The High Bridge

An interesting piece of New York history, is so ready to forget how much the arrival of a great source of fresh and clean drinking water would have been. It's a good hike and the views from the bridge are great. The walk to the bridge on the Bronx side has a lot of trash and illegal dumping, unfortunately.

The bridge is beautiful, spanning across the river and designed for pedestrians. You can take a walk or ride a bicycle on it. It's enclosed with a mesh for safety. To get to the bridge, be prepared for a steep staircase. I highly recommend taking a walk on it. The view of the water tower from the bridge is stunning.😍

Such a great landmark of the early years of our city. Amazing to read the history of its construction, use and transformation. Particularly beautiful on a clear day. Attached to High Bridge Park the access is best from the base of the water tower down a set of steps to a great bike path. There are no bathrooms anywhere near here so go before you go. Not much on the Bronx side so plan on a round trip.

It's a great park. I did my first day as a Super Steward with NYC parks. It needs a lot of work. There are invasive vines entangling everything. Entered at 167th Street. Will be making My Way north.

An Urban Hike Favorite! The High Bridge Park features its namesake long walking bridge separating Manhattan from The Bronx, and this huge set of stairs you have to climb (or go down) to get to the bridge. The stairs are so impressive to climb that a pic of them is now my screensaver. (See pic.) This park will help your physical fitness, for sure.

There are fewer tourists at the scenic spots on roads and bridges, and I don’t know if there are restrooms🚻

This is one of the most remote and unknown bridges in NY. I don't even know when it existed. My sons and I stumbled upon it on a YouTube channel. It was an experience. The view is magnificent. It's a blend of modernity and vestige of old New York

One of New York City's grandest bridges built as an aqueduct in 1848. Usage to deliver water to Manhattan ceased in 1949. It is now an amazing foot and bicycle bridge with fantastic views of the Harlem River and the city beyond.

The bridge is super big and FULL of nature and leaves and I like seeing the view and I went in the water tower.IT IS FULL OF STAIRS but I learned a lot of things and it was only a 15 minute walk(not that bad) but atleast it is good

Nyc's oldest bridge is worth a visit at least once by every Nyc resident. It's historic, quiet, with views of the water & most of the time no crowd. I always see it when driving around the area but not a lot of people walked across the bridge or see the tower up close. It's full of history & strolling along the bridge feels like you are thrown back in time. I always feel safe going there but i suggest going with a friend since it's a few minutes walk from the subway station/168 th street. Most of the time the bridge is isolated except for delivery guys on motorcycles. Don't forget to bundle up when its cold. It can get chilly & windy up there. Water & head cover during warmer months is also essential.

If you want to get High in NY, you come to High Bridge. Actually nah but there's a lot of getting high in NYC these days. Not by me but. The High Bridge is absolutely gorgeous and goes from Manhattan to the Bronx for pedestrians and how can you not love it. It's part of an aqueduct that once carried water. It's a marvelous achievement, and it basically was something that would bring fresh water from upstate New York into New York City. It has a beautiful old tower that looks a bit like a prison tower or something. Definitely one of my favorite undiscovered beauties in New York. It's also the oldest bridge connecting two boroughs, as others have set. It dates back to a good 40 years or rather closer to 35 years before the Brooklyn Bridge became the second.

8 AM on Monday, I guess it's no school today. Normally I saw some kids in a playground but none of them in this hour. My work is in the area so when I take a break I always chill out in this park especially the playground. The park is nice and beautiful, some area are new and clean.

This past Saturday I walked along this beautiful landmark for the first time, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Originally built in 1848 (35 years before the Brooklyn Bridge), it was only recently reopened as a pedestrian walkway (2015). It's a pleasant stroll, with wide views over the Harlem River. It connects the Highbridge neighborhood in The Bronx with the Highbridge Park in Washington Heights, Manhattan. As you walk from east to west, you can see the dramatic High Bridge Water Tower in front of you. The bridge is very much worth a trip to this area. You won't be disappointed.

