Usually when I write about life in NYC, I regale you all with one of my Fail tales. This past week though, I actually scored an NYC win that I thought I’d share with any locals or folks headed here in the summer. Free kayaking!

Erin over at Broke Millennial has this great list of free stuff to try in the summer in NYC. I always have the best intentions of doing this stuff but a mixture of laziness and intimidation over figuring out exactly how it works usually stops me.

So the other day, after sitting at my desk without moving for more than 8 hours, I decided I needed to actually do something before heading home and the most intriguing thing to me on that list was kayaking in the Hudson River.

            Tip: You might not want to wear work clothes on this adventure. I did get wet. The subway ride home was a little soggy.

So I walked 10 minutes across 56^th Street to the docks. You’ll see a large gray bottle that has some submarine like furniture in it and you’ll know you’re at the right place.

…all the people kayaking in the water in front of you will probably also be a dead giveaway.

I followed the dock down to a helpful woman, sitting at a desk who offered me a locker lock, wanted to know if I needed any sunscreen and pointed out changing rooms and bathrooms to me. Seriously, it’s some setup there!

I rolled up my jeans, stuffed my backpack in a locker, grabbed a life vest and walked to the end of the dock. The pier was busy, but not overrun. You can kayak in a double kayak or single. There was no wait for couples heading out, but I got in line with the other single kayakers and waited about 5 minutes until a free one became available.

And then I became one with the water. Or some other cosmic junk. But really, it was a lot of fun and very peaceful – not a thought I often have in the City. It felt great to be doing something and not just sitting around. The weather was phenomenal. The water felt good. It took me about 5 minutes to remember how to paddle a kayak competently and then I headed out towards the buoy that makes the area you should stay within.

The people running the place ask you to keep it to about 20 minutes, and everyone was. The turnaround for people waiting for kayaks never seemed long and everyone out on the water appeared to be enjoying themselves.

            Tip: Bring money for a donation.

After paddling back in and retrieving my backpack, I noticed the donations box, which I was happy to give to – except the whole trip was very spur of the moment and I had a whopping $1 in my wallet.

Nonetheless, I forked over the dollar thinking that time was well worth it and headed home. Arms a little sore, feeling victorious about actually accomplishing one of the free NYC things I wanted to try out this summer. I’ll definitely go back though.

The groups that run this awesome kayaking service is called The Downtown Boathouse and they’re interested in promoting free public access to the water for everyone.

            Ready to get your free kayaking on? Check them out at one of these locations:

• Pier 26 Boathouse – just north of N Moore St. Take the 1 to Franklin St or the A,C,E to Canal Street.
• Pier 96 – 56^th Street near the Intrepid. Take the 1, A, B, C, D to 59^th St – Columbus Circle or the A, C, E to 50^th Street
• 72^nd Street Dock – in Riverside Park, take the 72^nd Street stairs down to the dock. Take the 1, 2, 3 to 72^nd Street.