Palisades Interstate Park

The Palisades Interstate Park spans 100,000 across the western shore of the Hudson River in New York and New Jersey. Established in 1900 to protect the cliffs of the Palisades from being quarried, the park is full of miles of trails, parks and historic sites throughout the two states. Nyack is just a twenty minute drive from one of the most unique sites in the park, on the New Jersey Side.

Tucked alongside one of the many scenic trails in Alpine, New Jersey, overlooking a sweeping view of the Hudson, you’ll find a structure that looks plucked form a fairytale. The stone castle which sits just half a mile from the Forest View Trail trailhead off of 9W is actually a monument. The Women’s Federation Monument was dedicated in 1929 in honor of the New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs which played a major role in preserving the Palisades. You can’t get inside the tower, but you can climb up steps to the top of the lower half of the monument. The monument is just one of many historic sites you’ll find along the Palisades’ trails. In New Jersey, the park stretches twelve miles and encompasses 2,500 acres of wild Hudson River shorefront, uplands, and cliffs.