15
Harbor Views
This tour gives you unique perspectives of the city’s harbor life—first from afar and then from up close. You’ll cycle through the southwest Brooklyn communities of Sunset Park and Bay Ridge to visit two tucked-away neighborhood parks on hills—Owl’s Head Park and Sunset Park—each offering unobstructed views of the harbor below. Then bike along 9 miles (out and back) of waterfront greenway, flanking those same New York waters. A shorter route option skips the on-road portion of the ride and begins by the water at Owl’s Head Park, making it a great ride for car-averse bikers.
Start: The southwestern exit to Prospect Park at Park Circle (main route)/Owl’s Head Park (short option)
Length: 19.3 miles out and back (main route)/ 9.9 miles out and back (short option)
Approximate riding time: 2.5 hours/1 hour
Best bike: Hybrid, road, or mountain bike
Terrain and trail surface: The trail is paved throughout. To reach the overlooks in Sunset and Owl’s Head Parks, you’ll walk your bike uphill. (Biking prohibited on park-internal pathways.)
Traffic and hazards: This route leads along on-road bike lanes from Prospect Park to Owl’s Head Park along roads with moderate traffic. The shorefront portion (and short option) of the route is entirely car-free.
Things to see: Sunset Park, Owl’s Head Park, 69th Street Pier, Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Green-Wood Cemetery, New York Harbor
Maps: New York City Bike Map
Getting there: By public transportation: Take the F or G subway to the Fort Hamilton Parkway stop. Exit the station and go north half a block on Prospect Avenue. Turn right onto Greenwood Avenue and go 3 blocks (about 500 feet). Turn right onto Prospect Park Southwest. Park Circle lies just ahead. GPS coordinates: N40 39.093’ / W73 58.309’
THE RIDE
Sunset Park and Owl’s Head Park are two out-of-the-way parks that both offer far-reaching views of New York’s harbor life and Manhattan’s jagged skyline. Bike lanes connect them both to Prospect Park, making them great to reach by bike. From Prospect Park, catch the bike lane along Fort Hamilton Parkway, heading southwest. You’ll skirt the edge of Green-Wood Cemetery before turning south toward Sunset Park, known for its striking sunset views. From the park’s highest point, you can view New York’s waterways below, the city skyline, and Statue of Liberty in the distance, as well as surrounding Brooklyn neighborhoods and Staten Island across the water. To enter the park, dismount and walk your bike up one of the paths to the park’s highest point. (Biking prohibited.)
To resume your journey, continue southwest along 7th Avenue, past restaurants, delis, churches, and stores that show touches of Hispanic and Asian influences. South of 65th Street, you’re approaching Bay Ridge and Brooklyn’s Chinatown. Stay alert here as the journey takes on several quick turns. Next, you’ll reach Owl’s Head Park, where more views beckon. (The short option starts here.) At the end of 68th Street, catch the bikeway to your right that runs along the park’s perimeter. You can then enter the park along Colonial Road on your right. Dismount and walk your bike to the top of the hill to reach Owl’s Head overlook (biking prohibited), where you’ll find a terrace with benches overlooking the bay.
To continue, journey down to the waterfront by ducking under the parkway overpass at Shore Road. The pier just ahead gives you a ground-level view of the Manhattan and New Jersey skylines northward across the bay and Staten Island due west. From here, a nearly 5-mile shorefront greenway takes you toward the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and Coney Island. Stick to the marked bikeway along the east side of the greenway; the west side is reserved for walkers, joggers, and skaters. Approaching the bridge, you can spot Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island across the bay. This military bastion helped protect the city for almost two centuries starting in the late eighteenth century.
The greenway ends next to the parking lot of a large shopping mall at Bay Parkway. Turn left to pass the tennis center and then left again to catch the greenway back along Shore Parkway toward the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (retracing your route). Bike all the way back to the pier at 68th Street, then turn right under the parkway, and left onto Shore Road to catch Owl’s Head Park’s greenway once more. After exiting the park at Colonial Road, continue along the bike lane all the way back to your starting point at Prospect Park.
