Free Things to Do in New York City: Parks

Even though New York City is notorious for being expensive, there are many free or low-fee activities for the budget wary traveler. Most of your money will go towards accommodation, food, and beverages.

However, several of the green sanctuaries housed amidst towering sky scrapers offer a wide variety of fun, FREE things to do.

Bryant Park: Bryant Park is located south of Central Park, and it is tucked away between concrete giants. Every morning, some kind of class is offered, such as Tai Chi, barre fitness, dance classes, yoga, etc. The best part is they are all completely free!

My first Tai Chi class, and it was free!

Come back later in the day and catch a few songs from a broadway show, hear a pianist sing, play a game, learn a new language, or watch Shakespeare in Bryant Park. Check out the calendar here.

Shakespeare in Bryant Park: Romeo and Juliet

Romeo hiding amonsgt the crowd!

Prospect Park: Take a free cardio or yoga class, go on a nature walk, play games, take a walk, or just relax in this Brooklyn green space. Click here to visit the website.

Central Park: Being NYC's most famous and largest park, there are plenty of activities to satiate one's thirst for experiencing nature. Fantastic running and walking paths wind through the park. Check out Shakespeare in the Park, however, be prepared to stand in line early in the morning to get tickets. See the Met Symphony play or watch performers dance. Listen to a free concert or two, play frisbee, soak up the sun, or row a boat on "The Lake." Don't forget to visit the animals in the Central Park Zoo! For more information, visit their website. Several activities do cost money, but there are plenty that don't!

My run flew thanks to the awesome scenery!

Free Nicki Minaj concert during my run? Yes, please!

The Highline: The Highline is an abandoned elevated rail line turned park. Inspired by a similar French civic project, NYC repurposed these rails to create an oasis in the sky! This is a must do in NYC (the views are breathtaking!).

The flora is native to the area.

Beautiful escape

The parks in NYC bring nature and relief from the hectic, busy lives and buildings that surround them. Make sure to add a visit to any or all of these oases into your itinerary!

Redwoods National Park

The drive to Redwoods National Park

The great redwood trees tower above the lands. The tallest tree stands just shy of 380 feet and the largest trunk is measured at 26 feet in diameter. Some of these remarkable trees are even hidden from the public to protect the growth and natural habitat. This doesn't mean that you can't enjoy the numerous other giant trees. I do warn that Redwood National Park is a solid beautiful 5 hour drive north of San Francisco. Located in central California is Sequoia National Park, home to the Sequoia Trees that are in the same family as the Redwoods. I don't think someone not within driving range should make this trip solely to see the redwoods (unless you want to) but you could easily group this with a trip to the Bay Area.

Waves Crashing outside of Eureka, CA

We took 3 days and 2 nights on our adventure. Trevor was living in the Bay Area at the time and Becky came to visit for Thanksgiving. Figuring the city may be packed with family and most shops closed, we decided to get in touch with our nature side. We used Eureka as a base point. The drive up the 101 is very beautiful. It is full of river crossings and rolling hills. We rolled into small town Eureka late afternoon with no reservation. We had a little bit of a tough time but we eventually found a hotel. We toured around the city, visiting the old Victorian style homes that interest Becky. I hope we don't have to buy one now... It was Thanksgiving so we found a place having a great special and pigged out before our hiking adventure the next day.

We headed North to Kuchel Visitor Center. The drive along the coast was filled with power waves crashing onto the beach. It was simply incredible. Coming on a holiday had its perks... we hardly saw any people, but also we hardly saw any people to get advice on where to go! We headed down Bald Hills Rd. You will find good view points at Redwood Creek Overlook. This road also takes you to Tall Trees Grove. But you need a permit to get in and since we could not find anyone... so we went in anyways! Just kidding. When you get the permit, they give you a combo to unlock the gate. Tall Trees Grove is where the former tallest tree in the world, Libbey, stands. We headed towards Prairie Creek Visitor to access the BIG TREE.
Before this visitor center there is a nice, very easy hike (60 minutes round trip) called Lady Bird Johnson Grove Trail. Very casual walk with lots of history apparently. At the park center we took off for the Big Tree... it took all of 5 mins! But the tree was massive. Towering 300 feet tall and 21 feet in diameter. It has a 68 foot circumference. I couldn't even get a picture that captured its massive size. Try to find the "corkscrew" tree. It is 4 trees trunks intertwined to become one! We went back to Davidson Rd to head to Gold Bluffs Beach. If I would have done some research, I would have taken the Coastal Trail to get a good view of the ocean.

Fern Canyon begins where Davidson Rd ends. It was a moderate 7 mile hike, but a different view point. Most of the hike is through the gully that Jurassic Park was filmed it. The falls of the gully are 50 feet and there is lots of water. One of us was prepared for the water... the other wasn't. Davidson Rd is not paved and the wet weather had us nervous so we called it a day.




Redwood National Park has much more to offer and has plenty of campgrounds and hiking to extend the visit. Plus there are more adventures north near Crescent City.

Next to Founder's Tree

After a good night's sleep we headed south back home but made some stops along the way. Our major stop was Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Do not blow past this on hwy 101, take the 32 mile scenic drive called the Avenue of Giants. Coming south, from Eureka, the first stop is outside Pepperwood for the Gridled Tree. The tree had a large portion of its bark removed for some selfish people in the city. Somehow it survived. Heading further South towards Weott, is the best stop in my opinion. A very short, 30 minute hike will get you to Founder's Tree, Most of these trails are ADA Accessible. Founder's Tree is remarkable for the height at which limbs start. Almost 200 feet of solid trunk before the first limb. Even more remarkable is Dyerville Giant.

