Thus far on this van trip we have explored northern Florida and Georgia, a couple weeks along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and then re-entered civilization in Virginia to continue east.
After our stop in Philadelphia, Chris was diligently trying to route us around the traffic in the New York City area, when I questioned why?
We both love NYC, have never stayed in an RV there, and it doesn’t get any easier than with a van.
So I popped online to see if there were space available at Liberty Harbor RV – and they were wide open for the upcoming weekend.
So off we go to explore the Big Apple!
First, the video recap:
Liberty Harbor RV Park – Jersey City, NJ
Liberty Harbor RV in the quintessential urban RV experience, and we had heard so much about it. It lived right up to every expectation. It’s not actually in NYC, it’s across the Hudson River in Jersey City.
It’s essentially a parking lot with power & water hook-ups with easy access to the city. Don’t expect having much room around you, don’t expect a grass yard, don’t expect tranquility.
But you have a view of the Statue of Liberty (if you tilt your head just right and squint) and super easy access to .. well.. everything. Stumble out of bed and you can board a ferry right at the park (or on weekends, you need to walk a touch further). Walk a couple blocks and you can hop on the PATH Train and get across the river.
And viola, you’re smack dab down town in a New York minute.
But don’t discount Jersey City itself, there’s so much to explore right here – including ample dining in walking distance, endless views and lots of bike riding.
And the cost of this parking lot experience?
$120/night.
Yup, the most we’ve ever spent for an RV spot. A splurge for sure, so we only booked 2-nights.
But worth every single penny. Location, location, location my friends.
We selected our corner spot online by cross comparing to satellite images, and ended up pretty much having an entire row to ourselves. No problem booking a couple days in advance for a weekend in mid-August.
We felt safe the entire time and the staff was super friendly. Check-in time is at noon, and we arrived at 12:05pm to maximize our arrival day.
Exploring by Bike
There’s a pandemic still going on, ya know. And even though we’re vaccinated and mask-up, we still minimize our risks and avoid unnecessary indoor stuff. So we opted for this visit to focus on exploring amazing outdoor spaces, particularly by bike.
Both Jersey City and NYC are super bike friendly, with dedicated bike lanes.
Upon arrival, we took the bikes across a tiny bridge to Liberty State Park along the Jersey shore line of the Hudson River and enjoyed a ride with the skyline as our view. Simply.. amazing.
The next day, we caught a short 15m ferry ride across the Hudson for just $7 a person, including our bikes. It dropped us right off in the financial district along the riverside bike trail – and we explored around.
Aside from picking up an amazing gluten free bagel sandwich and a couple blocks of the Highline (an amazing park made from an elevate train line) – we did everything by bike. Over two days, we clocked in over 40 miles of biking.
Safe, scenic and glorious.
In the evenings, we walked a few blocks over in Jersey City and found awesome outdoor dining, and enjoyed breathtaking sunsets.
We were wowed by our time exploring from Liberty Harbor – and wish we had planned a longer visit. Well, maybe not – we would have exhausted ourselves.
We simply can’t wait to return to the area in our boat, and spend some extended time.
Real Time Update
This blog and YouTube are now at least 6 weeks behind. So we’re going to speed up the next segments of exploring New England (including TWO hurricane evacuations) and catching you up to our present location.
We’ve now in the St. Louis area where we’ve been visiting with family and are currently house sitting. It’s good to have long showers, desk space to spread out and get caught up on work.
We’re getting the van cleaned up, provisioned, maintenance done and waiting out the peak of hurricane season to feel comfortable enough continuing west (without need to high tail it back to Florida).
And if all goes well, in about a week we’ll be heading out and continuing westward for a long overdue rendezvous with Zephyr.
Pat OConnor says
Just saw this blog entry, and it brought back memories for us. We stayed in Liberty Harbor 3 tears ago. We were on a trek hugging the coast from Cocoa, FL to the top of Cape Breton, NS. The stay in NJ was awesome as you described it. Friend from NYC came across the river to meet us for dinner. We met other travelers and swapped stories. The staff were delightful. The sunsets were beautiful. River walks were wonderful.
Thanks for the memory jog!!!
Denise J Craigen says
I read about that RV Park(ing Lot) long ago but haven’t been there yet. I never thought about taking bikes into the city on the ferry. It looks like you had an amazing visit. Thanks for taking the time to share your travels and for giving me another great idea!
Sherry says
Liberty Harbor RV Park was quite a find. How convenient. Great idea to explore the city and surroundings by bicycle. Love all the bike friendly paths. Great photos. I feel like I was there with you.
Look forward to your next adventure.
Jon says
We’ve stayed at the Waldorf and The Regency on Park Avenue. We’ve been to New York dozens of times and our favorite way to visit is staying at Liberty Harbor. And we love Jersey City too. Now take this page down and don’t tell anyone! 😉
W. Carl Hepker says
I looked for the thumbs up icon to click, but I didn’t see any. Although I was born and raised in the first western suburb of Chicago, I have no patience for that kind of traffic any more. I now live out in a forest north of Indianapolis in the spring through fall, and pull my RV to Florida for the winter. I like it this way!!
Kris Driessen says
I don’t live that far from NYC but I have never been there. Maybe now I will go – were there low bridges that might be a concern? Our fifth wheel is 13’6″ and 40′ long.
Cherie Ve Ard says
There were several large Class As and 5th Wheels in the park – so they had to have gotten there somehow. Since we’re in a van, we didn’t pay attention too much.
Patricia Neuzil says
I also enjoy reading abut your adventures and thanks for keeping us updated.
JC Webber III says
We have visited Liberty Harbor RV park on several occasions over the years and was suprised when you said it cost $120 a night. I dug up our last visit back in Oct 2015 and saw that we only paid $77.95 per night. That was quite an increase (but we agree, worth it!). 8^)
Carol Wright says
Always enjoy learning about your travels. See you in Benson!!
Bob says
I really enjoy being taken along on your journeys. Thank you.