Legends of a Name: Owl’s Head Park
Few New York City parks have inspired as many namesake legends as Owl’s Head Park. One such legend claims that the terrain at one time resembled an owl’s head. Another states that owls used to call this area home. Some say there used to be a hotel that sported the same name on 69th Avenue, or that the entranceway to a nearby estate was framed by a set of stone owls. The truth, thus far, remains unknown.
MILES AND DIRECTIONS
0.0Go counterclockwise around the traffic circle along the bike lane. Cross Prospect Park Southwest and Ocean Parkway before turning right onto the greenway that runs along the right side of Fort Hamilton Parkway. The parkway will be on your left.
0.5Turn left onto McDonald Avenue, followed by a quick right onto Caton Avenue.
0.6Turn left onto Dahill Road.
0.7Turn right onto 12th Avenue.
1.1Turn right onto 36th Street.
1.2Turn left onto Fort Hamilton Parkway, followed by a right onto 37th Street, skirting the cemetery.
1.6Turn left onto 9th Avenue.
1.8Turn right onto 41st Street.
2.1Turn left onto 7th Avenue.
3.3Cross 65th Street to veer to the right side of the triangular island.
3.4Turn right onto 67th Street. The bikeway runs alongside the green space with basketball courts on your left.
3.6Turn right onto 5th Avenue, followed by a quick left onto 66th Street, continuing along the bike route.
3.7When the road splits, stick to right and follow the bike route as it mounts the sidewalk (pedestrian mall). Cross 4th Avenue and continue along the bikeway on the other side.
3.9Turn left onto 3rd Avenue
4.1Turn right onto 68th Street.
4.7Turn right into Owl’s Head Park at the end of 68th Street. Circle the park’s perimeter along the greenway.
5.0Turn right onto Colonial Road.
5.1To enter the park, dismount and walk your bike. (The short route begins here.) To reach the overlook, veer right to go uphill along the path. Descend on the other side and return to Colonial Road, where you’ll turn right.
5.2Turn right onto 68th Street.
5.5Cross Shore Road to catch the separated bikeway that veers left.
5.6Turn right, going under the parkway. Check out the pier. Then head south on the bikeway toward the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
10.0At the end of the greenway, turn left past the tennis center on Bay Parkway.
10.1Turn left onto the bikeway along Shore Parkway, returning west toward the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
14.5Turn right underneath the overpass, followed by a quick left onto Shore Road. Cross 68th Street to catch the Owl’s Head Park greenway once more.
15.0Exit the park, cross Colonial Road, and continue north along Wakeman Place. (This is where the short version ends.)
15.3Turn left onto 3rd Avenue, followed by a quick right onto the greenway that mounts the sidewalk (pedestrian mall).
15.6Follow the greenway as it descends the sidewalk, crossing the street, and mounting the sidewalk on the other side. Continue north with the basketball courts on your right.
15.7Turn left onto 5th Avenue.
15.8Turn right onto 62nd Street.
16.1Turn left onto 7th Avenue.
17.1Turn right onto 42nd Street.
17.4Turn left onto 9th Avenue.
17.6Turn right onto 37th Street.
18.1Turn left onto 12th Avenue.
18.4Turn left onto Dahill Road.
18.5Turn right onto Caton Avenue.
18.9After crossing the overpass, cross Ocean Parkway. Then swivel left to cross to the north side of Caton Avenue, where you’ll catch the greenway on the sidewalk along Ocean Parkway, going north.
19.2Follow the greenway counterclockwise around Park Circle until you reach Prospect Park.
19.3Arrive at your starting point.
RIDE INFORMATION
Restrooms
Start/end: There are restrooms at the Tennis House on Parkside Avenue. Go clockwise around the traffic circle and exit to your left onto Parkside Avenue. Go 440 feet and the Tennis House will be on your right.
Mile 4.7/14.5: The park building in Owl’s Head Park has restrooms.
Biking underneath the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge along the Shore Parkway Greenway.