WHERE: The north walk on the George Washington Bridge, from New York to New Jersey and back
START/FINISH: 175 Street subway station (A train), fully accessible; also several Bronx bus lines and the M4 bus
DISTANCE: 3.3 miles
Photographs by Michael Cairl except as noted. Map courtesy footpathapp.com.
Map of this route.
In 2021 I posted “The George Washington Bridge” about a walk I took over this bridge, from Manhattan to New Jersey and back. Earlier this year the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey re-opened the footpath on the north side of the bridge after years of improvements, including making it fully accessible. The Port Authority is now rebuilding the footpath on the south side, on which I did the 2021 walk. I took advantage of an unseasonably warm October Saturday to walk the new footpath and, incidentally, mark the 92nd anniversary of the opening of the bridge.
This walk started a few blocks from the bridge, at West 177 Street and Fort Washington Avenue, taking the elevator from the 175 Street subway station. One block north is the George Washington Bridge Bus Station, the terminal for many local New Jersey and New York bus routes and some longer-distance buses. This opened in 1963 and is a rare structure in the United States designed by Pier Luigi Nervi (1891 - 1979), an Italian structural engineer who was noted for the innovative use of reinforced concrete in construction. For more information about this engineering genius go to https://pierluiginervi.org/.
George Washington Bridge bus terminal. Image courtesy nycrc.com.
The entrance to the north footpath is at West 180 Street and Cabrini Boulevard, five short blocks from the subway elevator. Flanking the entrance is some seating to the south, which was most welcome at the end of the walk, and some tables and seats to the north.
Up the ramp and before the bridge is an area with an historical panorama of the bridge. It’s interesting and well done.
Once the south walk of the bridge is reopened, it will be primarily a bicycle path. In the meantime both bicycles and pedestrians share the north walk, which is wide enough to accommodate both groups comfortably. That is a good thing; on this day, while there was a good amount of foot traffic, there were a lot of cyclists. I was once one of them.
At mid-span the state line is clearly marked.
The day offered some spectacular views.
View from the New York side of the bridge, Barely visible in the distance is the new Tappan Zee Bridge, officially the Mario Cuomo Bridge, 17 miles away.
View from the New Jersey side of the bridge.
Just past the New Jersey end of the bridge is a serpentine ramp leading to Hudson Terrace in Fort Lee, and a set of 42 stairs for those wishing a shorter trip. Before the reconstruction of the north walk there was a footbridge over the ramp to the Palisades Interstate Parkway, with stairs on either side (to the bridge and to Hudson Terrace) and a metal channel bolted to the stairs so one could roll a bicycle up and down. The new stairs do not have or need this. There is another set of 10 stairs going up into Palisades Interstate Park. I went up into the park and walked a short distance along the Long Path. I had to walk very carefully to avoid tree roots and stones and the occasional muddy area. But this walk was rewarded by some nice views of the bridge.
Coming back to Manhattan I took advantage of the seating area and chatted with some cyclists who had seen me walking as they rode to New Jersey and back. One of them, Marcos, ended up being the interpreter as they were all Spanish-speaking. I keep running into kind and interesting people on these walks. I am blessed.
Kudos to the Port Authority for doing such a great job rebuilding the north walk! It was a pleasure to walk this. Maybe add some seating in the large open areas they added by the two towers.
And just throwing this in: a picture I took of the George Washington Bridge in 1988, from just south of Fort Tryon Park. Pure luck: right place, right time. 50 mm lens on a Canon AE-1, Kodachrome 64 film.
