Ever the Groupon hawk, my wife Mila recently grabbed one for a Seal and Bird watching cruise in Lower New York Bay. I didn’t even know they had those, but it’s just the kind of old-person touristy activity we like to engage in now and again.
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The weekend-only cruises leave from Riis Landing in Rockaway, directly across the road from the entrance to Fort Tilden. Click through for more photos from the ride, the boat, Coney Island, and, of course, blorpy New York seals.
We decided to follow the route suggested by Ride The City, largely on Bedford Ave. Aside from a stretch north and south of Flatbush, it’s actually a pretty pleasant ride through quiet residential neighborhoods.
Riding on Bedford
Crossing Flatbush
Are we still in Brooklyn?
However, the final approach before the greenway that leads to the Marine Pkwy Bridge on glass-strewn sidewalks kind of sucks. Approaching from Brighton Beach to the west is a bit nicer in my opinion.
Finally on a decent greenway after the shitty sidewalks of Flatbush
On the Marine Parkway Bridge. Apparently, cameras are strictly prohibited.
American Princess Cruises operates two 2.5-hour cruises a day, at noon and 3pm.
We saw the 12pm cruise returning as we crossed the Marine Parkway Bridge
It took us about 90 minutes of easy riding to reach Breezy Point from Greenpoint.
Improvised bike parking at Riis landing
Don’t worry if you didn’t bring a lunch, there are drinks and snacks for purchase on board.
Enjoying some American beers.
The boat heads west for about 40 minutes, giving some great views of Coney Island, with the amusement park appearing to be in full swing.
The final destination is tiny Swinrubne Island, once used as a quarantine site for immigrants, and now wholly given over to cormorants.
And, of course, the seals!
There were maybe 6 or 7 of them, and they seemed very content to be sunning themselves on the rocks, within view of Lower Manhattan, as we drifted nearby.
Lower-right of the frame
After the cruise, we spent a little while riding around Fort Tilden/the Gateway Recreational Area
Don't see many of these signs in NYC
Then it was time to ride back in the waning afternoon light. We essentially retraced our route for the return leg.
Crossing Flatbush, again
Crossing Flatbush, again
Brooklyn College
Distance traveled: ~30 miles
Cruise Cost: $27/person (much cheaper with Groupon – $25 for two)
Seal/bird watching cruises only go through this weekend (April 15). But they apparently will have whale watching cruises later in the year.
On the bike photos taken with the Fuji X100. Seal photos with the Canon 5D Mark III.
Great ride, and a great way to see some marine mammals that I had no idea were right in our backyard. Suggest a great ride in the comments!
Julie - The seals are so adorable! I can’t handle sweet-face mammals who swim in the water and sun themselves on rocks.
I love that you’re a boy who documents bike dates & blogs about it :)
Dmitry - Yeah, they’re ridiculous. I especially like the one lifting his flipper and looking over his shoulder in a “Who? Me?” sort of way.
Jonathan - We gotta do something like this with the youngster. We took him to the other end of Brooklyn last month and he enjoyed the trip. Thanks for posting!