When I first spotted this place on a bike ride in the city, I could not wait for it to open. Finally, on May 21, 2021, Little Island NYC was open to the public for all to enjoy, and it was worth the wait.
My family loves to visit the west side of Manhattan at least a couple of times a year. There is so much that we find to do when we go there.
Since I seem to be the travel agent, tour guide, and person who plans the, ‘What are we doing this weekend?” events, I decided The Little Island would be the perfect day trip to the city.
Little Island NYC Parking
There are plenty of parking garages near Little Island. They are pretty much all the same price, so my advice for parking is, “The closer, the better.”
What is Little Island NYC?
Little Island is a man-made floating park on the West side of Manhattan. The area used to be the historic Pier 54, but because of an unfortunate chain of events, the remaining pieces of Pier 54 were demolished in 2015, and now it is the home of what we now know as Little Island.
Click this link to find out more about the history of Pier 54.
Little Island NYC Hours
Little Island is open to the public at 6 am, 365 days a year.
September 5 – November 13 6:00 am – 11:00 pm
November 14 – March 12 6:00 am – 9:00 pm
March 13 – September 4 6:00 am – 12:00 am
Please note: Weather may affect the park hours, so check the weather and the park’s website before you plan your visit.
Little Island NYC Tickets
The Island is free, so you do not have to buy tickets. We went on a Saturday afternoon, and even with the Island having free entry, it was comfortable enough to walk around without the park feeling crowded.
The only place that requires tickets is the performances at the Amphitheater.
Little Island NYC Entrance
When we first walked into the Island, there was an open area with tables and chairs. People were doing all sorts of things; some people were eating, while others were waiting for family and friends, there were even a couple of tables with chess and Jenga set up to play.
Is food allowed?
Outside food and drinks are allowed in the park. I did not think about it then, but once we got to the park, I said, “We could have had a little picnic here.”
There are beautiful areas of lawn where your family can sit and have a bite to eat.
If you do not bring food, there is a small cafe where you can order finger food.
It was a little too cold for my family to eat outside, and I wanted to be comfortable eating, so we decided to go to City Winery on Pier 57, within walking distance from the Island. If you want to eat at the winery, reservations are required.
Bathrooms
The bathrooms are located just past the eating area to the right. Signs are posted around the central area if you need clarification on finding the bathrooms. Whenever my family travels anywhere, our first stop out of the car is the bathroom.
I was impressed by how clean the bathrooms were.
Little Island NYC Walkway
There is a path to walk through the Island, with flat walkways, inclines, and stairs.
Along the path, there are things to make your journey a little more interesting. There are different types of spinning discs to spin and musical instruments to create different pitches of sound. Even though there wasn’t much to it, the children enjoyed playing with them along the path.
There are a couple of landings to stop and take pictures throughout the path. Each of the docks has very lovely backgrounds for your photos.
The landings can get busy at times, so you may have to wait a bit to be able to take a good picture or selfie.
Spun Chairs
Once we got back down to the bottom of the Island, we made our way over to the Spun Chairs.
The chairs reminded me of the pawns in one of my favorite movies, Inception.
At first, I did not want to get on the chair because I thought the spinning motion would make me dizzy, but after watching all the kids get on it, I figured I couldn’t leave the Island without trying it.
I had so much fun. And the best part was I did not get dizzy.
If you want to try the Spun Chairs, there will be a wait. It’s more like a first come, first serve situation.
I stood patiently next to the chair to wait for my turn. The wait seemed like it was forever, but it was worth it. (I just wanted to say, “I got to spin on the chair,” so I took about 6 spins before my son kicked me off of it.)
Where is Little Island NYC locations?
Pier 55 at Hudson Park Hudson River, Greenway, New York 10014
Other things to do near Little Island NYC
We stayed at Little Island for about 90 minutes. Once we were done making our way through the Island, we took a walk over to Pier 57 rooftop.
How do you get to the rooftop?
To access the roof, you can go to the back of the building and make your way up the stairs or take the elevator. We decided to take the stairs so we could get the kids tired. (That did not work.) The only people that got tired were the big guy and me.
The actual building is still under construction, so some areas will say, “pardon our appearance.”
As far as the rooftop, the place looks amazing.
Once we got to the top, there was an open space of grass and stadium seats facing the street. On the other side, there were seats to sit and look at the view of the water and the New Jersey skyline.
Going to the rooftop is also an excellent way to get a good view and pictures of Little Island.
When we went to the rooftop, there were not many people there, which was nice so we could find seating with no problem.
There’s little to do on the rooftop, so we only stayed about 45 minutes and then went back down the stairs.
Where is Pier 57 Rooftop located?
Pier 57 at Hudson Park Hudson River, Greenway, New York 10014
It seemed like Mr. Softee was on every corner, which is a great thing because we love Mr. Softee.
The High Line
Our last stop on our trip was The High Line, which is not that long of a walk across the highway from Little Island,
The High line was a railroad system for freight trains to deliver food to lower Manhattan. Due to the dangerous conditions and deaths, the rail line closed in 1924. The Transit Commission ordered the removal of the tracks from the street level.
Later, in 1933, the tracks were raised, which is how the new railroad system got its new name, “West side Elevated line.”
Click here for the complete history of, The High Line.
Today the Railroad line is a beautiful place above the city streets where visitors can enjoy. The 1.45-mile-long structure now has different kinds of flowers and trees from the beginning to the end of the path.
For access to the Highline, you can take a set of stairs from the street level. If you cannot climb the stairs, an elevator is also available.
We did not have a plan when we visited the Highline, so we just walked a little way until we finished our ice cream. Once finished, we headed back to the car.
Even though we had no plans to go to just one particular destination once we arrived in the city, the children ended up enjoying themselves.
Thank you again for coming along on this journey with my family and me. If there’s any place you feel my family would enjoy visiting, please tell us in the comments below. You can also put any questions in the comments.
