Next Hygge Gathering: Saturday, April 26th — Hyggehiking NYC's Migratory Bird Paths 🦤🦜🦆(10am-8pm)

Hygge NYC is also migrating...to Substack!

Our 4th Hygge gathering of 2025 will be Saturday, April 26th, from 10am-8pm!

We'll be taking advantage of peak migratory bird season in NYC by exploring Brooklyn's largest park, a 530 acre wetland and salt marsh called Marine Park. From there, we'll venture through the beaches and lookouts of Floyd Bennett Field before migrating westward through Sheepshead Bay toward Coney Island, where we'll do sunset lightning talks.

You can RSVP here.

About

If you haven't been to a Hygge event before, think of it as a casual gathering to make new friends, discuss fun projects you're eager to work on, dive into deep, thoughtful discussions, and meet people who can help make NYC feel like a smaller, closer-knit community. Bring your friends, family, coworkers, anyone you think would enjoy both meeting new people and coming across friendly and familiar faces.

"Hyggehiking" is my own special blend of Hygge gathering — a conversational stroll through the green spaces of our city.

Logistics

This is a 10+ hour hike spanning 15+ miles, and you are free to join us at *any* point in the day 🙌. All RSVP'd "yes" and "maybe" attendees will receive a link at 10am to my realtime location for the entire day, along with my phone number, so you can see exactly where we are on Google Maps and call me directly if you need help.

What to bring

• comfy hiking shoes
• sun protection (hat, sunscreen, sleeves)
• light jacket (it gets chilly by the water around sunset)
• cash
• binoculars
• friends 🥰

Itinerary

This is my Google Maps list of the specific parks & places we'll aim to traverse. We may not make it to every location on the list, but I encourage you to dig deeper into any of them whenever you please. All times are rough estimates.

9am-10am — Shepherd's Cup Coffee (informal starting point)

✨For any early birds who want to grab coffee before the trek begins, meet at Shepherd's Cup at 9am, and at 9:30am we'll walk over to the nature center.

10am-10:30am — Salt Marsh Nature Center (formal starting point)

✨ We'll learn about what sorts of birds and other critters we might expect to find throughout Marine Park, then set out on the nature trails.

10:30am-1pm — Salt Marsh Nature Trail, Halal Bros Grill Kings Plaza

✨ Birds galore (hopefully!). Then, a quick rest stop for lunch around 12:30pm before venturing toward our next big park. FYI the Kings Plaza Mall is across the street from Halal Bros, with at least a dozen additional food options.

1pm-3pm — North Forty Natural Area, Jean Bourque Marsh Lookout

✨We didn't have time to explore this area during our previous Hyggehike, so I'm prioritizing it this time around! We'll explore abandoned ruins and observe the marine life hiding in plain sight.

3pm-6pm — Plumb Beach, Seaport Buffet

✨ We'll trek over to Sheepshead Bay and grab an early dinner, wrapping up in time to venture toward Coney Island to catch sunset.

6pm-8pm — Brighton Beach, Coney Art Walls, Coney Island Amphitheater

✨ We'll traipse through the Coney Island boardwalk in search of creative art & sculptures, then end our day at the Coney Island Amphitheater with a round of sunset lightning talks.

Below, I've shared the path we'll most likely take. You can follow my live location, or call me at any point if you have trouble finding us.

About Your Host

I'm Steve Dean, admirer of nature, denizen of the internet, steward of social and technological ecologies, dating industry consultant, and relationship coach.

Connect with me anytime through my website, Dateworking, or on Instagram.

If you’re curious about my longer-form writing and occasional rants after working in the dating industry for 15 years, check out my dating & relationship library.

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Why is Hygge NYC now on Substack?

I used to use Mailchimp for sending out event invites, but frustratingly, the only thing it could do was send emails, and anyone who subscribed after I sent out my event email would have no way of knowing about the event.

With Substack, I can still send out those event emails like always, but now anyone who subscribes can see those emails as an event page! Subscribers can also comment on these events, message me directly, and (per popular request from hikers) access a group chat to make staying in touch way easier. I’m really excited for y’all to be able to share stories and recommendations with one another 🤗

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