NYC's High Line Reopens Its Wild Northern End, the Rail Yard Preserve, at 34th Street

The northernmost stretch of the High Line, the Rail Yard Preserve, is open again after a months-long restoration. Friends of the High Line announced the reopening on November 13.

The section starts at the 34th Street entrance, curves southwest around the Hudson Yards campus and meets the rest of the park at 30th Street. To the west is the Hudson River; the park calls this the only section of the High Line with completely unobstructed views. To the east, visitors look down over the yards where commuter trains are stored. What sets it apart is what was left alone: the self-seeded plants that took root after the trains stopped, the exposed rail tracks and the industrial structure, kept much as they were before the High Line became a park.

The 34th Street entrance has a new garden by Piet Oudolf, the Dutch designer behind the High Line's planting from the start. He layered trees, shrubs, ground covers and perennials into a dense thicket that screens out the neighboring parking lot and bus stop. Eastern redbud, Appalachian Spring dogwood, winged sumac and several viburnums anchor the mix, and the park's horticulture director expects migrating birds to stop for winterberry, viburnum and sumac berries in fall.

The Rail Yard Preserve first opened in 2014 as part of the High Line's third section. After 12 years of foot traffic and weather, the original path has been replaced with a more durable cast-in-place concrete. It can carry the same snow-removal equipment used elsewhere in the park, so this section can now stay open through the winter months, which it could not before. The historic Art Deco railings were re-encapsulated and the seating was rebuilt with new materials. The original team returned for the job: Field Operations as design lead, Buro Happold for engineering and Oudolf for the garden.

The 34th Street entrance, between 11th and 12th Avenues, is the only place to walk onto the High Line straight from the street, with no stairs or elevator. Coming from south of 30th Street, turn left at the Coach Passage and walk west past the Pershing Square Beams. The Rail Yard Preserve closes at dusk, so go before sunset for the river light.