Walkway Over the Hudson Historic State Park, Poughkeepsie, New York

The Walkway Over the Hudson Historic State Park is a pedestrian bridge over the Hudson River that links Poughkeepsie and Highland, New York. The bridge was built in the late 1800s for train traffic and was ruined by a fire in 1974. It was refurbished and opened in 2009 as a pedestrian/cyclist bridge. The walkway reaches 212 feet above the Hudson River and is 6,768 feet long (or 1.28 miles), making it the longest elevated pedestrian bridge in the world. 

Starting from the Poughkeepsie side

A map on the bridge shows the various areas nearby, including the neighborhoods and sights of Poughkeepsie, various biking trails, and a 4.2 mile loop trail across the Walkway and the Mid-Hudson Bridge, the bridge for car traffic just south of the Walkway.

With the kids in tow, we did not make the 4 mile loop

A good portion of the bridge is over the town, giving pedestrians a nice view.

Homes

View to the Mid-Hudson Bridge

Poughkeepsie waterfront

The bridge has several signs on it about the history, use, construction, and reconstruction of the bridge.

Showing the support structure

Building the bridge

The center of the bridge is the location of Virtual Reward: Walkway Over the Hudson, a virtual geocache that requires a picture as proof of being there rather than a signature in a log book.

Me, the bridge, the river

I could have taken my photo from the other side of the bridge with the Mid-Hudson in the background.

The less pedestrian-friendly bridge

Mid-bridge view of the south end of Poughkeepsie

Mid-bridge view of the north end of Poughkeepsie

We saw the rail lines running along the side of the river and were surprised to see a small waterfall that seems to go underneath. 

Waterfall and trains

House with a spare house in the backyard

The bridge does have some amenities, including a plaza with a gift shop, at which we did not shop.

East Gate Plaza

We also saw a work of art that was...interesting?

"DNA Totem"

The kids weren't too enthusiastic about crossing the bridge but we adults appreciated the chance to do something unusual and to get a little exercise as we traveled.