The Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment Complex is a sprawling 30-acre sports village on the Hudson River that offers year-round golf, skating, rock-climbing, bowling, and intensive sports training. This is where luxury transatlantic liners would arrive and depart from 1910-30 (the Titantic was scheduled to dock here, but instead it became the drop-off point for its rescued lifeboats). Today, the piers house the city’s largest training center for gymnastics, two basketball courts, a bowling alley, fields for soccer and lacrosse, as well as a golf club, two full-sized skating rinks, and film, TV, and photo studios.
The golf club (Pier 59; tel: 212-336-6400) has a multistoried driving range overlooking the river open year-round (the stalls are heated in winter), and lessons are available from PGA pros.
The only year-round skating rinks (Pier 61; tel: 212-336-6100) in the city are open for general skating daily in the afternoons. Indoor baseball batting cages (between Piers 61 and 62; tel: 212-336-6500) with different pitching speeds can be rented for half-hour or hour-long sessions. 300 bowling (between Piers 59 and 60; tel: 212-835-2695) is a state-of-the-art 32-lane bowling alley, complete with cocktail bar, video screens, and a grill menu.
After flexing your muscles, treat yourself to a massage or a sauna at The Spa (Pier 60; tel: 212-336-6780), grab a slice at Artichoke Basille’s (114 10th Ave; tel: 212-792-9200). Their famous artichoke pizza is the perfect way to cap off a day of calorie-burning sports. You won’t feel guilty when you eat the whole pie because, hey you’ve earned it!
