The High Line's wild Rail Yard Preserve reopens, now open all winter with a new 34th Street garden

The northernmost stretch of the High Line, the Rail Yard Preserve between West 30th and West 34th streets, reopened Friday after a months-long restoration, and for the first time it will stay open through the winter, 6sqft and the Friends of the High Line said.

With the reopening of the street-level entrance at West 34th Street, the entire 1.45-mile park is now open with no construction sheds on it, 6sqft reported, citing the High Line's senior director of horticulture, Richard Hayden, in The New York Times.

What's new

• A new 34th Street garden: Dutch designer Piet Oudolf planted a dense thicket of 52 trees and shrubs at the entrance between 11th and 12th avenues, layered with perennials, to screen the neighboring bus stop and parking lot and feed migrating birds. Eastern redbud, Appalachian Spring dogwood, winged sumac and viburnums echo the rest of the park; yellow archangel makes its High Line debut, according to 6sqft.
• Step-free access: the 34th Street entrance is the only place you can walk onto the High Line straight from the sidewalk, without stairs or an elevator, the High Line said.
• Open all winter: the old path couldn't carry snow-removal equipment, which limited winter access. Its replacement, cast-in-place exposed aggregate concrete, can, so the section can stay open year-round, the High Line said. Because of limited lighting, it closes after dusk, 6sqft reported.
• Restored details: the historic Art Deco railings were re-encapsulated and the seating upgraded.

Why this stretch is different

When the section first opened 12 years ago, it kept the self-seeded grasses and wildflowers that grew over the abandoned tracks, with far less planting than the rest of the park. That wild look is what first inspired the effort to save the rail line, the High Line says. The preserve curves around Hudson Yards and is the only part of the park with unobstructed Hudson River views in several directions; on the east side, visitors look down on the yard where commuter trains are stored.

The work was done by the park's original design team: Field Operations as design lead, Buro Happold on engineering and Oudolf on the gardens. It follows the reopening of the Prairie Terrace at 17th Street earlier this year after nine years under scaffolding, 6sqft noted.

Getting there: enter at West 34th Street between 11th and 12th avenues. The 7 train's 34th Street–Hudson Yards station is the closest subway stop.