Free Rowing with the Village Community Boathouse

Free kayaks are easy to find on the Hudson. A seat in a hand-built wooden rowboat is not. The Village Community Boathouse, based at Pier 40, builds and maintains its own fleet of Whitehall gigs, the four-oared rowboats that worked New York Harbor from the early nineteenth century, and takes the public out on the river for free. Volunteers do the boatbuilding at the pier too, from scraping and painting to cutting and gluing.

Public rows run on Sundays and on Wednesday evenings from April through November, weather permitting. Sign the 2026 online waiver before you go. Each session starts with a short orientation, then you're assigned to a crew with an experienced coxswain who steers while you pull. No experience is needed, but expect to row, not ride. Wear clothes that can get wet, bring water, and check the boathouse site for any changes. The November sessions are the last of the season; the next ones start in April.