Lincoln Park, NJ Outdoor Activities

On the Statue & Skyline cruise, you'll step aboard the Manhattan, Classic Harbor Line's 1920s-style commuter yacht, and set sail for a 90-minute cruise past Battery Park, the Financial District, Governor's Island, and the Statue of Liberty, as well as parts of Queens and Brooklyn, including the Williamsburg, Manhattan, and Brooklyn bridges. You'll get a 360-degree view of New York's magnificent architecture from the ship's cozy, enclosed back-deck observatory.

Hudson River Community Sailing is a unique combination of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and sailing club. The proceeds from adult lessons and memberships go toward funding scholarship-based programs for at-risk urban youth. Each year, their Sail Academy,—an after-school academic program built on experiential, student-first lessons—immerses these students in the world of sailing and boat building. In addition to unlocking the secrets of boating, these sessions teach students the functional fundamentals of math, science, and self-esteem, earning them credit towards graduation along the way. The club's other youth work include the First Mates program—which preps students for college and career through a deep dedication to boating, racing, and navigation—and the City Sail summer program, which groups students into a small crew for a week of character-building exercises aboard a working 24' boat.

Hosting frequent fundraising events, such as the Dark and Stormy benefit, helps the team introduce as many new mariners as possible to the singular pleasure of sailing the Hudson. Their sailors also enjoy the perks of the club's location, drinking in awe-inspiring views of the Manhattan skyline that the Beatles saw just as they landed their moon module on Ellis Island.

A sea voyage is like a trackless train ride, a gamble that relies only on the principles of physics to keep your vessel floating above the water on a thin cushion of air. Unfurl your sea wings with today’s Groupon. For $245, you get a Basic Sailing 101 course (a $495 value) at True North Sailing School, located just a PATH train stop outside of Manhattan at the Newport Marina in Jersey City. The course includes a basic keelboat textbook and all course materials. Classes take place aboard a J/24 sloop with a maximum of four students per boat, ensuring that you won't get stuck rowing down in the galley.

Danbury Ice Arena's professional skating instructors introduce students to the fine art of figure-eighting with weekly classes based on the curriculum of the Ice Skating Institute. Children as young as three years old can begin instruction in the Tot 1 course, which is designed to instill a sense of comfort and confidence on the ice through techniques such as marching in place, falling properly, and getting up. As skaters expand their abilities, they may continue with progressive course levels that build upon each other. Both adult and child introductory courses focus on beginning techniques such as marching and stopping, which provide a foundation for techniques learned in advanced levels such as performing one-foot glides, making snowplow stops, and evading goalies who have grown tired of being senselessly bombarded with pucks.

The Garden State Rollergirls, New Jersey's premiere all-female roller derby league, boasts a roster of over 40 skaters during their seventh season. Equipped with four-wheeled skates, the athletes crush competition during bouts of two 30-minute halves. While designated jammers—typically the fastest skaters—attempt to lap opposing rollers, blockers use a lethal combination of shoulder and hip checks.

Bathed in the rosy glow of sunset, the Statue of Liberty seems eager to hop aboard the boat floating leisurely past her feet and take a turn about the packed dance floor. The joyful strains of merengue drift from the vessel, where a flock of well-dressed guests show off their moves and weave along the deck for a refreshing breath of night air. Dedicated to cultivating merry outings such as this, Affairs Afloat hosts a variety of cruises along the Hudson River and New York City Harbor aboard their two vessels, each Coast Guard certified for events accommodating up to 450 guests. Throughout the summer, each themed cruise features live entertainment ranging from DJs to Brazilian bands and dance troupes, and a cash bar and cash buffet keep internal engines revved up throughout the evening. Guests unwind as they drink in unique views of the city, from glittering skyscrapers to the nesting King Kongs that call them home.