The best way to walk the entire length of Manhattan

So, you want to walk the length of Manhattan, from the tippity top to the tippity bottom. Maybe you were inspired by the 2019 Broad City episode (people online still refer to this walk as “the Broad City challenge” after all), maybe you were inspired by the scores of TikTok and YouTube girlies who’ve documented themselves making the trek, maybe you just really love walkin’ here.

However the idea got planted in your head, we strongly support it. Besides just being a wholesome way to spend a day, walking the length of Manhattan is a prime opportunity to see the city from a new perspective, and more to the point, to spend some time in neighborhoods you don’t normally get to, or scope out sites that have been on your “I should really get to that list” for years. Once you’ve finished the walk, it’s also a prime opportunity to brag.

And while you don’t need a specific reason to want to walk Manhattan’s glorious 14-ish-mile length, what you do need is a plan: What’s worth bringing on your five-plus-hour sojourn, what you should leave at home, how can you avoid potential injury and illness, is there anything to be done to make the Midtown portion of the schlep minimally unpleasant? 

Luckily, Tim, Dave and I are all hot-steppin’ sickos who’ve done this walk for ourselves, and we’ve rounded up best practices based on both expert advice and our own victories and failures. Fall is the prime time to get this walk in before the weather turns cold and inhospitable, so heed our warnings, do a few stretches, and get ready to hit those streets.