My walk today took me all over the lower park of Inwood. My all day walk took me from the northern border of 207th Street to the Harlem River covering both sides of Dyckman Street to Inwood Park and the Marina area covering Payson Avenue and the lower part of Seaman Avenue. My legs were killing me at the end of the day but the sites I saw were amazing.
I started at the 207th Street stop and walked up 207th Street walking both sides and peeking into the small businesses that lined the street. There are still a lot of Mom & Pop stores in this area catering to the local clientele. On a recent visit to the neighborhood I had both breakfast and lunch at G’s Coffee Shop at 634 207th Street (see reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). The food is so reasonable (their breakfasts are delicious) and the service is very friendly. You feel like you are part of the neighborhood here.
G’s Coffee Shop burgers at 634 207th Street are excellent
https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Coffee-shop/Gs-Coffee-Shop-205601462950934/
I walked both sides up and down Seaman Avenue lined with pre-war apartments and sprinkled in with some small houses. Then I back tracked to walking the side streets of 204th Street, Cooper Street, Academy Street, Beak Street and Cumming Street admiring all the buildings and pocket parks along the way. I doubled back to Seaman Avenue and walked Payson Avenue which lines Inwood Hill Park.
The apartment buildings that face the park are offered spectacular views of the flora and fauna of the park and paths leading into the park are just steps away. It is interesting that taking some of the paths off Payson Avenue lead you right into the interior of the park and takes you into the interior of a forest right on Manhattan Island.
Once you exit Payson Avenue to Dyckman Street, walk the stretch of Inwood Hill Park to the end. You will pass a very active playground which on the weekend seems to be one long birthday party. At the end of Dyckman Street on the Hudson River side you will find the very edge of Inwood Park that leads to La Marina Restaurant at 348 Dyckman Street on one side that offers sweeping views of Hudson River and the Palisades on the New Jersey side.
The other side of the street leads to the soccer fields and to the Dyckman Street pier and next to it a small, picturesque beach and rock formation. It offers some of the best views of the Hudson River and who knew that there was a beach in this part of Manhattan. On a sunny day, it is the most relaxing place to relax on the benches and just look at the view of the Hudson River and the cliffs across the river.
This little beach is interesting in warm weather.
After a long rest, I walked back down Dyckman Street to cover the area between that and Riverside Drive which opens to Fort Tryon Park. These streets have a row of pre-war apartment buildings that offer great views of the park and as you exit, more small pocket parks and playgrounds are on both sides. Dyckman Street between Payson Avenue and Broadway is lined with upscale eateries making it the ‘Restaurant Row’ of Inwood with more on the way.
Fort Tyron Park entrance
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-tryon-park
I took the walk to the other side of Dyckman Street that led to Fort Tyron Park and from the hill offers another view of the Hudson. I relaxed in two smaller parks that are part of this sea of green on Dyckman Street. The very active Ann Loftus Playground, named after a local neighborhood leader, had all the rambunctious charm that a playground should have with kids playing on the swings, jumping through an active fountain and climbing on the jungle gym, which I thought had been outlawed since the 80’s. Parents chatted with one another while kids ran all over the park.
Ann Loftus Playground and Park on Broadway
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-tryon-park/highlights/11234
Another park across the street, the Lt. William Tighe Park Triangle, which is named after a prominent Inwood resident and veteran of two World Wars, was locked in the day but I could see the colorful plantings and small benches that lined the park. This park sits across from the Dyckman Street ‘Restaurant Row”.
William Tighe Park Triangle at Seaman Avenue
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/lt-wm-tighe-triangle/history
I made my first pit stop of the day at McDonald’s for one of their new frozen Strawberry Lemonade ($2.00). I have been swearing off McDonald’s for a while, but this is something so perfect and wonderful to have on a hot humid day. It is so sweet and tart it will quench your thirst while you are walking around the area. It is the perfect fast-food drink.
I made my way down Dyckman Street on the other side, passing many family-owned businesses catering to the neighborhood and a few national chains proving that this area is very up and coming. I covered the lower parts of Sherman, Post and Nagel Streets lined with their apartment buildings and businesses until I passed Fort George Avenue and the start of High Bridge Park.
The entrance to High Bridge Park off 207th Street in the Fall
Along the stretch of Dyckman Street the park while rustic was full of trash. It wrecked the effect of the high hills and large boulders with their small paths. Once passing 10th Avenue, I reached the entrance of Harlem River Drive and the beginning of High Bridge Park with the lush greenery and small parks and gardens within the larger park.
High Bridge Park is unique in itself that there are many smaller parks that are part of it. As I walked into the park on a busy weekend day, it seemed that every family in the area was either having a barbecue or a birthday party as people were cooking in every part of the lawn that was open. As you enter the park and walk down the path off Harlem River Drive you find the quiet and secluded Swindler Cove Park with its well-tended paths and natural preserve appearance along with beautiful views of the Harlem River. These winding paths will take you through the back woods and offers nice places to sit and chat.
