The 5-mile green ribbon stringing 59th St to 155th St might get overshadowed by nearby Central Park, but there are plenty of reasons this serene escape shines. You’ll find Hudson River views from its triple-tiered paths and spectacular light shows once the sun starts to set.
Planning Tip
If you’re coming here to savor summer's sunset with a beer, take the 1 train to 103rd St and walk west to Ellington in the Park.
Seeds of Change
Riverside Park has been in a near-constant state of evolution since Frederick Law Olmsted (of Central Park fame) created its concept in the mid-19th century. Calvert Vaux, his prolific parks partner, and urban planner Robert Moses both had hands in its design, transforming windswept bluffs and smoky train tracks into a series of waterfront esplanades.
The most recent extension, a thin strip from 59th to 72nd Sts dubbed Riverside Park South (opened in 2001), recalls a freight-fraught past with rusted remnants of the 69th St Transfer Bridge, while a series of meandering walkways inspire the opposite of locomotive speed (unless, of course, you’re a cycler mid-commute).
Magnificent Monuments
From 72nd St onward, the park widens to include a waterfront bike path, grassy knolls and multi-tiered promenades. A bronze sculpture of Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial (1996) appears lost in thought at 72nd St – probably wondering why this was only NYC’s second statue dedicated to a non-fictional woman. The first, Joan of Arc Monument (1915), gallops defiantly atop a pedestal at 93rd St, which incorporates pieces from the Rouen tower where she was imprisoned.
A few blocks south, at W 89th St, 12 Corinthian columns encircle the Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Monument (1902), honoring Union Army members who served in the Civil War. It acts as a companion piece to General Ulysses S Grant National Memorial, the grandiose mausoleum of famed Civil War general and 18th US president Ulysses, located two miles north at 122nd St.
Budding Romance
Plan your trip around April and May to parade down the Cherry Walk (between 100th and 125th Sts) when blushing petals paint the promenade pink. Equally pretty is the 91st St Community Garden, immortalized in the rom-com classic You’ve Got Mail.
As for the park’s most picturesque scene, you’ll find it at Ellington in the Park (open April to November) – a casual outdoor restaurant overlooking the Hudson. Arrive before twilight and snag an upper-level picnic table to soak in the sun as it dips behind New Jersey.
