It’s hard to explain the emotions that come with seeing the Statue of Liberty at sunset from the deck a boat. Gazing at this symbol of freedom from the deck of my own bastion of independence is inspiring. It’s part of what makes New York Harbor one of the world’s most spectacular, yet underrated cruising destinations.
Autumn is the best time to cruise to New York Harbor. Tourist crowds are diminished with kids back in school, the summertime swelter is gone, and the foliage along the lower Hudson River is a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors. This is one of only a few cruising grounds in the country that combines big-city vibrance with pastoral beauty.
In my experience, the best headquarters for any multiday cruise to the Big Apple is Liberty Landing Marina on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. Tucked in a protected cove that is a remnant of the historic Morris Canal, it is within the boundaries of Liberty State Park in Jersey City, and it offers a breathtaking view of the Manhattan skyline with the Freedom Tower.
The Morris Canal’s narrow entrance creates a refuge from the main river’s strong tidal currents and bustling water traffic, allowing docked boats and their passengers to rest in calm waters. The marina offices are inside another bit of history, the Winter Quarters Lightship that was decommissioned in 1968 and saved from demolition to reside at its permanent berth in the marina complex.
Liberty Landing has 520 slips with floating docks, including 60 dedicated transient slips that can accommodate boats up to 200 feet long. Dan Cordano, the marina’s general manager, says the facility hosts more than 1,500 visiting boats annually. Most stay three to five days. There’s a ship’s store, provisioning and a fuel dock, along with two restaurants: the Feathered Fox and the Matty Rose. I enjoy not only the food, but also the views of the lower Manhattan skyline. The sunrise over the financial district is as beautiful as the sunset reflecting off those same glass towers later in the day.
You can access New York Harbor from the north by entering the East River from Long Island Sound and following it south, with the borough of Queens on your port side and the Bronx to starboard. You pass Rikers Island, Randalls Island, Roosevelt Island and U Thant Island (also known as Belmont Island) on your way to the Brooklyn Bridge, where you pass between the Manhattan terminal of the Staten Island Ferry and Governors Island. I have caught many striped bass right there, believe it or not, even with helicopters flying overhead and all manner of boat traffic streaming past. This route makes for an interesting passage through the heart of the city.
If you arrive from the south you’ll experience a totally different vibe. You run alongside the main shipping channels into Port Newark and New York Harbor as you pass under the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, and you’ll probably see massive ships heading into and out of the two ports. The largest container ships in the world come through here, along with all sorts of tankers and cruise ships.
Entering the lower harbor seems like controlled chaos as fast ferries flit around, tugs and barges ply the waters, and all manner of fire boats, police boats, tour boats, yachts, recreational fishing boats and sailboats add to the dance. The reward for steady seamanship is your first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty as you cruise through the barge mooring areas and past the docked cruise ships. It might seem like sensory overload, but the entire harbor is quite navigable, even for smaller boats.
Any stay in New York Harbor should include dinner and a show in Manhattan. Or a visit to the Freedom Tower and 9/11 Memorial, a walk to experience Greenwich Village, and time at any of the world-class museums in the city. If you are an art lover, public transportation can whisk you to the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art or to my favorite, The Frick Collection, which resides in a converted mansion on Central Park East. There, you can view Rembrandt’s self-portrait along with hundreds of works by the masters dating back to the 12th century, all in a relaxed atmosphere.
There are so many things to do in the city, and you can get there by hopping on a ferry right from Liberty Landing. Or, take a short cruise around the island of Manhattan on your own boat. You can also hop on one of the many tour boats that sail from a dock just a short walk from the marina. The Ellis Island tour is not to be missed. If you have the family along, the Liberty Science Center is in Liberty State Park, just a short walk from the marina. It is a 300,000-square-foot learning center created to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers with interactive exhibits, a 3-D theater, the largest planetarium in the western hemisphere, aquariums, the Nikola Tesla Phaser Show and Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition.
In addition to all of that, there’s the natural beauty of the lower Hudson Valley. This is the scenery that inspired the Hudson River School of Art in the late 17th century.
If you leave the marina early and head north, the Empire State and Chrysler buildings are visible as you cruise past Manhattan. Then, the land on the New Jersey side begins to rise into the rocky cliff face of the Palisades. Once you pass under the George Washington Bridge, the cliffs grow taller, and the next dozen miles are as wild as they were 200 years ago, with trees aflame in reds, yellows and golds. This is the Palisades Interstate Park that runs all the way to the New Jersey-New York border and beyond.
The cliffs continue to rise to the dizzying heights of Point Lookout. The next major landmark is the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, which replaced the older Tappan Zee Bridge. Just past the bridge on your starboard side is the town of Sleepy Hollow, New York, where a fictional, homicidal horseman terrorized the citizenry in a bygone era. Beyond that is Croton Bay, where the Croton River feeds into the Hudson. Farther north, the river widens to more than 3 miles across at Haverstraw Bay, a haven for sailboats of all types and the occasional regatta.
This is a great area to stop for a shoreside lunch. One of my favorite restaurants is the Boathouse in the Westerly Marina in Ossining, New York. It’s a casual place with good food and a great view from the outdoor seating area.
A bit farther north on the other side of Haverstraw Bay is the Hudson Water Club in West Haverstraw, a trendy seafood joint on the water. Should you venture farther north, you will see Bear Mountain, the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, West Point and Bannerman Castle, another historic spot to explore.
There is so much I haven’t even touched on that makes a cruise to New York Harbor and beyond such a memorable experience. I’ll be making the run again in October. I hope to see you out there.
October 2025
