Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunrise was one of our favorite memories from living in New York City for a few months in early 2021. We started with sunrise photography at Pier 17 as Manhattan’s skyscrapers glowed an intense orange color, before quickly hustling onto the bridge and walking over to Brooklyn. It was an icy cold morning in February, so we barely saw another soul!
In this guide we show you how to experience the Brooklyn Bridge at sunrise, based on our experiences.
Our Experience
We must have walked across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset and night at least 10 times, but we only managed the sunrise once. With that said, once was enough because it turned out to be a perfectly still, clear and quiet morning. Soft light and stunning colors illuminated the sky, and a warm relaxing ambience descended upon the bridge as we connected between the two world famous boroughs.
Now, walking the Brooklyn Bridge is among the most unmissable things to do in NYC no matter the time of day or night, so make sure it’s on your itinerary. But if you enjoy photography or you just want to avoid the crowds, sunrise is your time to shine. You can walk in either direction, but we recommend Manhattan to Brooklyn so you can do Pier 17 at first light. Trust us, it’s worth it! Read more about us.
Why Sunrise?
As travel photographers, we naturally love sunrises and sunsets. Dusk is easy enough in the city because New York’s observation decks are perfect at sunset. But sunrise is more challenging because there aren’t many obvious places to go for photography. Enter, the Brooklyn Bridge:
- You’ll see the Lower Manhattan skyline light up (instead of fall into shadow like at sunset).
- You get a unique opportunity to photograph the bridge under soft light and without crowds.
- You’ll end in Dumbo, Brooklyn at a perfect time of day to photograph the Manhattan Bridge.
- You can be greedy and enjoy the bridge’s pedestrian walkway almost entirely for yourself.
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of our favorite photo spots in NYC. We’re always looking for new and hidden places to take photos of the bridge, but walking across it is equally as much fun. And that’s especially true at dawn when the light is soft and there’s nobody else around.
Mid-morning to late afternoon you’ll be faced with either a blown out sky with a blazing sun or a grey and overcast cloudy sky which isn’t great for photos either. Walking the bridge at sunset or at night is amazing but you’ll also share the walkway with hundreds of tourists.
Start At Pier 17
Pier 17 is a shopping complex with bars and restaurants along the East River near Seaport. It has an ice rink in winter and it’s home to one of ESPN’s televised sports studios. The rooftop has a great elevated view and it’s free for the public to visit, but at sunrise you should stay at ground level and walk around to the back for direct views over the East River, Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge.
Look, this part isn’t something that you absolutely must do on a first visit to NYC, so skip it if you’re not interested in photography, you want to set a later alarm (we hear you!) or you just want to walk across the bridge. With that said, we do highly recommend making the extra effort because it’s a truly unique thing to experience in the city.
We checked sunrise times the night before and aimed to arrive during civil twilight. Then in the morning, we grabbed a massive hot coffee (it was freezing cold in February!) and set our maps app for Pier 17. Luckily we planned well and were staying in a nearby hotel. It’s almost like we do this for a living!
Here’s why we like Pier 17 for sunrise photography:
- East River foreground
- Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge middleground
- Lower East Side and Williamsburg high-rise buildings glowing
- Burnt orange sky background
There’s plenty of room to move around and use things like benches for leading lines in your foreground. The key is to arrive well before sunrise to you give yourself a bit of time to look around and figure out where you want to set up your tripod.
We took our photos on a snowy February morning and there around 10 people watching sunrise, which surprised us. We weren’t the only fools! But if you visit NYC in summer or when it’s warmer, expect the pier to be busy and maybe try to arrive even earlier to get a good spot.
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View NYC GuidebookWalk The Brooklyn Bridge
Now it’s time to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge as the sun begins to rise. Enter from the official Manhattan side of the bridge at City Hall Park (at Living Memorial Grove) if you skip Pier 17. Or if you go to Pier 17 first, use a hidden staircase on Park Row that leads up to the pedestrian walkway and saves about 5 minutes of precious time.
