I only stay in about 15 minutes, but it makes my day. There was no wind and some wake from passing boats but nothing too strong. I have huskies who love to swim, and they have found many entry points. Perhaps you’ll find your own.
Maureen Cross had another kind of adventure that was immortalized in the Rag in one of our most popular stories ever, published at the height of the pandemic: Upper West Sider Who Broke Her (Rent-Stabilized!) Lease to Flee to Vermont Finds Rural Bliss Didn’t Last.
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RFK Jr. didn’t do it, the EPA and people who pay water and sewer bills and who funded the construction of the North River plant and Red Hook plant back in the 1980s did it. But the combined sewers are still there, I really hope you don’t swim after it rains heavily.
This is a very bad idea. I swim in the Hudson as well, but well north of the GWB. Not only is this swimming spot right next to a sanitation pier (stuff falls into the water from the barges), but the sewers in Manhattan discharge into the Hudson whenever it rains (particularly so in this area), resulting in very high levels of dangerous bacteria.
First thought that came to my mind. There is a sewage discharge point literally right next to this “swimming hole.” I don’t swim in the river, but I pass by this area multiple times per week… the river smells horrid and that zone is full of trash in the water. There are also plenty of aggressive river rats. Strongly recommend swimming somewhere far away from the sanitation facilities at 59th and 130th streets. Even the comparatively idyllic sand beach at Fort Washington Park just south of the GWB is coated with trash and slime (and stinks).
But I thought there were strong currents and that was the reason swimming is not a good idea in the Hudson. Not true?
Absolutely untrue at times. The currents are such that there are two slack periods every day. At some locations there are no currents. Like at Gansevoort Peninsula and off 34th Street. I know that from experience. Also the currents and slack times are predictable and the speed of the currents and the length of the slack varies with the phase of the moon. You can even use the currents to your advantage. On a flood you head upriver and on an ebb you go down. I have used both, Floods are nice because there is less rip rap to climb on exit. I typically use a flood to get from the Baylander at 125th to 100th. At the Little Red LIghthouse I might be swimming from north of the lighthouse to the lighthouse on an ebb.
Maureen–like the Hudson, you are strong and beautiful.
Beautiful but not wise.
What a gutsy thing to do. Very impressive. I am sure that many of us would love to get it a shot as well. There was an episode of Seinfeld about this.
Nice article and love your precious article about Vermont. Just please don’t t give RFK credit for anything; he’s a menace to society. If you want to thank anyone for the Hudson, Pete Seeger was the real pioneer
I love the idea of swimming in the Hudson, and I keep fantasizing about it getting cleaned up so that we could use the beautiful river in our backyard. But the things I’ve seen floating in there (from the trash to the dead dogs) are not making it appealing at the moment. I would love to know if anyone tests the water quality of the river and what it would entail to clean it up.
I would love this so much!! What’s the risk level in financial terms? (If nypd notices and cares, do you get ticketed? If so, for how much?)
Swimming in the river is not illegal. One can likely get a summons where there is a No Swimming sign or if there is a complaint from NYC Parks. I no longer swim at 103rd because of police harassment. The police must respond to calls and unfortunately, drivers on the West Side Highway call in when they see me swimming in the Hudson with my day glo pull buoy. They think I’m just a dead body. How insulting!
I’ve been swimming at 103 st a dozen times this summer with no police attention. I always swim 1 hour after high tide when the river is full of Coney Island ocean water. It runs salt all the way to Albany.
Hats off to Maureen!
Would it make sense for the city to offer a roped-off area for swimming in the Hudson River on the West Side of Manhattan? While we are at it, why not add lifeguards to the mix.
The river is swimmable (most of the time) because of the great work of government agencies (USEPA, NYDEC, NJDEP, NYCDEP) and dozens of environmental groups, led by Riverkeeper and others over many decades. This remarkable improvement in water quality, biodiversity, and public access throughout the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary has been recognized by the organization Mission Blue, which designated it a “Hope Spot” earlier this year. Interested in learning about this, google NY/NJ Harbor Estuary Hope Spot”!
So I live in a small village in upstate NY alone the Hudson River and every time we have a heavy rain the village dumps raw sewage into the Hudson and I know of a dozen more towns that do that also. I would rather eat McDonald’s than swim in the Hudson lol.
The same thing happens in Manhattan, unfortunately. It is the chief source of Huson River pollution at this time.
Yep! You don’t want to be in contact with the water after heavy rains. Otherwise it’s fine.
Swimming in the Hudson is the favorite part of my day, It’s a mood enhancer. Good for you, don’t stop, and thank you for sharing.
Very familiar with that part of the Upper West Side. I swam off that boat ramp (so convenient) once many years ago. That area usually had dismal water quality but it was good the day I was in. Much more at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11b3U3l02bBT7RDW0LNpWN_gB7eOo3g5BFd70Y1cfLQw/edit?usp=sharing.
Swimming right next to the west side sewer/sewage overflow was a bad idea given the rains of the last month.
Pete Seeger đź‘Ť. RFK, Jr. đź‘Ž!!!!!
Couple of comments. Hi Maureen, I paddle with New York Outrigger and we cross that part of the water many times (going north and south) and it would be easier for you to see us than for our steerers to see you so please keep an eye out for the canoes!
A few years ago I let my dog swim in the Hudson and she got a nasty skin infection. I should have rinsed her off immediately with clean water (my bad) but that is the proof that the water could be cleaner. I assume you shower off immediately. My canoe club’s paddlers jump in the water all the time (to cool down, for safety drills, etc.) but we always rinse off immediately.
Re the Seinfeld comment that someone else made. That was in the East River.
FYI when you’re swimming you only see a bit to the side when you take a breath. You can’t see ahead at all (I’m assuming freestyle).
Don’t forget Pete Seeger’s One Mile river swim from Newburg to Beacon, once a year. A lovely time had by all.
Swimmer Information for River Swim
https://www.riverpool.org/about-river-swim/
Gregory/
The Pigeon Meister
So inspiring!
Thank you for sharing!
was not aware that swimming was permitted….
what is the expectation of emergency response/rescue in the event the swimmer encounters a problem?
I, Bonnie Champion, love to swim in the Hudson also. There is a wonderful swim across the Hudson from Newburgh to Beacon every August. I have done it 14 times. It’s a swim to continue a dream of Pete Seeger. Look up riverpool.org
There is also a swim from Nyack to Sleepy Hollow. It’s three miles and pretty awesome. lighthouseswim.org
Why is RFK bad? Why do you keep deleting this question?
Heads up…https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/health/beaches-bacteria-vibrio-shewanella.html
Good article, thanks for link. Don’t know if it applies to fast flowing water like the Hudson by the UWS (though it is, as described above, estuarial – with daily ebbs and flows). The phrases about how these bacteria thrive in warmer water and, without prompt antibiotic intervention, an infection “can kill in less than a day” are strong warning!
Well ,Maureen Cross , you’re okay till you’re not.. The ‘not’ the problem and you don’t know when that will be. My grandfather used to swim in the East River on the lower East Side but that’s when it was clean and that was in the early 1900s.
It sounds dreamy but it really unfortunately is a risk. You might want to speak to some infectious disease doctor to determine the level of safety or lack thereof. On a side note, it’s not fair to your dogs because they don’t have a say in this risk. Lastly it’s dangerous to swim with no one present and no lifeguard.
“May The Force be with you!”