Ward’s Island Bridge

I finally walked over this bridge after all these years living in NYC. I drive past it weekly when driving on the FDR. I was with a walking group and we ventured to Randall’s Island (which was beautiful) and walked over into Manhattan. The bridge itself looked pretty blah but the NYC views were amazing. There weren’t a lot of people so I didn’t feel rushed to walk fast or move out the way. There were a few joggers and bikers but not so overwhelming that you felt like you were being bombarded like you feel sometime in certain parts of Central Park. LOL
This spot is an amazing area to capture some great photos which I did. I felt like a tourist in my own city.
This is definitely a walk I will be taking again during the spring/​summer. A must do at least once to check out the scenery and the beautiful views from Randall Island park.

Oh brother, do I have to review about a bridge? Well… let me just say that Wards Island bridge is the only pedestrian bridge in NYC to cross Randall’s island and it’s easy to access for UES and East Harlem residents.
There are three ways to enter this bridge:
1.) the E102nd street and FDR drive side (I usually go to this one).
2.) the FDR drive, walk straight towards the Wards Island bridge, that’s all.
3.) the projects side. This is a great shortcut to enter the bridge in my opinion. Walk across the East River House projects and head straight up to the basketball court and you’ll see a open door to the far right and there’s the entrance to the Wards Island bridge.

This pedestrian bridge connects the Manhattan to Randalls & Wards island. It’s a great bridge to walk. Great view! This bridge is also a much shorter walk going into & get out from Randalls & Wards island than the RFK (From Queens).

Excellent bridge to walk. I love walking bridges, it one of the things I love to do in the city besides museums, parks, and ethnic foods.
1) The bridge is pedestrian only.
2) It connects Manhattan to Wards and Randall’s Island.
3) Randall’s Island Park is also something worth visiting when crossing the bridge.

I was a little confused not having been familiar with Ward’s Island when I came upon this pedestrian only bridge at 103^rd st. Turns out Wards Island and Randall’s Island were separate islands until Robert Moses combined them with landfill in the late 1930s. I only knew of the name Randall’s Island. If you haven’t been to the island before the choices of what to do are limited to mostly just sports fields and some walkways with benches around the Southern perimeter of the island. If you have a car/​bike you can go up to the sports complex that has mini golf/​driving range/​batting cages, but it’s a little too out of the way to walk.
What I liked about the bridge is right on the other side of it there’s some sloping grass bringing you down to the river. I’ve yet to find anywhere else in NYC were you could have a picnic right on the grass beside the water in peace so this is a real treat.
Back to the bridge. It’s a 12 feet wide, 312 foot long «vertical lift bridge» whose middle section can raise for large ships. The bridge was built in 1951 and was only open to the public during the day of the warmers seasons. After being closed for repairs for two years it reopened in June of last year as a bridge open year around.

Can’t believe this bridge hasn’t been reviewed! It’s probably one of the few it not only pedestrian-​only bridge crossing the Harlem River between Manhattan Island and Wards and Randall’s Island in New York as well as the only way to get to the seasonal «Electric Zoo» that happens and takes place in Randall’s Island every summer.
Don’t expect tourists here, but locals of Upper East Side and Spanish Harlem running, biking, and walking to and from Randall’s Island sports and recreational facilities. I give 4 stars to this bridge as it is the ONLY way to get to Randall’s Island from Manhattan without a car. It carries only pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
TIP:
**Entrance is at East 102^nd/​103^rd Street and FDR Drive**