Some additional thoughts for a kid who loves the outdoors at Manhattan College. There’s a surprising amount of green space nearby. 50 Acre Riverdale Park has hiking trails with spectacular views of the Hudson. 1100 Acre Van Cortlandt Park is at the college’s door step and has lots of hiking trails available.
In addition, a student in Riverdale can do the reverse of what upstate students at Vassar, Bard, and Marist do. Instead of a day trip into the city, take a day trip out of the city from the Riverdale Metro North train station to any of the numerous hiking opportunities up the Hudson Valley. It’s not a long ride to where the Appalachian Trail crosses the Hudson, for example, and from there the sky’s the limit in either direction.
My recommendation for a kid who loves the outdoors is to take up biking as a hobby. There are bike trails and greenways in the Bronx and lower Westchester County. Not far from campus by bike, the entire West Side of Manhattan is one long bike trail along the Hudson. Invest in a good bike as a going-off-to-college gift and again the sky’s the limit for enjoying the outdoors.
Just my 2 cents.