Manhattan · New York County
Highbridge Park
Major Park
- Location
- Edgecombe & Amsterdam Avenues, West 155th to Dyckman Street, Washington Heights
- Size
- 119.24 acres
- Hours
- 6:00 AM - 1:00 AM
- Type
- Major Park
Highbridge Park is a 119-acre park stretching along the Harlem River in Washington Heights, from West 155th Street to Dyckman Street. The park is named for the High Bridge, the oldest standing bridge in New York City, which crosses the Harlem River at the park's southern end.
The High Bridge was built between 1837 and 1848 as part of the Croton Aqueduct system, which carried fresh water from the Croton River in Westchester County to Manhattan. The bridge's original design featured graceful stone arches modeled on Roman aqueducts. Several arches were later replaced by a steel span to improve river navigation, but the surviving masonry arches remain among the finest examples of 19th-century engineering in New York.
The bridge was closed to pedestrians in 1970 due to safety concerns and neighborhood crime, and it remained shuttered for 45 years. After a major restoration, the High Bridge reopened in 2015 as a pedestrian walkway connecting Highbridge Park in Manhattan to the Bronx, offering spectacular views of the Harlem River valley.
Highbridge Park's terrain is among the most rugged in Manhattan, with steep rocky hillsides, dense woodland, and dramatic elevation changes that create a wilderness-like atmosphere remarkably close to the urban core. The park includes mountain bike trails, a swimming pool, basketball and tennis courts, playgrounds, and a nature education area.
The park also contains the Highbridge Water Tower, an octagonal stone tower built in 1872 to regulate water pressure in the Croton system. The tower, rising from one of the highest points in the park, is a designated New York City landmark and offers panoramic views of the surrounding area when open for tours.
Highbridge Park represents a category of Manhattan parkland that is often overlooked: the steep, heavily wooded slopes along the island's northern ridgeline that were deemed too rugged for development and preserved as public open space. These parks offer a wilder, more naturalistic experience than the designed landscapes of Central Park or Bryant Park.