.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Little Island is a 2.4-acre public park floating over the Hudson River on 132 concrete tulip-shaped columns, rising from the water off West 13th Street in the Meatpacking District like a garden lifted into the air. It opened in May 2021, designed by Thomas Heatherwick, the architect of the Vessel, and funded by Barry Diller, and it immediately became one of the most photographed new places in the city.
The park sits on the site of Pier 54, where Titanic survivors landed in 1912 and from which the Lusitania sailed in 1915; the pier's original steel arch still stands at the entrance. Two bridges lead from the Hudson River Park waterfront onto the island, where paths wind up and down over rolling hills planted with more than 350 species of trees, shrubs, and flowers, chosen to bloom in every season. The high points give views of the river, the Statue of Liberty in the distance, and the skyline of Lower Manhattan and Hudson Yards.
At the island's western edge, a 687-seat amphitheater faces the river and hosts free and low-cost performances from June through September, from dance and theater to concerts, with the sunset over New Jersey as the backdrop. Little Island is free to enter, open daily, and a ten-minute walk from Chelsea Market and the southern end of the High Line, which makes it the natural start or finish of a West Side afternoon.
Little Island opened in 2021 on the Hudson River waterfront. Here are the key facts every visitor should know:
Little Island is open daily from 6am to 11pm, and it's a park where time of day and season change everything.
Sunset is the best time, without question. The island faces west across the Hudson, and its overlooks and amphitheater steps look straight at the sun going down over New Jersey; on a clear evening it's the best free sunset view in Manhattan. It's also the most popular hour, so on summer weekends arrive 45 minutes early or check whether timed entry is in effect.
Early morning is the quiet alternative, with the paths nearly empty, the plantings at their freshest, and the light coming over the city onto the river. Midday in summer is hot and exposed; the island has little shade.
Spring brings the first blooms in April and the island at its greenest through June; fall turns the grasses and trees gold in October. Summer is performance season at the amphitheater, June through September, with the schedule posted on the park's site. Winter is stark but open, and the views are clearest. On any day, the natural plan is Little Island at sunset after an afternoon on the High Line, or Little Island first thing before the High Line fills.
Little Island is at Pier 55 on the Hudson River at West 13th Street, in the Meatpacking District at the western edge of Manhattan. Take the A, C, E, or L train to 14th Street–8th Avenue and walk west along 14th or 13th Street for about ten minutes to the river; the park's two entrance bridges are on the Hudson River Park greenway.
The 1, 2, and 3 trains stop at 14th Street–7th Avenue, a 12-minute walk. The Whitney Museum and the southern end of the High Line at Gansevoort Street are a five-minute walk south, and Chelsea Market is ten minutes northeast. The Hudson River Park bike and walking path runs directly past the entrance.
Use our interactive NYC subway guide to plan your exact route from any hotel or neighborhood before you arrive.
.avif)
.jpg)
.webp)
