Long Island City

A Sunset Walk at Gantry Plaza

Queens' front-row seat: tacos on Vernon Boulevard, then the old gantries, the piers, and a slow waterfront drift south as midtown lights up across the river.

Distance: ~2.1 km (1.3 mi)
Time: about 2.5 hrs
Stops: 4
Effort: easy

Distance and timing are editorial estimates along the suggested streets, not a live routing calculation — treat them as a generous guide.

Manhattan's skyline is best seen from outside Manhattan, and Long Island City has quietly become the place to do it. One subway stop from Grand Central, the Hunters Point waterfront runs for nearly a mile — restored industrial gantries, long piers reaching into the East River, and lawns that face due west. When the sun drops behind the Chrysler Building, the whole shoreline turns to watch.

This walk keeps the logistics simple. Come out of the Vernon Boulevard–Jackson Avenue station, eat early and well on the neighborhood's main street, then give the rest of the evening to the water: the rust-and-black gantries of Gantry Plaza State Park, the piers with their famous Pepsi-Cola sign, and a slow drift south through Hunter's Point South Park as the river goes pink and the towers across it switch on.

1
Vernon Blvd–Jackson Av station~5 min
Take the 7 one stop from Grand Central and surface on Vernon Boulevard, Hunters Point's low-rise main street.
2
Casa Enrique~60 min
An early dinner option a block from the station — Chiapas-style Mexican cooking in a plain white room. Go early or book; the room is small and the word is long out.
Michelin-starred Chiapas cooking in a quiet LIC storefront that never stopped being a neighborhood spot.
3
Gantry Plaza State Park~30 min
The park's centerpiece: two black steel gantries that once lifted rail cars onto barges, now framing the skyline. Walk the piers — each one angles at the river differently — and find the Pepsi-Cola sign at the north end.
Rail-crane relics, the Pepsi sign, and midtown closer across the water than anywhere else.
4
Hunter's Point South Park~25 min
Drift south along the continuous waterfront esplanade to the newer park's lawns and the point, where the river bends and the view widens to take in the whole midtown wall.

Practical tips

Sunset benches on the piers go fast on warm evenings — claim a spot on the furthest pier, which stays quietest.
The esplanade is continuous from Gantry Plaza into Hunter's Point South, so you never have to leave the water once you reach it.
The NYC Ferry's Hunters Point South landing is at the south end of the walk — riding back to Manhattan by boat is the best possible epilogue.

Scenic detours

LIC Landing by the ferry dock has a seasonal outdoor café if you would rather keep dinner on the waterfront itself.
With daylight to spare, Vernon Boulevard north of the station holds a string of coffee shops, wine bars, and the neighborhood's small-business strip.

Editorial draft — core details last reviewed October 11, 2026. Confirm practical details with the official site before you go.