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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.

Things to do near you · GuidesChecked October 31, 20266 min read

A red tram cabin crosses beside the Queensboro Bridge. Lichtwolke / Shutterstock / Time Out

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.

A temporary solution that became part of the city

The tram opened in 1976 as an interim transit connection. Fifty years later, it remains part of the island’s transport system. Its appeal comes partly from that double life: a familiar journey for a resident can be a visitor’s most unusual few minutes of the day.

There is work behind the seemingly effortless passage. In a 2024 Time Out report, journalist Rossilynne Skena Culgan spoke with the tram’s operations team and longtime attendant Gregg Paravati. He described watching the skyline acquire new buildings over decades. The report also documented the equipment renewal in 2010. The view changes; people and machinery keep the crossing going.

The original cabins have a different future to negotiate. For the tram’s 50th anniversary, RIOC invited ideas for reusing two retired cabins that had spent more than a decade in storage under the Motorgate Helix. Art installations and community uses were among the possibilities. The call for ideas has closed. These possible second lives are still ideas in the anniversary announcement. It is a useful reminder that even a beloved city object has a life after its working days.

At street level, take the long way south

Turn the trip into an afternoon by following the island south toward Southpoint and Four Freedoms Park. You can walk, stop at the water and continue when you are ready. The free Red Bus is another option for moving around the island; its routes include the tram, Cornell Tech and Southpoint. Check the direction before boarding rather than assuming every stop serves both ways.

Cornell Tech changes the scale of this part of the island. Its campus brings contemporary buildings and a university’s daily activity into the walk. The university lists public campus hours of 7 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily. Its location just south of the Queensboro Bridge station makes the outdoor campus a natural part of the route toward Southpoint.

Farther south, the Smallpox Hospital introduces a very different architectural language. James Renwick Jr.’s Gothic Revival hospital was built in 1854–56; the Roosevelt Island Historical Society places it within the island’s long institutional history. Look at the surviving shell from outside. Against the new campus and the approaching white memorial, its broken stonework makes the changes in the island’s purpose unusually visible.

A garden that draws you to one point

Four Freedoms Park occupies the southern tip. The memorial takes its name from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s January 6, 1941 address and its freedoms of speech and worship, and from want and fear. The park opened to the public in October 2012, long after Kahn’s design. A walk that began with a moving skyline ends with a very deliberate place to stand still.

Kahn organized the triangular site around an axis. Trees define the garden, the lawn draws the eye forward and the stonework brings the composition toward its river end. Walk the center line first, then look from the side. The change of position makes the geometry easier to understand: a garden that feels generous near its entrance becomes more concentrated as it approaches the memorial.

The surrounding city remains present. Through the trees and beyond the edges, there is water, bridge and skyline. The design gives those things a frame. You do not need an architecture vocabulary to enjoy it; notice where your eye goes, how the opening ahead changes, and when you start walking more slowly.

The room has a sky for a ceiling

At the end is the Room, an outdoor enclosure of granite. Jo Davidson’s portrait of Roosevelt faces the approaching garden; beyond it, stone and open sky hold the visitor near the river. The Conservancy’s account of the design makes the sequence clear: the garden prepares the approach, and the Room gathers it into a final, more enclosed space.

The photograph can make this place seem removed from New York. In person, the design’s subject includes the city around it. Look through the opening between the granite blocks, then turn toward the water. A wall becomes a frame; the skyline becomes part of the composition. Leave time for both the long view down the garden and the smaller view through the stone.

This is also where practical planning matters. The state park is free, closes on Tuesdays and follows seasonal hours. For October through March, its current published schedule is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; April through September is 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Work back from closing time when you plan the walk south, and check the day’s visiting information before leaving the terminal.

Make room for the unhurried part

Give a first visit an afternoon. You may want only a walk to the memorial and back, or time to stop around the campus and river. A few stops with time between them will do.

Bring food plans into that decision. Four Freedoms Park permits food only in designated areas; the Conservancy directs visitors to Southpoint Park for accessible public bathrooms, because the memorial has none on site. There is an independently operable platform lift at the Grand Stairs, and service animals are welcome. Those details can matter more to an enjoyable afternoon than fitting in another viewpoint.

Choose a different way back

You can return on the tram, but the island also gives you a choice of perspectives. The subway connects you with other parts of the city; NYC Ferry keeps you on the water. Compare the actual next departure and your destination before choosing. A tram ticket and a ferry ticket belong to different systems.

Pay particular attention to the subway letter. Since the December 2025 weekday route swap, Roosevelt Island is served by the M from approximately 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on weekdays, and by the F at night and on weekends. Older F-only directions miss that change. Check current service as you leave; planned work can change the ordinary pattern.

Three ways back to Manhattan

Tram

Another look across the river; a direct return to East 60th Street and Second Avenue.

Standard adult fare $3 per boarding. A separate full-fare trip each way is $6 before any applicable discount or transfer. Check the queue and current service.

Subway

Continuing through the city without returning to the tram terminal.

M on weekdays about 6 a.m.–9:30 p.m.; F at night and on weekends. Standard adult fare $3. Recheck service for your destination.

NYC Ferry

Staying with the river. The Astoria route serves Roosevelt Island and East 34th Street.

Standard one-way ticket $5, bought through NYC Ferry. Use the current Astoria timetable; this is a separate ticketing system from OMNY.

Before you cross

Tram service

Sunday–Thursday, 6 a.m.–2 a.m. the following morning; Friday–Saturday, 6 a.m.–3:30 a.m. the following morning. RIOC lists 7½-minute rush and 15-minute off-peak intervals. Check current notices and live cameras before leaving for the terminal.RIOC tram information and live cameras ↗

Pay and board

Manhattan: East 60th Street and Second Avenue. Island: Tramway Plaza. The adult full fare is $3. OMNY accepts a contactless bank card, phone, wearable or OMNY card. Allow $6 for two separate full-fare boardings before any applicable discounts or transfers.

Memorial hours and access

Four Freedoms Park is free and closed Tuesdays. October–March: 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; April–September: 9 a.m.–7 p.m., subject to current notices and holiday exceptions. The Conservancy lists a platform lift at the Grand Stairs and accessible bathrooms at Southpoint Park, not inside the memorial.Four Freedoms Park visiting information ↗

A river return

The Astoria ferry landing is on the island’s east side, by Cornell Tech. The standard one-way fare is $5. Compare the live timetable and your destination before buying; the ferry uses its own ticketing system.NYC Ferry Astoria route and departures ↗