As I train for the Marine Corps Marathon, finding different routes to run for my long training mileage has been challenging.  Knowing you will be on the road for 3 hours, Running the same old path doesn’t make for too much motivation.

One weekend I made it a “first” for me to run over the 59th Street Bridge and another weekend to run over the George Washington Bridge.  No, this isn’t a running blog.  I found it very difficult to find directions on the Internet for pedestrian access to the bridges from the Manhattan.  Staying true to my mission of my blog, I want share my findings and my learning’s from my long runs of NYC bridges.

To get onto the 59th Street Bridge, there is a ramp at 1st Avenue and 60th street (under the bridge) that will take you up a ramp heading west.

To get onto the George Washington Bridge is bit trickier.  I was running north on the Hudson River Greenway and from there I found the following directions at: http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/07/07/mapped-hudson-river-greenway-to-the-george-washington-bridge/

Stay on the path under the bridge, take the bridge over Amtrak, the tunnel under S-bound parkway, the path then switches back south then north to parallel the N-bound parkway, which it crosses at a ped bridge to Riverside Drive. Go right onto Riverside, then left on 181st up to Ft. Washington. Depending on preference and access, go to either of the bridge path entrances.

Another tip to note that I found out the hard way at my 14th mile mark (of 20), is above 60th street or so, it isn’t as easy to get to the Greenway, which travels along the Hudson River, from further in the island.  You will most likely have to climb down some stairs and somehow find your way across the West Side Highway as there are few access ways.

Be sure to do your homework before heading out.  If you look hard enough, there is always a way to your destination.  Happy Running!