We quickly left the pier and beelined it for the staircase, which took around 10 minutes at a hasty pace. Then we began the long, slow and gradual incline up the bridge. If you’re a bit later than expected and the sun is already coming up, don’t stop for photos until you’re at least in line with or beyond Pier 17 (which you can see by looking down to the right).
All of the bridge’s photogenic structural features begin way further along the walkway. We used steel ropes, mesh fences, granite columns, benches and more to create interesting perspectives of the walkway with buildings behind and of course the sun rising.
Continue walking towards Brooklyn and the sun, but keep stopping to look back at Manhattan’s iconic skyline glowing under intense yellow and orange sunlight. The skyline opens up more and more the further you walk away, until it eventually reveals the tops of famous skyscrapers like 40 Wall Street and One World Observatory.
As you look back at Manhattan, to the distant left you’ll see the Statue of Liberty and to the right Midtown Manhattan’s Empire State Building. You’ll likely enjoy long stretches of the bridge to yourself but if not, simply wait a few seconds until it clears. And if you’ve ever walked across the bridge when it’s jam-packed, you’ll appreciate the solitude at dawn even more!
End At DUMBO In Brooklyn
It’s going to take you somewhere between 45 minutes and 1 hour 30 minutes to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunrise, depending on how many times you stop to take photos. But your morning isn’t over just yet, we have a fantastic bonus photo spot in store for you!
Keep your camera handy and take the staircase down to Cadman Plaza on the corner with Prospect Street directly from the walkway. You’ll see the steps not long after the “welcome to Brooklyn” letters painted on the ground. Once you reach street level, head north on Washington Street a few blocks and look ahead.
You’ll instantly recognize one of New York City’s most popular photo spots, the Manhattan Bridge View in Dumbo. This place is alway packed full of tourists, social media influencers and professional photographers during the day. But if you arrive early enough after your sunrise walk, there’s a small chance you’ll have this famous spot to yourself.
We tried the Manhattan Bridge View at least 3 or 4 times and it was always like a tropical ocean filled with circling sharks. But when we walked across the bridge and arrived not long after the sun had risen, we finally had it to ourselves for a few minutes. And those precious few minutes were like gold dust!
The beauty of walking from Manhattan to Brooklyn is that you’re now in Dumbo at a great time of day. You can walk around Pebble Beach, Jane’s Carousel, Brooklyn Bridge Park and Old Pier 1 to get more photos of the bridge with Lower Manhattan skyline views. Then, we highly recommend visiting Time Out Market for breakfast before finishing on the rooftop with yet another great bridge view.
Route Map
Click or touch the map below to activate, then zoom in and out and move around the map to see exactly how to follow our route. You can also click on the view larger map icon in the top right to expand the map, which is much easier to see.
Map Key:
- Red – Places you’ll visit
- Blue – Exact walking route
Tip: Save this blog post so you can open up the map when you’re ready to begin and simply hit directions to each point from your location.
The Morgan Conclusion
In our experience, sunrise was by far the quietest and most relaxing time for us to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. The lack of crowds allowed us to take plenty of clear photos without having to wait around or dodge selfie sticks. And we highly recommend checking out the sunrise view from Pier 17 if you want to take home some unique photos from your trip to the city.
But if you’re looking for a more electric atmosphere with hundreds of people collectively soaking up the unique buzz and positive vibe, you should walk across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset or at night instead. Both are amazing, it all comes down to how you prefer to travel and visit new places.
We hope our guide to walking across the Brooklyn Bridge at sunrise helps with planning your visit to NYC!
Please let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.
Happy Travels,
Mark and Kristen
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Mark and Kristen Morgan are travel, hiking and photography experts. Over the last 6 years traveling full time, they have explored more than 40 countries and 30 US states.
Where Are Those Morgans has been featured in USA Today, Gestalten, Get Your Guide, CityPASS and Condé Nast Traveler along with various other publications. Read more about us.