Origin
Washington Heights, NY
Morning in Washington Heights on Sunday
Local time
10:58 AM
EDT
Current temp
53°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Washington Heights, NY to Manhattan, NY
Compiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 19, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
13m
Distance
6.7 mi
11 km
Drive Score
8/10
Great drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$1
one way
EV Charging
Good
8 stations
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 12m
★
6 AM
0h 13m
8 AM
0h 16m
10 AM
0h 14m
12 PM
0h 14m
3 PM
0h 14m
5 PM
0h 16m
8 PM
0h 13m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Washington Heights, NY
Renan Tagliaferro
Manhattan, NY
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
Traveling from Washington Heights to Manhattan is a quick, 6.3-mile trip that typically takes about 16 minutes. Since you are staying within the Northeast region, this route functions perfectly as a simple day trip that requires no overnight stops. You will navigate primarily via Broadway, West 177th Street, and NY 9A to reach your destination. With a fuel cost of roughly $1, this is an incredibly economical journey that fits easily into any schedule. It is a straightforward local transit that avoids the complexity of long-distance planning, making it ideal for those who need to get across the city efficiently.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Henry Hudson Parkway | 4.2 mi | 6m |
| Broadway | 0.6 mi | 1m |
| West 86th Street | 0.4 mi | 1m |
| West 79th Street | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| West 177th Street | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| 86th Street Transverse | 0.2 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Henry Hudson Parkway
— 4.2 mi, about 6m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Washington Heights, NY and Manhattan, NY.
1
Start on US 9
0.2 mi
·
53 sec
·
Broadway
2
Turn right onto West 177th Street
0.2 mi
·
43 sec
·
West 177th Street
3
Take the ramp
0.2 mi
·
30 sec
Toward NY 9A: Henry Hudson Parkway, Riverside Drive
4
Turn slight right
0.4 mi
·
46 sec
Toward NY 9A: Henry Hudson Parkway, Downtown, Riverside Drive
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
5
Merge onto HH; NY 9A
4.2 mi
·
6 min
·
Henry Hudson Parkway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
6
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
27 sec
Toward Boat Basin, Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of Natural History, Children's Museum Of Manhattan, JCC in Manhattan, Lincoln Center, New York Historical Society, New York Institute of Technology
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7
Continue on West 79th Street
0.2 mi
·
51 sec
·
West 79th Street
Use the straight / right lanes.
8
Turn left onto Broadway
0.4 mi
·
56 sec
·
Broadway
9
Turn right onto West 86th Street
0.4 mi
·
1 min
·
West 86th Street
10
Continue on 86th Street Transverse
0.2 mi
·
35 sec
·
86th Street Transverse
Toward East Side
Use the straight / left lanes.
11
Arrive at destination
86th Street Transverse
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 85 decision points cluster between mile 0.2 and 5.3 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
4
0.2 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
West 177th Street
Turn right onto West 177th Street
Navigation decision point
5
0.4 mi into trip
|
~1m in
Take the ramp toward NY 9A: Henry Hudson Parkway, Riverside Drive
Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Toward NY 9A: Henry Hudson Parkway, Riverside D...
5
0.7 mi into trip
|
~2m in
Turn slight right toward NY 9A: Henry Hudson Parkway, Downtown, Riverside Drive
Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Toward NY 9A: Henry Hudson Parkway, Downtown, R...
5
1 mi into trip
|
~2m in
|
HH; NY 9A / Henry Hudson Parkway
Merge onto HH; NY 9A / Henry Hudson Parkway
Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7
5.3 mi into trip
|
~9m in
Take the exit toward Boat Basin, Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of Natural History, Children's Museum Of Manhattan, JCC in Manhattan, Lincoln Center, New York Historical Society, New York Institute of Technology
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Toward Boat Basin, Metropolitan Museum of Art,...
