NYC singles are told to DITCH dating apps and walk on West Side Highway - where eligible men and women flock to find their summer fling at running clubs and pickleball courts

Singles in New York City have been told to ditch dating apps and simply walk to the West Side Highway to find the city's hottest men and women. 

With pickleball leagues and running clubs soaring in popularity across America, young adults looking for love claim that physically active clubs are now the best place to meet eligible bachelors and bachelorettes. 

Following years of pandemic online dating, singles have been desperate to meet people in real life - and are aiding one another in identifying the best spots to search for their new beaus. 

New York City's West Side Highway - a stunning stretch of pedestrian walkway running along the Hudson River - has become one new hotspot for spying on potential partners, according to young entrepreneurs. 

The highway has even been described as 'Raya in real life' - referencing the exclusive dating app, which requires pre-screening, approval and a monthly membership fee.

NYC singles are being told to ditch the dating apps this summer and simply walk to the West Side Highway to find the city's hottest men and women in the wild

DailyMail.com spoke to Liv Schreiber who founded Hot and Social - a New York members club for people looking to make new friends or meet fellow singles

Sport-based clubs have cropped up across the city - with founders putting an emphasis on bringing together like-minded, active, and social young adults.

Others have simply flocked online to boast about their walks along Manhattan's westerly walkway - where they stop and chat to others along what has quickly become the Big Apple's most social strip.  

Liv Schreiber, who founded Hot and Social - a New York members club for people looking to make new friends or meet fellow singles - told DailyMail.com that Gen Z and Millennial daters are fatigued from constant swiping online. 

Schreiber, 27, hosts regular events in the city - including rooftop pickleball and early morning coffee meet-ups on the West Side Highway

'The era of dating apps is out,' Schreiber said. 

'People just crave 'in real life' connection,' she said - adding that you can't read people's energy through a phone. 

Schreiber, 27, hosts regular events in the city - including rooftop pickleball and early morning coffee meet-ups on the West Side Highway.

She says the romantic success stories from such meetups are endless. 

The social expert is an advocate of approaching strangers with compliments and practicing showing up to places solo to build confidence. 

She even shared a top tip for West Side Highway dwellers hoping to find love on the riverside walkway. 

'When you go on the West Side Highway, wear a sweatshirt or a hat of a popular brand, company or university that you think is a conversation starter,' she suggested - adding that she would wear a University of Wisconsin hoodie back in her own single days. 

Schreiber's main advice to single New Yorkers: 'You have to be bold in New York - otherwise nothing is gonna happen.'

Schreiber's members club 'Hot and Social' organizes regular meet-ups for people looking to meet friends and partners in New York City (Pictured: A Hot and Social pickleball event)

Steve Cole (pictured) is the CEO of Lunge - a dating app which allows you to find other people who exercise in the same places as you

The 27-year-old's advice for straight women on the New York dating scene is to focus on whether she likes him - rather than if he likes her. For boys, she recommends they stop hunting for Instagram models and focus on the consistent loyal woman by their side, who is often overlooked. 

The locally-loved West Side Highway is even getting its own upgrade soon - as the state Department of Transportation begins the process of studying the highway to determine 'potential enhancements to better serve all users of the system, including pedestrians and cyclists.'

DOT spokesman Glenn Bain said the highway will be expected to identify 'existing needs and potential enhancement' - which will take approximately 18 months. 

Schreiber is not the only one offering New Yorkers unique opportunities to find romance. 

Steve Cole is the CEO of Lunge - a dating app which allows you to find other people who exercise in the same places as you. 

'I'm on the West Side Highway right now - and there are the fittest most attractive people I have ever seen,' he said in a post on TikTok. 

Cole told DailyMail.com that dating apps owned by public companies like Tinder and Bumble 'suck' - and that there needs to be a refresh in the world of online dating, which is why he came up with Lunge. 

Cole recently launched Lunge Run Club - which meets on the West Side Highway and involves a three mile run at a conversational pace - followed by a happy hour at a local bar for those who want to join.

The locally-loved West Side Highway is even getting its own upgrade soon - as the state Department of Transportation begins the process of studying the highway to determine 'potential enhancements to better serve all users of the system'

'I'm on the West Side Highway right now - and there are the fittest most attractive people I have ever seen,' Steve Cole said in a post on TikTok

The run club is aimed at singles, but welcomes everyone. People who are in relationships have to wear colored running gear while the singles are told to wear all black. Cole estimated that the ratio of single to taken is about 95 percent singles. 

According to Cole, there is a move towards health and wellness - and when you meet people doing something like running or another activity or sport you are more likely to have something in common, opposed to when you sit down at a bar with a stranger. 

Cole has also jumped on the Pickleball trend, and hosts events for singles looking to take to the court and meet prospective partners. 

He said that Lunge has helped tens of thousands of people so far get involved with online dating in real life situations and reported that the two-week-old West Side Highway run club already has had a whopping 500 sign-ups.

