New Jersey’s 200-million-year-old cliffs have Manhattan views and Revolutionary War ruins

They’re right across the bridge

Step off the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey, and a wall of dark volcanic rock rises hundreds of feet above the Hudson River.

The Palisades run along the western bank like a fortress, columns of stone stacked so tight they look carved by hand. Two hundred million years of geology did the work instead.

You can hike 30 miles of trails here, stand where George Washington ordered a desperate retreat, and watch hawks ride the thermals every fall.

The wildest part is how close all of it sits to Midtown Manhattan.

Volcanic rock columns from the age of dinosaurs

The Palisades are made of diabase, a dark volcanic rock that pushed up through sandstone about 200 million years ago during the Triassic period.

The molten rock cooled underground, and over time the softer sandstone around it wore away. What’s left are steep columns that rise between 200 and 540 feet above the Hudson.

The Lenape people called them “Wee-Awk-En,” meaning “rocks that look like trees.” European explorers in 1524 saw something different and named them after wooden stake fences.

Women’s clubs and Rockefeller saved these cliffs

By the 1890s, quarry companies were blasting the Palisades apart for crushed stone. The New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs led the fight to stop it.

In 1900, Governors Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Foster Voorhees of New Jersey signed the Palisades Interstate Park Commission into law.

J.P. Morgan donated funds to close a major quarry in Fort Lee, and John D. Rockefeller gave hundreds of acres atop the cliffs. Today they hold dual status as a National Natural Landmark and National Historic Landmark.

Where Washington lost his supplies and fled

Fort Lee Historic Park sits on the cliffs just south of the George Washington Bridge. In 1776, American forces built fortifications here to defend the Hudson from the British.

On Nov. 20 of that year, British General Cornwallis crossed the river with 5,000 troops, and George Washington ordered an immediate retreat.

The Americans left behind most of their supplies and artillery, one of the darkest moments of the Revolution. Today, a reconstructed Continental Army encampment and a visitor center with war exhibits mark the spot.

A 42-mile parkway designed as a drive through the forest

The Palisades Interstate Parkway starts at the George Washington Bridge and runs 42 miles north to Bear Mountain Bridge in New York. The 13-mile New Jersey stretch earned state scenic byway status in 2005.

Engineers designed the road as a drive within a park, with stone arch overpasses and forest views instead of billboards. Commercial vehicles are banned, so the traffic stays light.

For a different angle, Henry Hudson Drive runs along the base of the cliffs, where you look straight up at towering rock walls.

Three cliff-top lookouts and a 1937 stone lodge

Rockefeller Lookout, Alpine Lookout, and State Line Lookout all sit along the Parkway.

State Line Lookout is the highest point on the Palisades, about 520 feet above sea level, and from there you can see the Hudson River, the Manhattan skyline, and the George Washington Bridge in one sweep.

A stone building at State Line Lookout, built by the Works Progress Administration in 1937, now houses a refreshment stand and gift shop. Fall foliage season packs the parking lots with photographers.

Cliff-top trails that connect to the Catskills

More than 30 miles of trails cut through the park at every skill level.

The Long Path follows the cliff tops from Fort Lee northward and eventually connects all the way to the Catskill Mountains.

The Shore Trail runs about 12 miles along the Hudson at the base of the cliffs, right at the water’s edge.

Several connecting paths link the two, so you can build loop routes that take you from river level to the top and back. Views from the Long Path stretch across the water to Manhattan.

Scramble over giant boulders 100 feet above the river

The Giant Stairs is the toughest hike in the park, a mile-long stretch of massive boulders that have broken off the cliffs over time.

You use your hands to climb over the rocks, many of them sitting about 100 feet above the Hudson. The full loop from State Line Lookout covers roughly four miles and takes about three hours.

A 2012 rockslide opened up wide views of the river below and the cliff face above. This section earned National Recreation Trail status back in 1971.

A stone tower honoring the women who saved the cliffs

In Alpine, a cliff-top monument shaped like a small medieval watchtower looks out over the Hudson.

It was dedicated on April 30, 1929, to honor the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs for stopping the quarry companies from leveling the Palisades.

You can reach it with an easy half-mile walk from the Forest View trailhead on Route 9W.

The monument is a stop on the New Jersey Women’s Heritage Trail, and the views from the top run straight down the river.

A 1760s tavern still telling stories on the riverfront

The Blackledge-Kearney House, built in the 1760s, is the oldest building in the New Jersey section of the park and sits on the National Register of Historic Places.

It started as a dockmaster’s home, then Rachel Kearney turned it into a tavern in the 1800s. Now it operates as a living history museum near the Alpine Boat Basin on the Hudson waterfront.

The park hosts candlelit tavern evenings there with period music and storytelling, so you can sit where river travelers once warmed up after a crossing.

Picnic by the river, fish for crabs, or kayak past the skyline

Ross Dock Picnic Area, just north of the George Washington Bridge, gives you picnic tables, grills, a playground, fishing, crabbing, and a boat launch all in one spot.

Englewood Picnic Area has a small beach, grills, and trail access. Alpine Picnic Area puts you on the waterfront with hiking trails nearby.

If you get on the water in a kayak, the Palisades cliffs rise on one side and the Manhattan skyline fills the other.

Allison Park, a small cliff-top spot, is named for early preservationist William O. Allison.

Watch hawks migrate and eagles circle the cliffs

Every fall, volunteers set up at State Line Lookout to count hawks and other raptors riding the thermals along the cliffs. Bald eagles, peregrine falcons, gray foxes, raccoons, and eastern chipmunks all live in the park.

The Greenbrook Sanctuary in Tenafly and Alpine is a 165-acre woodland preserve on top of the Palisades, managed by the Palisades Nature Association.

In winter, about five miles of trails at State Line Lookout open for cross-country skiing, so the park gives you a reason to come back in every season.

Walk across the bridge and you’re already there

You can reach the park by car from the George Washington Bridge and Interstate 95, or you can walk or bike across the bridge and arrive on foot.

The cliffs and forests feel remote, even though you’re minutes from one of the most densely populated areas in the country.

Fort Lee Historic Park is also where America’s film industry got its start in the early 1900s, with the first studio built in 1909.

The Barrymore Film Center, a film museum and 260-seat cinema that opened in 2022, honors that legacy. The park stays open year-round, and the Fort Lee Visitor Center welcomes you Wednesday through Sunday.

Explore the Palisades in Fort Lee, New Jersey

If you want to see the cliffs up close, start at Fort Lee Historic Park on Hudson Terrace, just south of the George Washington Bridge.

The Palisades Interstate Park stretches about 12 miles along the cliffs from Fort Lee to the New York state line. For the highest views, head to State Line Lookout off the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Alpine.

Metered parking is available at both Fort Lee Historic Park and State Line Lookout year-round. Check the official website for seasonal hours and event schedules before you go.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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