Walking Across the Manhattan Bridge in New York

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Walking Across the Manhattan Bridge: My Experience + Tips

Although I’m from New York, I’m always amazed by how many new things I’m constantly discovering in the city. And recently, one of those discoveries was the experience of walking across the Manhattan Bridge.

Are you wondering about walking across the Manhattan Bridge yourself? You’re in the right place!

While many tourists stroll across the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, which connects Manhattan to Brooklyn, the nearby Manhattan Bridge seems to fly under the radar. Even as a native New Yorker, I had never walked across the Manhattan Bridge until recently, despite being in the area plenty of times.

It wasn’t until I saw a cool photo of a viewpoint from the Manhattan Bridge that my interest was piqued. You might know the photo spot I’m talking about (I’ll share more details about it below), or maybe you’re just interested in walking across the bridge. Either way, you’re in the right place.

This guide has everything you need to know about walking across the Manhattan Bridge — let’s go!

View from the Manhattan Bridge — One of the views you’ll see while walking across the Manhattan Bridge

What Is the Manhattan Bridge?

The Manhattan Bridge is one of three bridges crossing the East River from Lower Manhattan to Brooklyn. From south to north, you can remember all three bridges with the acronym BMW — Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, and Williamsburg Bridge. Each of these three bridges is unique and beautiful.

The Manhattan Bridge is the newest of the three, opening in 1909. The Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1889, and the Williamsburg Bridge opened in 1903. The Manhattan Bridge connects the Chinatown neighborhood of Manhattan with the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn. DUMBO, which stands for “Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass”, was once industrial, but it’s now a super trendy and popular area.

There are two levels to the Manhattan Bridge. The upper level is for car traffic, while the lower level is for the subway. The B, D, N, and Q trains all come aboveground to cross this bridge. The lower level of the Manhattan Bridge is also where you’ll find the pedestrian pathway, as well as the bike lane.

Manhattan Bridge Arches — Looking up at the upper level of the Manhattan Bridge from the lower level

Why Walk Across the Manhattan Bridge?

The Manhattan Bridge offers a totally different perspective from the Brooklyn Bridge. If you’ve already walked across the Brooklyn Bridge before, I recommend trying the Manhattan Bridge next.

You can also easily combine a walk across both bridges because of their proximity! If you do this, I recommend starting in Manhattan and walking over to Brooklyn via either bridge, and then returning via the other bridge. It’s a shorter walking distance overall, doing it this way rather than starting in Brooklyn.

The Manhattan Bridge offers cool, unique views that I would even describe as a little gritty. When you’re walking along the Manhattan side of the bridge, you’ll have views of Chinatown and the Two Bridges area, with graffiti-covered buildings in the foreground and the downtown skyline in the background.

Through a hole in the fence along the bridge, this is where you’ll find that iconic photo spot I mentioned earlier. There are strategic holes in the fencing to allow for other viewpoints, too.

As you go further along the bridge, you’ll have amazing views of the Brooklyn Bridge directly to the south of you, as well as views of the East River and the waterfront of both Manhattan and Brooklyn.

The Manhattan Bridge is also way less crowded than the Brooklyn Bridge. There are few places in New York I’d consider a hidden gem, but this is one of them. Even on a Saturday morning in the summer at around 11 AM, there were only a few other joggers and walkers sharing the pedestrian pathway with me.

View of Chinatown from the Manhattan Bridge — Here’s that iconic photo spot of Chinatown from the Manhattan Bridge

How to Walk Across the Manhattan Bridge

If you’re coming from Manhattan, the entrance to the pedestrian pathway of the Manhattan Bridge is located at the southeastern corner of Canal Street and the Bowery. The pedestrian pathway is on the southern side of the bridge (which has way better views), while the bike lane is on the northern side.

From end to end, the pedestrian pathway is 1.2 miles, the same as the Brooklyn Bridge.

You can easily walk the whole bridge in about 25 minutes at a leisurely pace. In Brooklyn, the exit to the pedestrian pathway deposits you right near the intersection of Jay Street and Sands Street. There is a pathway that leads into a small park, as well as a set of stairs that takes you directly down to Jay Street.

The pedestrian pathway along the bridge is pretty wide, and as I mentioned, it was extremely uncrowded when I was there, despite being late morning on a Saturday in the middle of July.

One thing to note as you’re walking across the bridge is that the subway does come by every few minutes, which can make the whole bridge rattle and shake! But it just adds to the overall ambiance.

Also, pro tip: Do this walk in the morning! If you go before 11 AM, the entire pedestrian pathway is almost entirely in the shade, because the main structure of the bridge shields it from the sun.

Subway on Manhattan Bridge — The subway crosses the Manhattan Bridge every few minutes, and it’s noisy!

Walking Across the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge

Want to combine both bridges into one walk? You can easily do that too!

As I said at the beginning of this guide, you should start and end in Manhattan, because the way the bridges are angled, that means the walking distance is a lot shorter than if you start and end in Brooklyn.

I recommend starting at the Brooklyn Bridge on the Manhattan side, because the area around it is less interesting and you don’t need to spend so much time there. Similar to the Manhattan Bridge, the distance across the pedestrian pathway of the Brooklyn Bridge is 1.2 miles, or 25 minutes.

In Manhattan, the entrance to the pedestrian pathway of the Manhattan Bridge is near the intersection of Centre Street and Park Row. When you get to Brooklyn, the exit is at the intersection of Washington Street and Prospect Street. This is extremely close to the entry point for the Manhattan Bridge!

If you go directly there, it’s just 0.2 miles, or a five-minute walk.

However, I recommend spending some time exploring the DUMBO neighborhood and going to the waterfront, where you’ll find great views of both bridges and the Manhattan skyline. There are also tons of restaurants and shops in DUMBO that are worth checking out before you make the walk back to Manhattan.

After walking back via the Manhattan Bridge, you’ll find yourself in Chinatown, which is a vibrant neighborhood that is also worth exploring (and stopping for lunch if you haven’t eaten yet!)

View of the Brooklyn Bridge from the Manhattan Bridge — You can see great views of the Brooklyn Bridge from the Manhattan Bridge

Is the Manhattan Bridge Worth It?

I definitely think walking across the Manhattan Bridge is worth it.

It’s a great alternative to the Brooklyn Bridge, which is extremely touristy and overcrowded. While I didn’t venture over there on my day walking across the Manhattan Bridge, I’m willing to bet it would have been packed on a Saturday morning in the summer, whereas my pathway was almost empty.

I also like that the Manhattan Bridge has a separate bike lane on the northern side of the bridge, away from the pedestrian pathway. On the Brooklyn Bridge, the bike lane runs right along the pedestrian pathway, and sometimes this creates issues when cyclists veer into where pedestrians are walking.

The views from the Manhattan Bridge are unique and give you a different perspective from what you’ll see on the Brooklyn Bridge. For that reason alone, I definitely think it’s worth the walk.

The only drawback is that the views here aren’t quite as expansive or impressive as those from the Brooklyn Bridge. For one, the actual arches of the bridge are a level above you, so you can’t see them clearly like you can the arches of the Brooklyn Bridge. You can also only see to the south, because the bridge structure blocks the view to the north (although it’s not as good a view anyway, in my opinion.)

I do really appreciate the fact that the Manhattan Bridge blocks most of the sun on the pedestrian pathway if you go in the morning, in contrast with the Brooklyn Bridge, which offers very little shade.