From riverfront picnic areas to awe-inspiring cliffs, Palisades Park has much to offer visitors.
By: Michele S. Byers
New Jersey has great parks and outdoor destinations in every corner, and in the case of Palisades Park, I mean that literally.
Located in Bergen County at the New York state border, the park is made up of about 2,500 acres of natural land, including almost 12 miles of scenic Hudson Riverfront and rugged uplands.
Palisades Park is the better-known name of the New Jersey section of Palisades Interstate Park a system of parks in New Jersey and New York that includes over 100,000 acres of parkland and historic sites maintained by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC), along the Hudson and as far inland as Sterling Forest in the Highlands.
New Jersey and New York created the bistate commission a first for the conservation movement in 1900, to protect the cliffs of the historic Hudson River Palisades. The scenic beauty of the Palisades was threatened by mining interests wanting to quarry the stone.
Five million people were visiting PIPC parks annually in 1925. In response to the congestion all this tourist traffic caused in local communities, the 42-mile scenic Palisades Interstate Parkway was eventually built from the George Washington Bridge to Bear Mountain, N.Y. Today, the parkway itself is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The entire park is steeped in history. The Alpine area, for example, was part of a 19th-century settlement of fishing villages known as "Undercliff" for their location at the base of the Palisades. The Kearney House is the last remaining structure from the era, built in 1802 with additions in 1840 and the early 1900s. It was a home, tavern and police station before it became a museum.
Visitors to the Alpine area also can enjoy a scenic riverfront picnic area, boat basin and canoe launches, as well as access to some of Palisades Park’s 30 miles of hiking trails.
For the classic panoramic views of the Palisades, visit State Line Lookout at the highest point on the Palisades cliffs (532 feet). You can see from Westchester County, N.Y., to the Long Island Sound. There’s even a snack bar and gift shop at Lookout Inn, which hosts special programs throughout the year, including an annual Fall Hawk Watch. Both the building and lookout point are wheelchair accessible.
Like many of New Jersey’s parks, accessibility is one of the things that make Palisades Interstate Park so special. In half an hour or less, anyone can go from Manhattan’s impressive but artificial cliffs and canyons to truly awe-inspiring cliffs, scenic vistas and miles of natural, forested land. It’s no wonder park visits have grown to more than 9 million visitors each year.
One place that’s harder to visit is the Greenbrook Sanctuary 165 acres of woodland on top of the Palisades open to members of the Palisades Nature Association. Primarily an oak forest, the sanctuary boasts some impressive scenery from 100-foot-tall, 200-year-old trees to Greenbrook Falls, tumbling 250 feet down the cliffs to join the Hudson. Association members keep this oasis of natural land and wildlife habitat flourishing on the doorstep of one of the region’s most densely populated areas.
You can learn much more about Palisades Park by visiting www.pipc.org or www.njpalisades.org. For more information on the whole PIPC system of parks, check out the Friends of the Palisades Web site at www.friendsofpalisades.org. And make plans to visit this great destination as soon as you can … it’s beautiful in any season.
Michele S. Byers is executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. For more information, contact her at [email protected], or visit NJCF’s Web site at www.njconservation.org.