After extensive renovation the Hight Bridge has reopened for people and bikes! Now you can travel from the Bronx to upper Manhattan in 10 minutes. High Bridge is the OLDEST bridge connecting two boroughs. It was completed in 1848, before the Brooklyn Bridge (1883)! It was built as part of the Cronton Aqueduct and carried water across the river to Manhattan. The orginal design had 15 stone arches built to resemble a Roman aqueduct. Now the spand over the river is a steel span the stone arches still remain mostly on the Bronx side. Take a walk or a ride across!

I saw The High Bridge from my girlfriend's window and did a quick search on it. To my surprise I found out that it is NY's oldest bridge and it recently opened in 2015. So we decided to walk across this bridge because we wanted to check it out and the view. The bridge was renovated quite well; its aesthetically pleasing and there is seating available as well. The view of the Bronx and Manhattan are amazing! It's definitely worth checking out and it provides a quick way to walk from the Bronx to Washington Heights (north Manhattan) pretty quickly and vice versa.

45 years later! Yay. This bridge has finally recently been remodeled/reopened. The history behind it is quite interesting! It's a great way to spend a day discovering our beautiful city. I enjoyed the walk and was surprised to see so many tourist there. I'm hoping they continue to work on this bridge. I thought it would closely resemble the High Line however as of right now it remains very basic. You will find a few benches spaced out throughout the bridge but that's about it. I hope they add some greenery like the High Line. It would be awesome if they build a park below it like Brooklyn Bridge park. I heard on the news that those are the future plans. This place has potential to be a huge tourist attraction. I hope it doesn't become a forgotten project. Hopefully they can liven up the bridge a bit and add some more benches and greenery. It will definitely improve the overall look. Still worth checking out. FYI, you can enter on 167th & Edgecomb Ave. It's much closer to the train and you'll walk the bike path. I think it's a better alternative than having to walk the busy streets to 172nd st.

** This review was for the visit to the park as well as the high bridge itself. I posted the review below in the "High Bridge Park" attraction in Yelp as well. **After hearing (and seeing) such good reviews and photos for the newly re-opened high bridge park, I knew I had to visit. We went on the late morning of a nice Saturday. Getting there was straight forward. There are a few entrances to the park, but the main one is about 173rd street and Amsterdam avenue. Parking there is an absolute nightmare. Lots of apartment buildings in the area, so all of the street parking spots are gone. I would imagine this is the case throughout the day, no matter what time you decide to visit. We were lucky and park on a "No Parking M-F" street, after circling around for about 10 minutes or so. There were some events going on at the park on the day we went. I think it was sponsored by some insurance company who were promoting healthcare insurance options for NYC residents. The park itself has a few play areas as well as a large pool. We did not get to enjoy the pool, from from what it looks like, the pool seemed very well kept and clean. To get the high bridge itself, you go behind the park and down quite a few steep stairs. It took a while for people to get up and down, especially children and older people. The steps were quite steep, but had two 6x8' ish landings. I also saw that bikers took a path with a hill which makes you avoid the steps all together, but the path a good distance. At the bottom of the steps you walk a bit to the left and there you see the bridge. It was a beautiful site. High bridge tower um....towers over you. Lovely views of the east river both looking north and south. Looking north you can see the highways including 95, harlem river drive on the left and the Metro North railroad tracks to the right. There are fences along the full length of the bridge, which was god to see. Midway through the bridge it a sign that reads "Welcome To.." either Manhattan or The Bronx. The other side of the bridge of course was The Bronx which seemed to be like a small park, though I didn't explore too much on that side. I would highly recommend anyone to visit the park and the bridge. Breathtaking views and no fees. Public transportation might be a good option though due to the parking difficulty. I know the A, C, and 1 trains stop at 168th street at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, which is about 6-8 blocks from the entrance to the park. Lastly be careful, the park is lovely, but the area is not the best at times. I was pretty comfortable in the middle of the day on Saturday, surrounded by police (probably for the events taking place there that day), but I would not feel comfortable returning in the dark. I mean my camera screams "steal me", so as much as I would love to return for some evening photos of the beautiful city light reflecting off the water, I would very very hesitant. Having a finance who was raised in the area who also gave me a heads up on the dangers. Don't be deterred, just cautious and use a little common sense.

