High Line Park
The High Line Park is a former elevated railroad line that has been redeveloped as a public green space that opened in 2009. The park stretches on the West Side of Manhattan from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to West 34th Street between 10th and 12th Avenues ( Hudson Yards).
Location
Broadway, 7th Avenue and 44th Street, Midtown Manhattan
Hours
1/12 to 31/3: 7am to 7pm
1/4 to 31/5: 7am to 10pm
1/6 to 30/9: 7am to 11pm
1/10 to 30/11: 7am to 10pm
Tickets
Free
How will you get there?
Subway: 8th Ave – 14th St Station, trains A, C, E and L.
Bus: Lines M11, M13, M23 and M34.
What is nearby?
Madison Square Garden (985 m)
Empire State Building (1.7 km)
Madame Tussauds (1.7 km)
New York City Sightseeing Boat Tours (1.7 km)
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum (1.9 km)
During your visit to the High Line, you can walk its streets among the plants and flowers, see art, watch a show, enjoy your food or drink. And all this while enjoying a unique perspective of New York City.
History
The High Line is built on the old elevated train tracks that supplied the area with goods. The High Line opened for trains in 1934. It originally ran from 34th Street to St. John’s Park Terminal. It connected directly to factories and warehouses, allowing trains to pass through the buildings. Milk, meat, and other products could be transported and unloaded without disrupting traffic on the roads.
The growth of interstate trucking in the 1950s led to a decline in rail traffic across America. In the 1960s, the southernmost section of the line was demolished.
This section ran from Gansevoort Street to Washington Street, and accounted for nearly half of the line. The last train ran in 1980 with three carloads of frozen turkeys.
Over the next few years, as the line lay unused, wild grasses, shrubs and trees grew on the gravel along the abandoned railway line.
In 1999, the nonprofit Friends of the High Line was founded by Joshua David and Robert Hammond, residents of the neighborhood the High Line traversed. They promoted the idea of turning the High Line into an elevated park or green promenade, similar to the Promenade Plantée in Paris.
They recommended the line be preserved and reused as public open space. Outreach community support for a public redevelopment of the High Line for pedestrian traffic grew, and city funding became available in 2004.
The southern section of the park, extending from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street, opened to the public on June 8, 2009. This southern section includes five stairs and elevators at 14th Street and 16th Street.
Beginning in the Meatpacking District, the park stretches from Gansevoort Street—three blocks below 14th Street—through Chelsea to its northern end at 34th Street and the Hudson Yards area. The High Line is wheelchair accessible.
How long does it take to walk the High Line?
A stroll on New York’s High Line will take you about 30 minutes. The total length of the park, from one end to the other, is 2.3 km.
Is the High Line free?
The High Line Park in New York is free and open daily. Times vary by season and can be found at the beginning of this guide. On a typical beautiful weekend day, the High Line can accommodate 40,000 visitors per day (peaking at 60,000 on some days).
Guided tours of the High Line Park
Guided tours of the High Line have become popular over the years because of the hidden secrets and history locals can tell tourists.
Entrances for the High Line:
- Gansevoort Street and Washington Street (elevator access)
- 14th Street (elevator access)
- 16th Street (elevator access)
- 18th Street
- 20th Street
- 23rd Street (elevator access)
- 26th Street
- 28th Street
- 30th Street (elevator access)
- 30th Street and 11th Avenue
- 34th Street and 12th Avenue (ramp access)
The terms of use of the park prohibit:
- Walking on the lines, gravel and plants
- Picking flowers or plants
- Throwing objects
- Sitting on the tracks or climbing on any part of the High Line
- Bicycles, skateboards, skates and motorbikes
- The performances, unless there is a relevant license
- Sunbathing
- Commercial activity, unless there is a relevant permit
- The littering
- The glass bottles
- Obstruction of entrances or paths
- The consumption of alcohol, except in designated concession areas
- Feeding birds or squirrels
- Dogs (dogs are not currently allowed on the High Line due to limited trail space and the vulnerability of new plantings).