Another popular run club that started in the Big Apple, Endorphins, has now spread across the globe after becoming a hit with eager-to-socialize New Yorkers in the wake of the pandemic.

Tyler Swartz, who founded Endorphins, told DailyMail.com: 'We host about 30 different runs a week across the country.

'The mission of the organization is to spread positivity and happiness and movement and exercise. We also noticed that since the pandemic, there's been a societal shift. 

'More people are working from home, more people are stuck on the phone, more people are scrolling their feeds and less people are spending time with other people,' which he said is leading to an increase in anxiety, depression and loneliness.

DailyMail.com spoke to Endorphins' founder Tyler Swartz (pictured). 'We host about 30 different runs a week across the country,' he said

As Summer approaches, more and more New Yorkers have taken to TikTok to share their astonishment at how many good looking people there are running, walking, playing sports or even just lounging around on the iconic highway

'We created endorphins as a place for people to make friends in a non drinking environment. We almost consider it the new age bar,' Swartz said. 

Swartz said that Endorphins is for facilitating connection - but insisted that it wasn't just for finding romantic connections.  

'We bring people together that have a shared interest and it results in extremely strong relationships, friendships and romantic relationships.'

In a TikTok from one of Endorphins' West Side Highway runs last year - Swartz said, 'Where are the guys at?' as he showed all the female runners who had shown up. 'Come out and join us and meet your wife maybe...' he joked. 

Other people on social media agree - saying that run clubs are the new place to meet a significant other in big cities. 

One TikTok user @catyanne_  said: 'The only other place I would suggest meeting people out in New York if you're single is, not only out and about at bars and social events - but also running clubs!'

As summer approaches, more and more New Yorkers have taken to TikTok to share their astonishment at how many good looking people there are running, walking, playing sports or even just lounging around on the iconic highway. 

One user posted a video documenting the 'best sightseeing' in NYC - in which he recorded some of the best looking boys hanging around the Hudson River walkway. 

Another man uploaded a TikTok of himself jogging on the West Side Highway captioned: 'The masculine urge to check out every person who runs past me on the westside highway.' 

A pair of girls shared a post of them walking up the Highway saying 'brb finding my husband on the west side highway' and another wrote 'running on the west side highway is scary I just ran by three different men I've gone on dates with.'

When influencer Halley Kate broke up with her boyfriend, she told the internet she went straight to the West Side Highway to find a new 'daddy' for her dog.

The highway has even been described as ' Raya in real life' - referencing the most exclusive of all the dating apps, which requires pre-screening, approval and a monthly membership fee for users

Another TikToker wrote: 'Running on the west side highway is scary I just ran by 3 different men I've gone on dates with'

A male uploaded a TikTok of himself jogging on the West Side Highway captioned 'The masculine urge to check out every person who runs past me on the westside highway,' as he looks behind him to sneak a peek at a fellow runner

Along the West Side Highway and also scattered throughout New York City are pickleball courts - which is the other trendy way to meet single people in the city at the moment. 

'You can talk during pickleball games,' McKenzie Collins, a 26-year-old who lives in the West Village and works in tech, told the New York Post. 'It's a more casual sport.'

'There are good looking people here, so you never know what is going to happen,' said Christina Ali, 25, of the bustling courts on Houston and Sixth Avenue. 

One pair of singles ended up hitting it off on the court and started dating in December. Yael Yonah, 24, and Emma Troxler, 30,  met at the Passannante Ballfield - just a few blocks from the West Side Highway.

'I beat her and she thought it was hot,' said Troxler.

'I was on a streak, I was winning every game, and all of a sudden she came on and destroyed me,' Yonah responded. 'I was like, 'Who is that girl?' I asked for her number.'

Another New Yorker, Danielle, met her boyfriend on the same courts: 'We showed up one day, we met, we started playing together every single day for months and months. It was very natural.' 

Danielle said her friends are now desperate to meet their own partners on the pickleball courts: 'All my single friends want to come play,' she said. 'We know a few more couples who have formed.'

Along the West Side Highway and also scattered throughout New York City are pickleball courts - which is the other highly trendy way to meet single people in the city at the moment

Schreiber's main advice to single New Yorkers: 'You have to be bold in New York - otherwise nothing is gonna happen'

The craving for real-life dating following years of pandemic online romance isn't the only byproduct of years in quarantine. It appears to have influenced teenage Gen Z men to remain single during their high school years.

Only 32 percent of millennial men, 23 percent of Gen X men and just 20 percent of Baby Boomer men did not date during their teenage years.

However, 44 percent of Gen Z men have or had no boyfriend or girlfriend in their teens, according to the Survey Center on American Life.

Researcher Daniel A. Cox said that Gen Z is focused on the risk aversion of rejection - but fears that not dating is causing more harm than good for males.