If the sweat lodge that is New York in July has yet to crush your spirit, you may be an alien life form.
Because it’s hot out there. Like, Denise Richards coming out of the water in Wild Things hot.
Let’s do something about it. Namely: find the nearest body of water and immerse yourself in it.
To assist, we’ve rounded up five close(ish) options for doing just that — jet skies, flyboards and a 1,000-foot slip ‘n’ slide included.
Get Some Action
Action Park has come a long way since its perilous past. “That park where a bunch of people took the waterslide to heaven?” you may be asking. Yes, that one. But fret not, we’ve tested it for you. Many, many times. And we sit before you unscathed. Aside from the small heart attack their vertical drop slide gave us, the roughest thing we left with was a bit of a sunburn and a tab for one too many rum and colas.
Adult. Waterslide.
If Action Park doesn’t have you channeling your inner 12-year-old, Slide the City certainly will. Coming to NYC for one day only, the 1,000-foot slip ‘n’ slide (extra-cushioned) comes complete with a block party, live music, food and drinks — which will give you something to do as you walk the length of a football field to get back to the starting line again and again and again. Tickets for three hours of unlimited riding are on sale here.
Cool Off by Kayak
Summer infects the city with an altruistic bug like no other time of year. There are free concerts, free ice cream, free movies in the park … and you can now add traversing the N.Y. waterways by kayak and paddle boat to that list. For gear, you’ve got options. Hit up the Downtown Boathouse, the Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse, the LIC Community Boathouse, Red Hook Boaters or Kayak Staten Island. They’ve got you covered.
Jet Around
Seeing Lady Liberty by sail, up close, is lovely. But the bucket list-worthy view is delivered even better by jet ski. There are rental services in abundance, the most convenient of which is Jetty Jumpers. You’ll be tearassing through the water on a three-hour tour — solo or with a pal — and lessons, wetsuit and equipment are included with your rental.
Better Yet — Fly Around
Because sometimes you want to engage in a watersport, but you also want to channel your inner superhero. And for this, there is flyboarding. It’s part wakeboarding, part jet skiing, a little tough and whole lotta fun. Head over to Flyboard LI for blast off.
This article was featured in the InsideHook NY newsletter. Sign up now for more from all five boroughs.
