When people think of New York City, they think about Times Square but not the rest of Manhattan. Manhattan is made of many different areas, it feels like you are walking through different towns not being in the same city. Recently, I completed the TikTok challenge walk in where people walk from the northernest part of Manhattan to the end in Battery Park with a friend. The original walk should be about 14 miles and takes about 6 hours, however our walk ended up being 19 miles and 8 hours. We did do some additional stops and went to different areas not itinerary.
Firstly, lets talk about how to prepare for the day. The most imoportant thing is to wear comfortable clothes, especially sneakers! You’ll be in them all day. Next decide if you want to bring a backpack or a smaller bag, that will determine how much you bring with you. We did smaller bags because we didnt want to hold too much. The other thing to decide whether or not you want to bring a reusable water bottle. We chose to buy them as we went because I didnt want to have to figure out where to fill it up. Now on to what to pack, I definitely brought too many things but I wanted to be prepared.
Packing list:
- Small bag
- Cash
- Portable charger (maybe 2)
- Hand sanitizer
- light snacks
- Kindle
- Sunglasses
The starting point most start with is 207th and Broadway, however we started at Marble Hill. Marble Hill was originally attached to Manhattan but in 1895 a canal was built separating it physcially from Manhattan. From there the following were the planned stops:
- Fort Tyron Park
- Met Cloisters
- Morris – Jumel Mansion
- Apollo Theater
- Central Park
- Radio City Music Hall
- Times Square
- Washington Square Park
- Freedom Tower
- Battery Park
We skipped Radio City Music Hll and Washington Square as we have been to them before but we added:
- Columbia University
- TikTok stoop
- the Vessel
- High line trail
- Madison Square Garden
When we first started we wanted to follow some routes that we had seen on TikTok but like I mentioned, we skipped places we have been too and added places we have wanted to visit. The beginning of the walk wasn’t too bad until we wanted to go see the Met Cloisters. For this stop, if you want to see the museum or have a good view of the Hudson River, I would stop there but if neither of these are things you are interested, skip it. The walk up to the Cloisters is a lot of stairs and will take time. We didn’t go into the muerum but we did go see the Hudson, which was very beautiful. Again, if this is a spot you would like to see, a suggestion would be to stop at coffee shop before hand and get a small breakfast to enjoy on the lawn.
After the Met Cloisters, we made our way down through Washington Heights to the Morris – Jumel Mansion. Unfortunately, it was closed for repairs, but we did get to see Sylvan Terrace, that has 19 century movie set like houses. After this stop, we made our way to the Apollo Theater. The theater was cool to see but again if this is nothing to importance to you, its skippable, unless it is on your path. We wanted to see Columbia University, which made Apollo Theater a detour. On the way to Columbia, we did stop at an Ethopian restaurant for a bathroom break and a refresher. Columbia was a bit difficult to see since there was some security to allow people in.
After this we made our way through Central Park with a detour to the TikTok stoop. Being that it was a Saturday, the park and stoop were busy, so we tried to make our way through as fast as we could. Central Park did take a long time, since we wanted to see a couple specific things in the Park. Once we were out of the park, we were at 59th street and we booked it through Midtown. Instead of going towards the Freedom Tower directly, we wanted to do the High Line Trail. This again was a detour but it was cool to see. The High Line also had some vendors and a bathroom to use which was great.
When we were off the High Line, we started to make our way to the Freedom Tower and Battery Park. At this point, we were exhausted and only had about 45 minutes left. We stuggled those last 45 minutes, but once we made it, it felt amazing. We took a well deserved break and then checked out the Sea Glass Caroseul at Battery Park and then went to grab dinner.
I know in some videos people had mentioned how they made dinner reservations, so they would be held accountable to timing. The idea made sense, however we didn’t want to rush and also didn’t know what we would be in the mood for. The great thing is that in the city, there are many options for dinner. We stopped at Malt House, a great tavern with many options.
Our plan is to repeat this walk but on another side of the city and with less detours. If you are looking to complete this walk, there are many routes online and TikTok. The walk has become so popular that the NYC Parks & Rec has made their own route. NYC Parks & Rec walk has points of interest and a map, however you can only view the map on their website, not Google or Apple Maps.
I was orignally skeptical of the walk but I had a great time. I did need a few days after to recover but I already cannot wait until the spring to redo it again. If you like, I did post a reel on my instragam with photos from along the walk and on my TikTok I posted our journey. Let me know, if you would like any suggestions or have other recommendations.
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