High Bridge Park at West 190th Street and Amsterdam Avenue
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/highbridge-park
I then walked up 10th and 9th Avenues crisscrossing the side streets up to 207th street. At the end of each side street from 201st through 207th there is a small park at the end of the block that the park system runs. Again these parks, as small as they were filled with families having small parties. Each little park was called Sherman Cove Park, and all offered nice views of the Harlem River.
Sherman Creek Cove Park at 3703 Harlem River Drive
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/sherman-creek-park
It was a nice place to rest after a long day of walking. I finished my walk on this side of Inwood with a grape soda at the Community Food Store at 2893 Broadway. This bustling store offers everything you need for a day in the park or to run a small business.
My last stop of the day when I doubled back down 207th Street was a snack at Dichter Pharmacy and Soda Shoppe at 4953 Broadway. This Pharmacy is a throwback to the old Woolworth stores with the things you need to buy in the front and an ice cream parlor and lunch counter to the side. I saw their sign for ‘the best ice cream sundaes in New York’, so I had to test their claim. I was not disappointed. I had a vanilla and blueberry sundae that hit the spot after a hot day and was tempted with an order of Mozzarella sticks but decided to be good.
Dichter Pharmacy at 4953 Broadway
https://www.facebook.com/DichterPharmacySodaShoppe/
They have a full menu of lunch and dinner items, and it is worth checking out this unique spot. It is worth it just to sit back and chat with the soda jerk. So many great things to see today though my feet were killing me.
Check out my other blogs on walking around the Inwood neighborhood:
Day Two: Exploring Inwood on Independence Day:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/25
Day Six: Walking the Streets and Parks of Inwood:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/59
Day Seven: Walking the Lower Parts of Inwood:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/67
Day Eight: Touring the Dyckman Farmhouse and the Surrounding neighborhood:
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/71
Day Nine: Exploring between the Inwood Parks
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/85
Day Ten and Eleven: Exploring Inwood Parks
https://wordpress.com/post/mywalkinmanhattan.com/89
Places to Eat:
Dichter Pharmacy and Soda Shoppe
4953 Broadway
New York, NY 10034
(212) 569-1230
https://www.facebook.com/DichterPharmacySodaShoppe/
Open: Monday-Saturday-9:00am-7:00pm/ Sunday-Closed
Review on TripAdvisor:
McDonald’s
208 Dyckman Street
New York, NYÂ 10039
(212) 569-2909
Open: 24 hours
Review on TripAdvisor:
La Marina (Closed in 2018)
348 Dyckman Street
New York, NYÂ 10039
(212) 567-6300
Open: Monday-Thursday-3:00pm-12:00am/Friday-3:00pm-1:00am/Saturday-11:00am-1:00pm/Sunday-11:00am-12:00am
My review of La Marina on TripAdvisor:
Community Food & Juice (Closed in 2018)
2893 Broadway
New York, NY 10025
(212) 665-2850
Open: Monday-Friday-8:00am-9:00pm/Saturday-9:00am-10:00pm/Sunday-8:00am-9:00pm
G’s Coffee Shop
634 West 207th Street
New York, NYÂ 10034
(212) 942-0679
Free Delivery
Open: Sunday-Saturday 7:00am-9:00pm
https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Breakfast—Brunch-Restaurant/Gs-Coffee-Shop-205601462950934/
My review on TripAdvisor:
My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:
https://wordpress.com/post/diningonashoestringinnyc.wordpress.com/1103
Places to Visit:
Ann Loftus Playground
4746 Broadway
New York, NYÂ 10040
https://www.nycgovparks.org/planning-and-building/capital-project-tracker/project/8827
Open: 6:00am-1:00am
Fort Tyron Park
Riverside Drive to Broadway
New York, NYÂ 10040
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fort-tryon-park
(212) 795-1388
Open: 6:00am-1:00am
My review on TripAdvisor:
My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:
https://wordpress.com/post/visitingamuseum.com/4350
Lt. William Tighe Triangle Park
Dyckman Street & Riverside Drive
New York, NY 10034
(212) 639-9675
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/lt-wm-tighe-triangle/history
Open: 24 hours
Inwood Hill Park
Off Payson Avenue & Dyckman Street
New York, NYÂ 10024
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/lt-wm-tighe-triangle/history
(212) 695-9675
Open: 6:00am-1:00am
My review on TripAdvisor:
Swindler’s Cove Park/Sherman Creek
3703 Harlem River Drive
New York, NYÂ 10034
(212) 333-2552
Open: 8:00am-8:00pm
https://www.nyrp.org/green-spaces/park-details/sherman-creek-park/
Highbridge Park
New York, NYÂ 10040
https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/highland-park
(212) 639-9675
Open: Sunday-Saturday 6:00am-11:00pm
My review on TripAdvisor:
mywalkinmanhattan 
You really have to walk around the parks to see the smaller gems of the park. The Dichter Pharmacy has excellent ice cream.
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