Finding adventure in New York City is easier than you think. And nothing says adventure quite like winter swimming in the city.
It seems counterintuitive to jump in a body of water when New York feels like the Arctic. It’s not necessarily the most rational or logical way to get your kicks. But there’s something exhilarating about winter swimming, and it provides a perfect opportunity for guilt-free refueling afterwards. How else are you going to stay warm?
Rockaway Beach
Surfing in New York requires dedication. The best time to be in the water is the worst time to be outside: winter. Knowing when to paddle out requires constant monitoring of surf conditions, the right equipment, and a dogged persistence in getting out to the ocean, no matter the temperature.
Getting into the water in mid-December is certainly not for the faint of heart (or beginners), but for those with the desire there are a couple of surf companies who will take you out in the water from November through March. The experts at Locals Surf School offer excellent private lessons for $100.
Coney Island Polar Club
For the last five years, Dennis Thomas’s winter Sundays have been particularly refreshing. From November to April, Thomas leads members of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club into the Atlantic Ocean. The group meets every Sunday at the New York Aquarium Education Hall on the Boardwalk at West 8th Street by 12:30pm.
Guests are welcome to join any regularly scheduled swim. Bring your bathing suit (required), a towel and surf boots (highly recommended) and a warm change of clothes. It’s more fun if you can convince a friend to tag along, someone to hand you a warm towel and take that instagrammable photo on the beach.
The New Year’s plunge is the highlight of the group’s calendar, when up to 2,000 swimmers and 6,000 spectators show up to blow away hangovers and raise funds for children with serious illnesses.
Riverbank State Park
Inspired by urban rooftop designs in Japan, this 28-acre, multi-level recreational facility offers a wide range of activities on the banks of the Hudson River in Harlem. Housed atop the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant are five major buildings, including an Olympic-size (indoor) pool which is open October – Labor Day. 50 meters long and eight lanes wide, swimmers travel counterclockwise within lanes marked slow, medium, fast and very fast under the watchful gaze of local lifeguards.
Pool fees are just $2 for adults and $1 for kids 5-15 years old. Children 4 years and under are free. Affordable monthly passes are also available. Click here for additional information.
Spa Castle
Located in a secluded part of Queens is a four-story building with a bright orange façade surrounded by auto part shops and old warehouses. Inside Spa Castle, the ambiance is anything but industrial. After entering through a pair of faux castle doors, there’s a Willy Wonka-esque selection of pools, hot tubs and saunas.
At $50 for a full day during the week, $60 on weekends, the Queens Spa Castle location draws stately Upper West-siders and hungover Williamsburg-types alike, to bathe in single-sex pools, sprawl on the heated floor of the nap area, and to submit to the merciless Korean exfoliation technique known as the body scrub.
Photo credit: Lars Plougmann and Spa Castle
Check out offMetro’s Winter Beach Guide.
Gordon Macrae is a travel writer based in Brooklyn. He is currently writing a travel guide to the beaches of New York City and around. He is less Scottish than you think.
Sarah Knapp is a Brooklyn based entrepreneur whose love for the outdoors and community building led her to the October 2013 creation of OutdoorFest. She has a BA in History, is a Wilderness First Responder and a NY state hiking, camp and boating guide. Her proudest achievement to date is reading the Aeneid in Latin. 
Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
Annie is a travel writer, environmentalist, and surfer based in Venice, CA. She heads up our West Coast team, keeps our grammatical errors in check, and makes sure our California writers always have a plan for their next adventure. Follow Annie’s travels @annelisemcb.
Carly Pifer is a freelance writer who has been known to follow whims inspired by romantic movie scenes or colorful street style shots to India, Japan, Tunisia and Argentina. After stints living in Seoul, Boston, Paris and Los Angeles, writing and searching for something intangible, she landed somewhat steadily in Brooklyn and has begun to find inspiration in her more immediate surroundings. 
Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram