Manhattan Perimeter

"Shorewalkers is a non-profit organization that is responsible for one of the coolest events I've ever participated in - The Great Saunter, a 32-mile walk around the perimeter of Manhattan that occurs on the first Saturday in May every year. I attempted it last year and had to bail at the UN after injuring my hindpaw, but this year I completed it and would recommend this to literally anyone physically and mentally capable of doing so.

Several months ago, I convinced my top-tier chum who literally went to the school of hospitality to embark on this journey with me. After failing last year, I had a pretty solid arsenal in my possession of what works and what doesn't. I never doubted that my training regimen was correct, and stuck with it this time around - a 10-mile walk six weeks out, a 15-mile four weeks out and a 20-mile walk two weeks out. No, it doesn't get you to 32 miles but it definitely builds stamina and mental toughness, especially if you don't have ideal weather (which is often the case this time of year).

I'm not a power walker by any means and wanted to make sure we rested strategically throughout the Saunter, so I had us start as early as possible. After using the restrooms (SO important to get those visits in when you can) we bypassed the line at Fraunces Tavern (the beginning and end of the Saunter) for hats and maps and began at 6:39am.

There's a lot of highlights to this walk. The westside walk up to Inwood is arguably much nicer than its counterpart - the walkways are better constructed and more recently upgraded for the most part, and the optics are really good with the exception of some awkward areas in Midtown where the walkway narrows and you're really fighting for square footage with bikers very close to the vehicles on the West Side Highway. Inwood is off-the-charts underrated and is gorgeous, especially in the woodsy areas.

The area through Harlem is rough, and there's no point in sugarcoating it. The facilities are very unreliable, there's garbage everywhere and (your mileage may vary on this) reeks of weed. This walk in many ways highlights the classic haves and have nots in Manhattan, and this part is certainly the latter. You are walking through some legit poverty-stricken areas, and I'd recommend if able to just get through it as quickly as possible. We never felt in danger, but it's not pleasant.

I think we're both in respectable shape, and this took a LONG time. We finished up at about 9:31pm, definitely toward the tail-end of participants. Part of that is because we took an hour lunch break in Inwood at a restaurant (I wanted us off our feet for a while before going back down the east side) and the last few miles were pretty rough interspersed with some quick bench stops. But there were also some professional walkers in our midst who practically power walked their way through this, which is just wild to me. So in that regard, I did have some constructive feedback for the organizers. By and large, this is a well planned event. You get important/instructive emails in the weeks leading up to the Saunter, and they have volunteers along the route encouraging you and handing out snacks/drinks. But it felt like the schedule for those volunteer areas was based more on the professionals than the "civilian" walkers - there were no snacks left at two of the stops, and the last stop wasn't even there anymore. That's carefully outlined in your guide, but I think they should get some volunteer reinforcements for more coverage, especially in the latter half - we basically had to figure out the path (which wasn't that straightforward) through the LES and Chinatown area in the dark, which is far from ideal.

Notwithstanding, this is truly an inspiring. People from all walks of life (pun intended) participate in this, and we saw some amazing feats of endurance and perseverance. I'm absolutely doing this again next year."

EE Grimshaw

"I like the idea of Shorewalkers' mission, but my only interaction thus far has been with the website, trying to register for one of their walks, and I don't think I've ever come across a more poorly designed, cumbersome, frustrating registration process for a simple nonprofit event. It's 2025. A single link to PayPal, or Venmo, or some other e-payment method should do the trick, no?"

Eric Blair

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Jessie Lunde