Named after Henry Hudson, the English navigator who on behalf of the Dutch East India Company explored the area known today as New York and laid the ground for the future Dutch colony, the Hudson River starts in upstate New York, near the Canadian border, and flows for 507 kilometers all the way down to New York City and to the New York Bay.
The Hudson River Park is obviously a bit shorter. It stretches for eight kilometers from 59th Street to Battery Park in the southernmost tip of Manhattan. Overlooking the river, it also extends parallel to West Side Highway, a continuous north-south thruway that runs from Battery Park and blends into the Henry Hudson Parkway at 72nd Street. In sum, Henry Hudson is quite renowned in the area.
The park is a marvelous work of urban planning. With its proximity to the river, it can really take one's mind off the stress of the city and offer him a moment of pure relaxation. It contains bicycle and pedestrian paths running along the water, tennis courts, soccer fields, dog runs and children's playgrounds. The Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment Complex between 22nd and 17th Streets has endless facilities dedicated to sportive life: bowling lanes, a driving range, an ice skating rink, rock climbing walls and fitness space. Other piers give the visitor an opportunity to try their luck at canoeing, sailing, kayaking and paddling sports on the river. Some piers are occasionally even used for concerts.
The most popular attraction in the Hudson River Park is the Circus Line Sightseeing Cruises. The ferry ride offers unique views of Manhattan as it starts at Pier 83 on 42nd Street, heads downriver, goes around Battery Park, goes up the entire East River, turns left onto Harlem River, left again onto Spuyten Duyvil Creek at the northernmost tip of Manhattan and proceeds down the Hudson River back to Pier 83. This means that it literally circles the island of Manhattan. Other cruise types include the Semi Circle Cruise covering the lower half of the island, the Liberty Cruise to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and the Harbor Lights Cruise, observing the lower half of the island at sunset. Ever since its establishment in 1945, the Circle Line has been a fundamental stop on the tourist's itinerary, serving up to 3,000 visitors a day.
Another important part of the Hudson River Park is the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum at 46th Street. Opened in 1982, the museum presents an impressive collection of ships that were once used in the US military. The main article on display is the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier, which was launched in 1943 and saw action both in World War II and the Vietnam War. Then there is the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft, which was built in 1962 to be employed mainly by the CIA. There is also an example of the Concorde supersonic civilian aircrafts, which were retired from use in 2003. Submarine lovers will find the USS Growler, a cruise missile submarine used by the US Navy in the 50s and 60s. Finally, there is the Space Shuttle Enterprise, which unfortunately, being constructed without engines, was never actually launched into space but was used for test flights on Shuttle Carrier Aircrafts.
The Hudson River Park indeed has the capacity to satisfy every recreational whim.