Has anyone swam the Hudson River?

A 53-year-old swam the entire length of the Hudson River as part of his life's work: The mission isn't complete Lewis Pugh, a 53-year-old endurance swimmer, holds a unique distinction: he is the only person to have completed long-distance swims in all the world's oceans.



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Climate activist Lewis Pugh became the first person to swim the entire Hudson River -- all 315 miles of it -- unassisted.

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The short answer is “Yes!” The long answer is that it depends on when and where. Issues like sewage outflow and algal blooms keep many areas along the Hudson from being swimmable, particularly after rainfall.

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Saving the River's Fish. For schools of migratory shad, sturgeon, river herring, blue crab, menhaden and striped bass, the Hudson is an unimpeded corridor from the Atlantic to their ancestral spawning grounds.

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Yes, Bull Sharks, Dogfish, Great White?, Whale. 25 different species live in the area, and while most won't spend much time in the river all are capable, though for short times as they are salt water specific.

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Women under 50 and children under 15 should not eat any fish from the Hudson River, including striped bass. Women who eat highly contaminated fish and become pregnant may have an increased risk of having children who are slower to develop and learn. Some contaminants may be passed on to infants in mother's milk.

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An estimated 100,000 people in the Hudson Valley rely on the Hudson for their drinking water.

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Yes, You Can Swim On Your Period. It's safe to hit the water on your period, as long as you wear a tampon or menstrual cup while you're swimming. We've got the facts on swimming on your period and what period products can help and which one's you should probably altogether avoid.

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The short answer is “Yes!” The long answer is that it depends on when and where. Issues like sewage outflow and algal blooms keep many areas along the Hudson from being swimmable, particularly after rainfall.

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Crabs, turtles and many types of fish can be found along the whole length of the river. Near the sea, even starfish, lobsters and sea horses can be found!

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This results in a total of 59 bodies floating down the lower Hudson every year (49 or 50 from NYC, 5 or 6 from Bergen County, and about 4 from Hudson County). 59 divided by 365 gives you about 0.16 bodies per day.

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For about half its length, the Hudson is actually a tidal estuary, where salt water from the ocean combines with fresh water from northern tributaries. The Hudson is tidal from the mouth of the Hudson in New York Harbor to the Federal Dam in Troy, a distance of about 153 miles.

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