One of the city's biggest -- and most successful -- private urban development projects of the last few years has been the 30-acre Chelsea Piers Sports & Entertainment Complex (tel. 212/336-6666; www.chelseapiers.com). Jutting out into the Hudson River on four huge piers between 17th and 23rd streets, it's a terrific multifunctional recreational facility.
The Sports Center (tel. 212/336-6000), a three-football-fields-long megafacility, does health clubs one better. It offers not only the usual cardiovascular training, weights, and aerobics but also a four-lane quarter-mile indoor running track, a boxing ring, basketball courts, a sand volleyball court, a gorgeous 25-yard indoor pool with a whirlpool and sundeck, the world's most challenging rock-climbing wall plus a bouldering wall, and the Spa at Chelsea Piers, which offers massage, reflexology, facials, and the like. Day passes to the Sports Center are $50 for nonmembers; spa treatments are extra, of course.
The Golf Club (tel. 212/336-6400) has 52 all-weather fully automated hitting stalls on four levels and a 200-yard net-enclosed artificial-turf fairway jutting out over the water, making it the best place in the city to hit a few. Prices start at $20 for 80 balls (118 balls during off-peak hours), and club rentals are available.
The Sky Rink (tel. 212/336-6100) has twin around-the-clock indoor rinks for recreational skating and pickup hockey games with Hudson River views. General skating is $15 for adults, $13 for seniors and kids 12 and under; skate rental is $5.75. Due to organized skating activities, general skating is limited, so call ahead to find out schedules of availability.
If wheels are your thing, there are two outdoor Roller Rinks (tel. 212/336-6200) for seasonal in-line skating and roller hockey games. Expect to pay about $8 for adults, $7 for kids for general skating; equipment rentals are available. The general skating schedule can change from month to month and is sometimes limited to weekends, so call ahead. The Skating School offers instruction if you would like to learn.
The Field House (tel. 212/336-6500) is mainly for team sports, but young rock climbers will enjoy the 30-foot indoor climbing wall, designed for kids as well as grown-ups. Open climbs are $20, with climbs limited to 2 1/2 hours on weekdays, 90 minutes on weekends; they start taking same-day climb reservations at 9am, and weekends can book up quickly. Children's lessons are available. Batting cages are $2 per 10 pitches.
Feeling like a little 10-pin tonight? State-of-the-art AMF Chelsea Piers Lanes (tel. 212/835-BOWL; www.chelseapiersbowl.com) offers 40 lanes of fun. Games are $7 to $8 per person, and shoe rental is $4.50.
Beyond its athletics, the complex is a destination in and of itself. The 1.2-mile esplanade has benches and picnic tables with terrific river views; they serve as the perfect vantage point for watching the QEII head out to sea, or the navy and Coast Guard ships sailing in for Fleet Week each May. For waterfront dining there's New York's largest microbrewery/restaurant, the Chelsea Brewing Company (tel. 212/336-6440; www.chelseabrewingco.com), on Pier 61, serving up very good brews and okay food on a terrific waterfront terrace.
Getting there: Chelsea Piers is accessible by taxi and the M23 or M14 crosstown buses. The nearest subway is the C and E at 23rd Street and Eighth Avenue, then pick up the M23 and walk 4 long blocks west. Another option is to take the A, C, E to 14th Street or the L train to Eighth Avenue, walk to the river, then follow the walking/riding/running path along the river north.
