Roosevelt Island-Manhattan

Jun 11

We had a full dog friendly adventure in Roosevelt Island! Here is the itinerary!

Roosevelt Island Tram

We started the day by taking the Roosevelt Island Tram from 60th st & 2nd Ave over to the island. The trams costs the same as a subway swipe and if you’ve never taken one, we highly recommend it, as it’s a truly unique experience. Their site says dogs are allowed in bags, same rules as a subway, but we ended up carrying Benji on and it was just fine. We saw other people walking their small/medium dog on as well, but beware on the weekends the tram gets quite crowded. We waited for the next one so we could get a good view.

The view of the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge from the tram platform.

Benji looking to the right, from the inside of the tram with the Ed Koch Queensboro bridge in the background.

Benji looking down at the traffic from the inside of the Roosevelt Island Tram car.

Dog Run #1

Once we got on the island, right to the left of the tram car exit is a large park that has a small fenced in dog park called Southtown Dog Run, so we let Benji off leash to enjoy!

Benji with his tongue out and a large reddish tan dog sniffing him in the park.

Benji running to the camera with his tongue out and ears back looking happy.

Benji running to the camera with his tongue out. There is an athletic field in the background and the Ed Koch Bridge in the back.

Brunch

After that, we got some brunch at Granny Annie's Bar & Kitchen, which had covered seating that is dog friendly! Outside seating here has heaters and there is a side shade that can be pulled up to block wind on colder days, so this is an all season dog friendly restaurant! They brought us a dog bowl to give Benji some water right away as they were seating us. They serve brunch until 3 on the weekends.

Interior of Granny Annie's Bar & Kitchen, the covered outdoor seating area.

Benji standing on the ground in front of a blue water bowl. He is smiling and looks happy.

The table with brunch food on it, Benji sitting at the edge of the table looking up.

Exploring the Island

We then took a stroll along the water, unfortunately even as of the second weekend of April, most of the cherry blossoms are gone for the season but it is still gorgeous to visit. We passed by the FDR Hope Memorial and the cool old Smallpox Memorial Hospital and learned that unfortunately the FDR Four Freedoms State Park at the south end of the island does not allow dogs.

Benji sitting in front of the FDR Hope Memorial.

Benji sitting in the dog backpack on his mom (Kelly's) back.

The citibike station at the south of the island.

Biking Around & Dog Run #2

After that, we put Benji in his backpack, grabbed a Citibike (use our link for a free unlock!) on the southern most station, and took it for a ride along the east side of the island. The views are amazing and it is such a great ride. Once we got closer to the north end, we found the second dog run on the island, Octagon Dog Run, so we stopped and gave Benji a break for the backpack.

The Octagon Dog Run with a wood chip surface and a few benches.

Benji sitting in the middle of the Octagon Dog Run with large trees in the background.

Benji & Kelly riding a Citibike together. He is in the backpack and smiling in the back.

Lighthouse Park & Dessert

After that, we continued on to the northern most point with Lighthouse Park and The Girl Puzzle monument. There is a gorgeous grassy seating area and amazing views of the city.

We biked back down, dropped the bikes off at the northern most station (there are 3 on the island) and walked down to Island Rolls & Bowls to grab a cup of gelato to enjoy! They are a Mexican restaurant that also serves gelato and has a full pasty case and they allowed Benji inside as we ordered.