I love my bridges! Haha :P This one has a nice view so you can walk along the bridge and snap some fun photos. There's some good restaurants around the area as well, so you can go explore!

FINALLY! After many years, this bridge has FINALLY opened! As a kid and teen, my granny lived on 170th street and I would visit my friend who lived directly across the street from High Bridge. For years we always wondered if we can sneak in but to no avail. Especially since we used to go to the pool at High Bridge park which was RIGHT ACROSS THE DAMN BRIDGE!!!! So instead we used to make a long, unnecessary trek over to the heights. Oh, you're going to ask why we didn't just go to a pool in the Bronx? I knew it. Well, not only was the pool over in High Bridge park but the water tower where we made up urban legends about was on the other side and we wanted to sneak in there AND try to sneak into the bridge from the Manhattan side but to no avail. Now many years later (16), the bridge is finally open. However, now I do not live in the Bronx and don't see myself always making the trek to high bridge to dive into the 10 foot deep area. However, I HAD to make the trek from Queens to finally step on the oldest bridge in NYC. And it was worth it. For me personally, it was nostalgic for the aforementioned memories and I did the trip for my friend (who is now living in Florida) and I. I give it 3 stars because I'm not too crazy about the views. You get some good views of Manhattan and the High bridge park but for the most part, the view is nothing too spectacular compared to the bridges like Queens borough, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Williamsbug. However, its a great bridge to use to connect to Bronx and Manhattan, especially if you're going to the areas around both boroughs. Also, if you're coming in from the surrounding Bronx area, it can get you to High Bridge park in a jiffy and vice versa. So basically, the moral of the story is: USE THE DAMN BRIDGE IF YOU LIVE CLOSE. Take full advantage because back in the day my ass had to make the stupid journey to get to High Bridge and the heights.

This bridge ain't so high. I've seen bigger and higher, but this is cool in that it's a short subway ride and you can walk over to da bronx. Sure, there's Legionaire's disease going on right now, but we went and came back. I'm still living to write this review. If you need wheel chair or stroller access, go to 167th street for a ramp down to the basketball courts and walk on the bike path. The view is pretty nice and you can watch all of the traffic and the river down below. I would say the view from the GW bridge and pretty much any car bridge are better, but with this one, it's pedestrian only and brick lined. You also don't get the nasty crowds of the brooklyn bridge. Bring the friends and fam and then eat at a nearby local restaurant for a nice day (or half day) trip.

So glad this little park was open the walk / hike was very nice. Once we got to the Bronx we decided to walk back to manhattan and then hike the GWB. Great view of the river and a hidden NYC gem every one should visit.

Awesome place to visit, just be smart & mind your appendages http://gothamist.com/2015/08/04/high_bridge_nice_burn.php

Nice park in Washington Heights. It was a lot of people this Sunday since the weather was so nice. Sat, relaxed and watch some baseball.

Great views all around, I love the cliffs and it's pretty convenient the way it is laid out. Lots of businesses on both sides of it.

With all the history and fanfare in the press, I was eager to explore the restored High Bridge, and take advantage of the views, from a photographic perspective. Unfortunately, the bridge is framed on each side with 8 foot high "jumping fencing", presumably to make suicide more difficult. I get that part. But it seems the design team could've created a solution that involved something other than a chain link fence, which could have prevented jumping, but also allowed for unobstructed views in some spots. I assume for locals, however, the ability to walk between Manhattan and the Bronx is a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

Really cool and worth checking out if you live in the area. Rich W's review has all the history you need to know. There are plaques on the bridge that explain the history and there are some nice views from the bridge as well. The only downside is that public transit doesn't really get you that close on the Bronx side. Even though I live in the Bronx, it was faster for me to get to the Manhattan side on a C train.

The High Bridge is a wonder from the historic past of NYC and the nation. It is well worth the visit. Do not use the directions from Yelp. They do not show how to get to the High Bridge itself and only get you to the Recreation Center. It is not obvious how to get to the High Bridge from the Recreation Center. There are no signs. The best directions overall for both pedestrians and bicyclists (access is much more difficult by bicycle) can be found at: http://highbridgeparkdevelopment.blogspot.com/2013/01/finding-high-bridge-aqueduct.html