New York City: The High Line (July 2016)

The High Line – One of Our Favorite Things to Do in the City

My spouse and I walked the entire length of the High Line on a Sunday morning in mid-July 2016. We had walked much of the High Line twice before back in October of 2011, so we were eager to see it again and to learn what had changed. (In 2011, the third section from 34^th to 30^th Street around the Rail Yards was still under construction.)

The High Line is a park built on an elevated former freight rail trestle on the West Side of Manhattan that runs from Gansevoort Street in Greenwich Village/Meatpacking District to 30th Street in Chelsea/Midtown West. The High Line is open daily from sunrise to sunset, and the city does not charge a fee to access/use it. You must enjoy it on foot, except for child strollers and wheelchairs; you cannot ride, bicycle, or skate.

You can access the High Line from the street level at Washington/ Streets and 10^th Avenue at 14^th, 16^th, 18^th, 20^th, and 30^th Streets. Every entrance has stair access, but only a few entrances permit elevator access as well. The High Line is handicap-accessible. Restrooms are available in certain locations, and various concessions are open (some seasonally), including Blue Bottle Coffee, La Sonrisa, Santina, Brooklyn Soda Works, Taco Truck, Le Newyorkina, Melt Bakery, People’s Pops, L’Arte del Gelato, and Terroir on the Porch. Along the walkway, vendors sell merchandise, and special events occur in specific locations.

The southern end of the High Line over Gansevoort Street near the Whitney Museum is named the Tiffany Foundation Overlook (dedicated in July 2012) because the foundation was a major supporter of the park. The original rail lines continued another five blocks south, but have since been torn down. Walking north, before you pass beneath The Standard hotel, you walk through a section called the Gansevoort Woodland, which includes a small group of birch and serviceberry trees. Looking towards the Hudson River, you can see the remnants of Pier 54, as well as Pier 57 (the floating retail, film, and food complex). After you walk through the 14th Street passage, the High Line splits into two parts of different elevations; the Diller-Von Furstenberg Water Feature (opened in 2010) is located on the lower side, and the Diller-Von Furstenberg Sundeck is located on the upper side (with perennials, shrubs, and grass). Next, you pass Chelsea Market, where you can see many buildings that once housed refrigeration warehouses and meat wholesalers. The 10^th Avenue Overlook features a terraced wooden seating area where you can look out directly over busy 10^th Avenue. Continue north and look toward the Hudsonagain, where you can see the remains of the White Star Arch at Pier 59 (where the Titanic was supposed to dock), then through the Chelsea Grasslands, past a theological seminary, past the building that housed the Manhattan Project (atomic bomb warehouse), a Catholic Church, and other historic buildings.

Although the High Line “attraction” is not as well-known as the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building, it is a unique feature of the city that lets you walk above, around, beside, and through some notable structures. If you have a free hour, do not miss it!