Watch: Amazing Video Shows the Hudson River Transformed into a Winter Playland

They say to dream big, and one of my greatest fantasies is to be able to walk across the Hudson River. Not on the record-setting Walkway Over the Hudson, but on the literal frozen river. It seemed like a pipe dream, since every time I've driven over the Mid-Hudson Bridge this winter, the most I see is a bunch of floating slush with some icy shores, but this is definitely not the case a few miles upriver in Athens, NY.

In an absolutely stunning video (the whole thing is embedded below), not only can you see someone para-skiing (I didn't even know that was a thing!), but another thrill-seeker riding a contraption that I recently learned is called an ice-yacht, complete with large sail. In this screenshot below, you can even see people going on a casual walk with their dog:

They're living my dream! Walking on the Hudson River while millions of gallons of water flow feet (or inches) below them. That being said, this is nothing new. As far back as 1817, New Yorkers walked across the frozen East River in New York City, and there are still (obviously) people who do it to this day. The good news, you can do it too.

My research led me to the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club, an organization that includes maps and weather reports that can help show where and when the Hudson River is safely frozen. The key word here is obviously "safely". Unlike a lake or pond, a river can me more dangerous since it still has a moving current underneath, which invisibly erodes the ice from below. The Hudson also has tides that can affect ice integrity. So before you (or I) actually attempt to step out on the frozen tundra, let's take a moment to live vicariously through this video from the Glenn Wheeler Drone channel on Youtube.