Dog Walkers in Hell's Kitchen (Clinton)

Hell's Kitchen is on the southwest side of Manhattan near Midtown. Prior to the 1970s, Hell's Kitchen was home to many poor and working-class Irish Americans, but after the 1969 City commission plan for New York City, the area has gentrified rapidly and rent has risen. There are a variety of explanations for the name Hell's Kitchen including quotes from Davy Crockett and the name of a local gang. While developers have tried hard to rename this neighborhood as Midtown West or Clinton, the name Hell's Kitchen has stuck with most New Yorkers.

In the 1800s, this neighborhood was farmland and suburban villages before being developed by businesses that required the river. As more people moved into the area, it became filled with shanty towns. This is still a primarily residential district with businesses clustering on the outskirts on 11th Avenue, West 43rd Street, and 8th Avenue. West of 8th Avenue, the area becomes less residential and more business-centered.

You will need to keep your dog close beside you throughout most of Hell's Kitchen as the flat terrain makes it an ideal place for residential housing on narrow sidewalks. You'll need to venture elsewhere for wider space to roam.

Right on the water, the Clinton Cove at Hudson River Park offers a wide grassy area and trails to walk down. All the way along the river, the Hudson River Greenway is an amazing place to bike or skateboard, especially as it runs along the water and is cooled by the river breezes no matter where you go on this path. Venturing north, you will find more grassy areas as well as rocky shoreline and a ramp where you can approach the water at the Locomotive Lawn Park. This grassy area extends up to Linda's Lawn and to the Riverside Park South which also has lovely grassy spaces and a natural rocky shoreline.