Summertime Hiking Adventures for Children
    with the Kearney House staff

The staff of the historic Kearney House in the NJ Section of the Palisades Interstate Park will again conduct a series of hiking adventures for children this summer, starting off with its popular “Sea Glass Hunt” on Saturday, July 12. Then, on Tuesday mornings in August, the staff will lead “Rachel’s Rangers,” a weekly hiking adventure meeting at a different locale each week to explore ruins and other areas of interest in the 12-mile long park. Admission to each of the programs is free, and no advance registration is required (for the “Sea Glass Hunt” and the “Rachel’s Ranger” hike on August 19, a $5-per-car parking fee will be in effect at the hike’s meeting place).

The hikes are to be held “drizzle or shine,” with heavy or steady rain—or extreme heat conditions—bringing cancellation. Participants may call 201 768-1360 ext. 108 on the morning of a hike to confirm if conditions seem questionable.

Parts of each of the hikes are hilly or may involve stone stairs, and very young children may need to be assisted or carried at these spots. Hikers should wear sneakers or other sturdy shoes and long pants to protect against poison ivy or ticks. Wearing insect repellant and sunscreen, and bringing water and snacks, are also recommended. On all hikes, an adult must accompany children.

“Sea Glass Hunt” will meet at 10:30 am at the entrance to Alpine Boat Basin & Picnic Area (directions). It will include a short, approximately half-mile hike of about 15–20 minutes to a small beach along the Shore Trail, where participants can explore for sea glass, shells, and other treasures. Before the hike, the historic house’s staff will give a brief introduction explaining how sea glass is made and what types of shells one might find along the Hudson. Children should bring an unbreakable container, such as a plastic jar or bucket, in which to carry their collected items.
                   

Each of the Tuesday morning “Rachel’s Rangers” hikes in August will meet at 10 am and will cover about 3 miles round-trip distance in about 2 hours over relatively easy trails.

	“Cape Fly Away” will meet on August 5 at the historic Kearney House itself, which is just north of the parking area at the Alpine Boat Basin & Picnic Area (directions). Hikers will explore the site of a small settlement where fishermen and their families lived into the early twentieth century. Upon the group’s return, there will be an opportunity to explore the historic homestead. (The program is named for Rachel Kearney, who lived at the house on the river, raising her family of nine children there and then running a tavern from the house until her death in 1870…at the age of 90.)
	“Cliff Dale” will meet at on August 12 at the park’s headquarters building at the top of the Palisades in Alpine (directions) and will traverse the cliff-top area once known as “Millionaires’ Row” because of the grand estates that stood overlooking the river hundreds of feet below.
	“Canoe Beach” will meet on August 19 at “Bloomer’s Beach” at the north end of the Englewood Boat Basin & Picnic Area in Englewood Cliffs (directions). Hikers will explore two former bathing beaches operated by the park in the 1930s, along with the ruins of their “fort-like” bathhouses. Nearby, the group will also visit a nineteenth-century cemetery where fishermen and boatmen and their families are buried.
	“Who Rock,” the most challenging of the four hikes, will round out the series on August 26, meeting at State Line Lookout in Alpine, the highest point on the Palisades (directions). The group will traverse a steep mountain gorge to explore the Women’s Federation Monument, shaped like a miniature castle and dedicated in 1929 to the women of New Jersey who led the fight to preserve the Palisades scenery at the turn of the twentieth century. From there, hikers will travel across a vast abandoned estate to a rocky promontory known as “Who Rock.”

A special Certificate of Accomplishment will be awarded to children who complete three or more of the “Rachel’s Rangers” hikes.

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