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$1.10 one way
$2.21 round trip
$4.18/gal
25.4 MPG avg
2 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.52 | $1.19 | $2.39 |
| premium | $4.92 | $1.30 | $2.60 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $1.48 | $2.96 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$1
Estimated CO2 emission: 2.3 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $1 in charging · 0 stops · 50% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 2 | 0 | $0.70 | $0.32 |
| Efficient EV | 1.7 | 0 | $0.59 | $0.27 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 2.7 | 0 | $0.94 | $0.43 |
Gas CO2
2 kg
EV CO2
1 kg (50% less)
This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.
DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.
Travel Intel
Current conditions at both ends of the drive.
Destination
Manhattan, NY
Morning in Manhattan on Sunday
Local time
10:58 AM
EDT
Current temp
49°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Time zone
Same local time
Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.
Temperature spread
4 degrees cooler at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
13m on the road
Use the two city cards together: check the sky where you start, then compare it with the local time and temperature at arrival.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
What kind of drive is this?
Expect a turn-heavy local drive as you navigate through the urban landscape. Because this route involves zero highway driving, you will remain on surface streets for the entire 6.3-mile duration. The absence of high-speed interstate stretches means your pace will be dictated by city traffic patterns and local intersections. You will experience a consistent, low-speed environment that requires your full attention on navigation rather than long-distance cruising. It is a technical, short-distance drive that prioritizes urban connectivity over open-road travel.
63% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
11 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 4.2 mi on Henry Hudson Parkway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
5/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Henry Hudson Parkway and Broadway. You will hit about 8 points where you need to pay attention to lane position or signs. The trickiest moment comes around 0.2 miles in near West 177th Street.
Driving Effort
5/10
Moderate - straightforward overall, but long enough or busy enough to require pacing
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This drive requires moderate attention. Across 6.7 miles you will encounter 8 spots where lane choice or exit timing matters. Not difficult for experienced highway drivers, but worth previewing the tricky sections before you go.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.2 miles (West 177th Street): Navigation decision point; at 0.4 miles: Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 0.7 miles: Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
Between Washington Heights, NY and Manhattan, NY, road signs point toward Downtown, Boat Basin, Metropolitan Museum Of Art, American Museum Of Natural History, Children's Museum Of Manhattan and Jcc In Manhattan - among others.
Downtown
0.7 mi in
|
~2m
Boat Basin
5.3 mi in
|
~9m
Metropolitan Museum Of Art
5.3 mi in
|
~9m
American Museum Of Natural History
5.3 mi in
|
~9m
Children's Museum Of Manhattan
5.3 mi in
|
~9m
Jcc In Manhattan
5.3 mi in
|
~9m
Lincoln Center
5.3 mi in
|
~9m
New York Historical Society
5.3 mi in
|
~9m
New York Institute Of Technology
5.3 mi in
|
~9m
About the Cities
Starting in Washington Heights, NY
Full guide →Arriving in Manhattan, NY
Full guide →Founded 1624
Wall Street. Madison Avenue. 34th Street. Broadway. Times Square. Manhattan is so well known that even the names of its streets have become iconic and understood the world over. This long, thin island is only one of New York City's five boroughs, but it's Manhattan that has the concrete canyons and the inimitable skyline; Manhattan that has the world's brightest theater district; Manhattan that has Central Park, Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, and the Met; and Manhattan that includes iconic neighborhoods like Harlem, the Upper East Side, Times Square, and Greenwich Village. The rest of New York City has much to see and do, but it's Manhattan that represents the city—and sometimes the entire United States—to the world. You could spend a month on this tiny island and still not see all there is to see.
Top landmarks
- • Empire State Building — skyscraper located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, USA
City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 13m. Total distance: 6.7 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
13m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (63%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 4.2 miles on Henry Hudson Parkway. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.
Yes. At under 2 hours behind the wheel, this works well for families — plan one quick stop if you have younger kids.
The main spots that need attention: at 0.2 miles (West 177th Street): Navigation decision point; at 0.4 miles: Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 0.7 miles: Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Yes — General Grant National Memorial, Hamilton Grange National Memorial and Stonewall National Monument (6 total within detour distance). See the National Parks section for detour distances and tips on detours.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Manhattan, NY before heading back.
How this page is built
Compiled by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, EIA for fuel prices, and NPS for national parks. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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