Ain't no way!

This was once the largest tree at 372 feet but in 1991 fell over! This is equivalent to a 30 story building! Trevor jumped the railing and climbed INTO the tree trunk. He had to CLIMB to get to the center. As we were finishing the drive we stopped in Myers Flat to attempt to drive through a redwood! But our monster Texas sized truck could not fit. We did walk through it to compromise! Here are the Top Ten Redwoods to see. The Stratosphere Giant, which is the 4th largest tree is hidden somewhere in HRNP, but the location is kept a secret... good luck!

Hanging inside Dyerville Giant!

I would love to one day do a kayaking or canoe trip through the South Fork River that flows alongside this Park.

Denali National Park

AMAZING. 6 million acres of amazing. Denali strives to preserve the wildness of the park with very limited trails and only one real road that cuts 90 miles into the park.  This park is home to numerous species of wildlife, stretching from large mammals like moose, small mammals like foxes, and even birds of prey like the American Bald Eagle. The best part of this slice of heaven is that is is only 235 miles north of Anchorage. There is an expensive train that runs up to Denali which takes 7.5 hours, a bus, or another option of renting a car which takes 4 hours. There are 2 airports in the park, but I know nothing about them.

Made it!

Denali offers experiences for all walks of people. Our flight was full of senior citizens, many doing guided tours, but also visiting Denali National Park. I was a bit shocked to hear they were going to Denali after seeing pictures of mountain ranges jutting out of the earth. Then I was surprised to find the elevation change from park's main visitor center to the airport 90 miles away equals to a total of 2,000 feet. This should blow your mind because the Eielson Visitor Center (66 miles in) you can see Mt. McKinley at 20,320 feet.

Our view while hiking!

Enough of this, we will cut to the chase… How to tackle Denali National Park:

Experienced Backpackers

Not too enthused about no trails

Backcountry hiking is the best way to explore Denali in its natural environment. This is very easy to do, but MUST BE DONE IN PERSON. How do you do that? Upon arriving, head to the Wilderness Access Center (WAC)/ Backcountry Information Center (BIC). At the BIC, you will check in with the park rangers. A disadvantage to reserving in person is not knowing which units (zones) will be available. Denali’s goal is to replicate solidarity and maintain the wilderness, and this is done by limiting the amount of campers allowed in each unit. This makes it near impossible to plan ahead of time. If you plan to camp in multiple zones… please note that the mileage you cover will be significantly less than normal trail hikes. Denali is TRAILLESS. A good place to start is to cut the number of miles you do in a day on a trail in half. Knowing the dates that you will be camping will help the park ranger and your group put together

No campsites!

a good itinerary. After the itinerary is put into place, there is a mandatory safety video (~30 mins). Then the rangers will put on a demonstration with the bear canisters which will be issued free of charge (make sure to return them or a fine of $80 will be charged per canister). Backcountry permits take at least one day to obtain. Our method helped eliminate this. Get to Denali towards  the end of the day, write down  the unit availabilities (they are posted on the door of the BIC), and watch the safety video at the BIC or WAC. Go to the BIC when it opens the next morning and get your permit.
Please know your experience level as this is NOT for the typical day hiker. 

*Note: Denali Camper Bus is FREE for the first 15 miles (Salvage River) BUT if your backcountry zone has you going past this, you will have to take the bus. Go to the WAC after getting your permit and pay the $35 for a bus ticket (it’s worth the drive out to Eielson Visitor Center anyways).

Campground Hikers

Riley Creek Campground

Love to hike, but would rather have basic amenities at your disposal? Denali has 6 campsites that accommodate backpackers to RV’s. The size of each campsite varies so please check it out before reserving. They are also spread across 85 miles of the park and each campsite is different, for example Wonder Lake is notorious for the abundance of mosquitoes but also has a lot of trails from the campground. Also do not think that because you are setting up camp at a particular site, you cannot explore the park. With a 14 day maximum stay in the park, there is plenty of time. Buy the bus ticket at the WAC, get to your camp ground, set up shop, and then you are free to hitch rides from the camper buses that allow you to be dropped off any unit (zone) you please.

Waiting to flag down a bus

After a day of hiking make your way back to the road, flag down a camper bus (they're green), and head back to the campground. Rinse and repeat!

Overview of campsites and location

Love the Wild, but Not Camping?

You don’t have to love hiking to enjoy Denali. There are other options to enjoy the great outdoors. After our journey we visited the sled dog center and watched a presentation put on by park rangers about the history and training of the sled dogs. It was fun to meet/pet the dogs and learn about their origins… plus see a little mushing/sledding demo! Stay after the buses leave and you can watch how the rangers put the pups away in their kennels (bonus show!). We also saw numerous people renting bikes and riding the 85 mile road. The bus allows 2 bikes to be loaded. Check this out to see more activities like a view from the sky or other guided tours. If you wish to take a guided tour of the park... our advice, take the $35 camper bus. It does the SAME route, stops at the SAME spots, uses the SAME buses (painted different) and uses the SAME drivers as the guided tours... Only difference is price. 

Ride outbound with Alan, our bus driver!

Hanging with my team