2 Bridges Swim Under The Walkway

The 2 Bridges Swim Under The Walkway is an open water swimming race held in the Hudson River at Poughkeepsie, New York. Organized by New York Open Water, this early season river event offers swimmers two main course options over distances of 2,500 meters and 5,000 meters. The wide Hudson corridor provides a true river swim where competitors encounter moving tidal currents and cool water temperatures right from the start. The race is staged directly from the public dock at Waryas Park in Poughkeepsie. Swimmers plunge from the dock into a rectangular course mapped out on the river, circling the eastern stanchions of two monumental crossings: the Mid-Hudson Bridge and the Walkway Over the Hudson.

The two bridges sit 900 meters apart, establishing the boundaries of the swim. Swimmers in the 2.5K race complete a single circuit around the bridge piers, while those taking on the 5K distance complete two loops of the course. Stepping into the river early in the season demands focus as swimmers meet the Hudson's tidal flow and crisp conditions. The course runs along a shoreline marked by cliffs rising above the river's edge, giving swimmers a dramatic natural backdrop. The massive bridge structures overhead serve as exceptional visual landmarks for sighting and maintaining a steady course.

The 2 Bridges Swim: water temperature, current and editions

New York Open Water says the water temperature for the 2 Bridges Swim has historically ranged from 62-68°F, with no guarantees. On the 5K course the current begins to pick up, so depending on speed a swimmer may have to swim even harder during the second loop to finish. The lower half of the Hudson is a tidal estuary occupying the Hudson Fjord, an inlet carved out by North American glaciers. Even as far north as the city of Troy, the flow of the Hudson changes direction with the tides. Wetsuits are allowed in the 2 Bridges Swim, but wetsuit swimmers are placed in a different category for their record of completion and any awards. New York Open Water keeps results pages for the 2 Bridges Swim for each year from 2012 to 2018.

Walkway Over the Hudson and the Mid-Hudson Bridge

The Walkway Over the Hudson was originally constructed as a railroad bridge and extends for a total structure length of 6,768 feet including its approaches. Its wide deck is situated approximately 212 feet above the surface of the river, creating an immense open frame far above swimmers turning around the eastern pier. The former rail link stood idle after a fire on May 8, 1974 damaged about 700 feet of its deck and underlying structure, before being restored and reopened to the public in 2009 as an elevated pedestrian bridge. The swimming circuit is bounded by the Mid-Hudson Bridge, built in 1930 to carry U.S. Route 44 between Poughkeepsie and Highland.

These two spans represent the city's two major crossings over the Hudson River. Building the Mid-Hudson Bridge required sinking caissons weighing 66,000 tons deep into the riverbed. The bridge deck provides a clearance of 135 feet above the water and features stiffening trusses positioned on top of the deck rather than below it. An LED lighting system lines the suspension cables, illuminating the bridge above the water.

Poughkeepsie waterfront: paths, whaling and the Hudson railway

Poughkeepsie's lowest elevation point is located along the Hudson River. The city rises steeply over the riverbank, where the terrain slopes up toward historic neighborhoods. The Italian Center building sits near the western edge of downtown where the ground slopes down toward the river. In the Union Street Historic District, the district's topography slopes downward from east to west toward the Hudson River, rising 200 feet above the shoreline. During the settlement period, Union Street began as a simple footpath used by residents to connect the early community with a store on the riverbank. In 1767, this original walking trail was widened into the first formal road connecting Poughkeepsie to the river, appearing on local maps in 1799 under the name Union Store Road.

Similarly, in the adjacent Mill Street–North Clover Street Historic District on the slope, Mill Street served as an early path linking the settlement on the plateau down to the Hudson. During the nineteenth century, Poughkeepsie's river frontage developed into a major commercial and manufacturing hub, becoming an important center for whale rendering and industries alongside the water. The arrival of the Hudson River Railroad in the 1850s fueled rapid growth and prosperity throughout the slope neighborhoods leading to the river.

Fall Kill creek and the frozen winter river

The Fall Kill empties into the Hudson River at the end of its 38-mile run. While its northern section contains marshes and wetlands that harbor protected and threatened wildlife species, the creek's urban stretch was heavily utilized for industrial production in the nineteenth century. It provided water power to grind dye materials, and the Innis Dye Works building, constructed in the 1830s, still stands near the creek's junction with the Hudson River. During the Great Depression, workers channelized a 2.5-mile stretch of the Fall Kill through Poughkeepsie using stone retaining walls. Today, the stream has recovered, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation classifies the creek as suitable for fishing.

While the 2 Bridges Swim takes place in open, flowing water, the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie freezes over during cold winters. About four kilometers from the race site, near the Hyde Park Marina, stands the Roosevelt Point Cottage and Boathouse on the riverbank. This boathouse was constructed specifically to house a 68-foot ice yacht named Icicle. Built with a double-pitched roof inspired by Dutch Colonial architecture, the structure features an open area between the roof pitches designed to provide cross-ventilation.

Waryas Park and the Walkway riverside promenade

From Upper Landing Park right beside the river, a modern glass elevator carries visitors straight up to the Walkway Over the Hudson deck. This elevated structure links the Dutchess Rail Trail on the eastern side of the Hudson with the Hudson Valley Rail Trail on the western shore, creating an unbroken trail network spanning the Hudson River. Cyclists and walkers can also cross the river using the pedestrian and bicycle walkway built onto the Mid-Hudson Bridge. Along the trail, visitors can discover preserved rail history, including an antique steel caboose built in 1915 and donated to the trail association in 2006, as well as a second caboose from 1926 located at the Haviland Road parking area.