The High Bridge

About Highbridge Parks

Highbridge Park in the Bronx is a one-acre sitting park at W. 170th Street and University Avenue.  A complete redesign and relandscaping in 2002 highlights the Old Croton Aqueduct, which lies directly beneath the park.  The path of the Aqueduct as it turns west to cross the Harlem River is delineated with brick paving, and a children's spray shower is a playful water element.  Game tables and new seating areas take advantage of the park’s fine views of the Harlem River and Manhattan. The 1880s stone stairway connects the park with the Harlem River waterfront. 

Highbridge Park in Manhattan encompasses 119 acres of dramatic topography overlooking the Harlem River between Dyckman Street, Amsterdam Avenue, and W. 155th Street.  The Manhattan end of the High Bridge is downslope from street level; the historic staircase and a new ramped path leading up to the Water Tower Terrace and Highbridge Pool are being built in 2006-07. New benches  on the terrace and newly planted native flowering shrubs on the slopes below enhance the area around the bridge. Between the bridge and 155th Street, the only green section of the Old Croton Aqueduct trail in Manhattan, about a mile long, is gradually being improved.

The NYC Sierra Club has published a Map & Guide for Highbridge Park, which they are offering to North Manhattan Parks patrons at no charge. If you'd like to obtain this brochure, please call (212) 927-9568.

The Highbridge Pool, built at the site of the old reservoir, is the largest pool in Manhattan.  The park’s recreation center provides free computer, cultural and sports programming for neighborhood children.  Playgrounds, soccer fields, basketball courts, and extensive walking trails are found throughout the park.  Concerts are held on the lawn in the summertime.