I’m writing this post because there doesn’t seem to be any sort of authority on how to get into the Freedom Tunnel. All of the forum posts that I read prior to making my own trek down there essentially told me nothing other than go to 125th Street.
And I know this takes the fun out of it for some people, but it’s not like I’m telling you what’s inside the place (you’ll have to experience that for yourself), I’m just giving those people who are searching for answers a definitive response on where the exact location of the entrance is.
And just to make things clear, the entrance to the Freedom Tunnel is NOT at 125th Street.
The way I went in, and as far as I can tell, the way that many people went in too, is located at the intersection of St. Clair Place and the offramp from the Henry Hudson Parkway (aka Westside Highway). See below for the map.
From here, you can see the tracks leading in and out of the Freedom Tunnel which is just a few more yards ahead of you.
To get onto the tracks, you can access any of the holes along the chainlink fence that borders the slope of the offramp and the train tracks (it’s hard to see in the Google Maps image, but there’s a chainlink fence along the slope that runs between the offramp and the train tracks).
If any cars are driving down the offramp, they’ll see you walking along the highway, but don’t worry about that. So as I said, you walk along the fence until you see a hole and then you just climb through. There are actually multiple holes along the fence, some bigger than others, so if you can’t fit into one, I wouldn’t panic. Just walk a bit more and there will probably be another one.
Once you climb through, you’ll be presented with tracks and you’ll want to walk close to the fence until you see the scene below.
PLEASE NOTE: BE CAREFUL OF TRAINS. You may think that because the Amtrak Trains are diesel trains that they would be very loud. But they are not. They do have a habit of speeding along very quietly and sometimes you don’t even realize one is coming before it’s almost too late. So stay alert and always have someone spotting for trains.
Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing!
Man, that beware of trains part makes it so scary.
The first one that Simon and I saw freaked the hell out of us.
Hello:
I would like to post that I used to go into the tunnel a lot back in the days when conrail was using it and then became abandened until 1989 when Amtrak began lying down the new tracks that would bring the amtrak trains through today. I did not go into the tunnel much when it was not being used in the 80′s because of the elament that was there and I’m not refuring to the homeles’ A badly decomposing body was found down there recently near the 72nd street entrance which I read over the web and back then one man came at me with a basball bat and ran after me of course I was not going to stick around and find out what he would do so I ran. Another time that same fellow came at me with a meat cleaver so I did not go into his area any more.
Then in 1991 the amtrak police caught me down there at the 116th street exit, One of them had his gun drawn and ran toward the exit to see if there was any one else there with me and after that I was told never to go down there again after they took my picture. Also note that both tracks down there are reversable meaning that trains can come at you from behind when you think they come from in front of you, Amtrak always changes the tracks and the times so always be ready for surprises, One good thing is that there is no 700 volt third rail down there but who knows if that will change if amtrak brings the electric trains to the empire service.
Bottom line be careful, It sure was great going down there and thanks so much for the pictures brings back old times.
Charles
Charles you mader it sound so sketchy, baseball bat and meat clever! fuckin hell..
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has anyone gone into the tunnel via hell’s kitchen? how/where does one go about that?
is it illegal to go there tho?
yes. it is illegal. but mad fun.
when i first saw this i was a little annoyed, i found the entrance on my own and have always been kind of secretive about it, this is the first person i know of to openly talk about directions to the 125th st entrance. we kind of dont want it blown up.
howeverrrrr, i also think its cool that people are interested, so im actually kind of glad i see people talking about it.
Here are some suggestions for my fellow urban explorers about to go into the freedom tunnel:
Rule 1 BRING A FLASHLIGHT. NOT A CELLPHONE, A FLASHLIGHT.
Rule 2 Be polite to homeless people. Yes they are still down there, the ones I’ve run into are very nice. You a guest in their house essentially, so act like one.
Rule 3. Dont walk on the tracks. It is so easy to NOT get hit by a train because the tunnel is so wide, but there are turns and the trains are silent. So just dont walk directly on the tracks. Easy!
Rule 4
Dont go alone.
you say not to go alone but none of the people that i know are interested in that everyone is like oh you wanna risk your life just so that you see some old graffiti… and yh so i dont know if anyone is interested to go with me? i know that most people that were already there aren’t really going to be interested to go there again but still… just leave like a reply if you want to come with me
This is great, thanks for the info. Also, if anyone is interested, there is another entrance on 71st street in Riverside Park. When you’re in the park on 71st, there is a basketball court. In the back right hand corner there are some shipping containers, and behind those there is a hole in the fence which leads to the tunnel. Hope this helps. Does anyone know of any other entrances?
Herman, thanks for sharing this. i may do this tomorrow.
em dub: i do understand your concern. when a magical place becomes a tourist destination it loses… well, its magic and mystery. But I think only those truly interested in history and adventure – and respectful of the character of this site – only those will try and get it. I don’t think we will see crowds wondering through the tunnel any time soon… those folk will likely confine themselves to the Times Square :)
if trains see u is it okay?
It’s not good if the trains see you – you can be arrested for trespassing. Even if the train doesn’t stop, they can radio the police.
I know probably no one will reply to this, but can anyone screenshot the map and circle where the chain link fence is? thanks