How can something be so close but for some reason you never go? I’ve wanted to go to the Walkway Over the Hudson for awhile and I finally checked it off my to-do list!
The Walkway Over the Hudson originally opened as the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge in January 1889. It connected the industrial Northeast to the raw goods of the Midwest. At the time, the bridge was the longest in the nation! It was an incredibly popular train route until a fire in May 1974. Then, it stayed dormant for three and a half decades. Thankfully, the bridge was reborn on October 2009 as the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park. It’s now the longest elevated pedestrian bridge in the world.
You can enter the bridge from either side. The Poughkeepsie entrance (Walkway East) is operated by NYS Parks and is $5 for 4 hours. To walk there on foot, it’s about .6miles from the Poughkeepsie Train Station. We entered from the Highland entrance (Walkway West) where there isn’t as much parking but it’s free. There is a small lot but that’s for staff, visitors park in the marked spots along the road. The park there is small and has a bit of seating and restrooms. There’s not much to the experience, you just park your car and walk to the bridge. You can decide to walk the entire length (remember you have to come back), do the Walkway Loop Trail, or just walk halfway and come back (like we did). There are a couple of benches along the path to sit, but overall, it’s such a beautiful view on a great day.
Nearby, you can join up with the Empire State Trail linking New York City with Buffalo and Plattsburgh, the longest multi-use trail in the nation. The Walkway Over the Hudson is open 7am to sunset, 365 days per year. They have a ton of events throughout the year on their website.
