Take the tram and spend an afternoon on Roosevelt Island
A red cabin above the East River is a fine beginning. Stay for the island’s waterfront, a garden by Louis Kahn and the pleasure of taking a different route home.
Inside this guide
For a moment, the city has no pavement. A red cabin lifts away from Second Avenue, the Queensboro Bridge fills the window and Manhattan becomes something you can look back at. The Roosevelt Island Tram makes a short journey feel improbably grand.
Give the island on the other side some time. South of the terminal, the outing changes pace: a university campus, the remains of a hospital, then a garden narrowing toward the river. At its tip, Louis Kahn’s memorial turns a few elementary things — stone, trees, sky — into a reason to stay. Take the aerial entrance, walk south and decide how to get home later.
You are boarding a commute
The Manhattan terminal is at East 60th Street and Second Avenue. RIOC, the island’s operating corporation, accepts OMNY on the tram and charges the standard MTA fare. That makes this a remarkably accessible way to see the river from above: an adult full-fare boarding currently costs $3. Tap a contactless bank card, phone, wearable or OMNY card; an ordinary visitor does not need to book a sightseeing package.
It is also a route that residents depend on. Weekday rush periods run from 7 to 10 a.m. and 2:30 to 7 p.m., according to RIOC. If your afternoon is flexible, aim outside those windows and leave room for people making everyday journeys. A short crossing can still involve a wait before boarding; the live cameras linked from RIOC’s tram page are more useful for judging a queue than a promise of a “best” departure time.
The cabins accommodate mobility devices, strollers and bicycles. Inside, let the view arrive rather than making a window position the point of the trip. The bridge’s steelwork and the space above the water are the spectacle. Once you step out at Tramway Plaza on the island, the pace is yours again.
