Moderate Hikes
Information on this page current as of
January 16, 2010
What do we mean by
"moderate" hikes?
In general, hikers will
need two hours or more to complete the hikes on this page, and most of the
routes traverse some significant slopes. (A "moderate +"
rating means that the hike is over 5 miles long or includes some
challenging slopes.) Younger children may
find the hikes described on this page to be too difficult. Older children and adults should be
in good shape and relatively
confident of their hiking abilities if they wish to attempt these hikes. All hikers should read and understand our "Tips" before
setting out on one of these hikes.
Hikes on this page:
Peanut Leap Cascade (moderate +)
Cross-Country Ski Trails
Area: State Line Lookout
Length: 9 mi. (for all trails combined)
Time: Up to 3 hrs.
Maps: Map 3 / Map of cross-country ski trails
Parking: State Line Lookout
Bus Access: See "Point Lookout" hike description on our "Public Transportation" page
Description: The cross-country ski trails at State Line Lookout can also be used by hikers. Though there are some slopes, the trails are generally flat, wide, and easy to navigate. The entrance to Trails A, B, C and D is behind Lookout Inn. Keep left at the splits for Trails A and B, and right for Trails C and D (both of which can also be reached from Old Route 9W going north of Lookout Inn). Trail E is on the eastern side of Old Route 9W and leads back to Old 9W (left) or to the Long Path (right).
Carpenter's Loop I
Note: This hike can be easily combined with "Carpenter's Loop II" to create a
longer hike.
Area: Fort Lee
Length: 2 mi. (round-trip distance)
Time: 1.5 hrs.
Map: Map 1
Parking: Fort Lee Historic Park
Alternative access: Southern Park Entrance Ross Dock Linwood Park Overpass George Washington Bridge North Walkway
Walking
or Riding
from New York City...
If you walk across the George Washington Bridge, turn left (south) when you get
to the first street in New Jersey (Hudson Terrace) and Fort Lee Historic Park's entrance
is less than a block down the road on your left (east).
If you take a bus from the George Washington Bridge Terminal (175th St.), get off at the first
stop in New Jersey (Fort Lee Bridge Plaza). Walk up the stairs and follow local roads
east about three blocks to Hudson Terrace—Fort Lee Historic Park is immediately south
of the Bridge on Hudson Terrace.
(Whether walking or riding, if you wish you can also begin the hike described at
once, without stopping at the Historic Park.)
Description: This hike begins at Fort Lee Historic Park and covers about 2 mi. over relatively easy terrain but with a steep and somewhat challenging descent in the middle.
From Fort Lee Historic Park, hike north on the sidewalk along Hudson Terrace to the start of the Long Path (see George Washington Bridge North Pedestrian Walkway for access details).
Follow the Long Path north, exploring some of the unmarked but well-defined side trails overlooking the Bridge if you wish. About 0.5 mi. on along the Long Path, look for the top of the blue-blazed Carpenter's Trail, and take this down to the Shore Trail, just south of Ross Dock.
Take the white-blazed Shore Trail south beneath the Bridge, passing Hazard's Launching Ramp, for another 0.5 mi., where it will turn uphill to take you to the southern park entrance.
Back on Hudson Terrace, turn north and return to start.
Things to notice:
The George Washington Bridge is considered one of the world's busiest bridges. It opened in October 1931; the lower level was completed in the early 1960s.
Carpenter's Trail is named for Carpenter Brothers' Quarry, the largest and most destructive of the Palisades quarries of the late nineteenth century. Objections to the quarries led to the creation of the Palisades Interstate Park in 1900 (signs of the quarry's blasting can be seen in the relative smoothness of the cliff face here).
The "Riviera," one of the premier nightclubs of the mid-twentieth century, was sited just north of the Bridge.
Carpenter's Loop
II
Note: This hike can be easily combined with "Carpenter's Loop I" to create a
longer hike
Area: Fort Lee & Englewood Cliffs
Length: 4 mi. (round-trip distance)
Time: 1.5 hrs.
Map: Map 1
Parking: Ross Dock Picnic Area; Englewood Boat Basin & Picnic Area; Allison Park
Alternative access: Linwood Park Overpass
By
bus
from New York City...
Get off the bus at Palisade Avenue in Englewood Cliffs, walking the long block
east to the park entrance and the top of the Dyckman Hill Trail at its
intersection with the Long Path.
Description: This loop can start at either Carpenter’s Trail or Dyckman Hill, following the Shore Trail and the Long Path in between. The ascents up the cliffs are by far the most difficult parts of this hike, though the cliffs are not as high in the southern section of the park as in the northern section. The Shore Trail here is flat and wide. The Long Path is also flat, though is narrow at points.
Pick up the Shore Trail immediately south of the entrance booth and refreshment stand at Englewood Boat Basin and follow it about a mile to Ross Dock. Just south of Ross Dock you will find the blue-blazed Carpenter's Trail, which you can take up to the Long Path. Before Dyckman Hill, the Long Path skirts the edge of Allison Park and St. Peter's College. Follow the aqua blazes to the top of Dyckman Hill Road, and then take the yellow-blazed Dyckman Hill Trail back to start.
Closter Landing Loop
Area: Alpine
Length: 5 mi. (round-trip distance)
Time: 3.5 hrs.
Map: Map 2
Parking: Alpine Boat Basin & Picnic Area
Alternative access: Park Headquarters
By
bus
from New York City...
Get off the bus at the first stop north of Closter Dock Road in Alpine. The
pedestrian tunnel beneath the Palisades Interstate Parkway is the trailhead for
the Closter Dock Trail; the Closter Dock Trail intersects the Long Path on the
other side of this tunnel.
Description: This five-mile hike is sometimes called "Millionaire's Row" because of the old estate foundations you will pass along the cliff top.
Begin at the south end of the Alpine Picnic Area, and take the white-blazed Shore Trail south, along the river. For the first mile or so, this trail goes up and down a number of small rises on stone steps built decades ago. Along the way, keep an eye out for the "Jordan Plaque," bolted to a rock on your right, marking the spot where the park's first superintendent died (he slipped on ice and fell from the cliffs near here).
The trail will eventually level off along the shore, and in about 1.5 mi. from the start, you will come to an old jetty in the river. This is "Huyler's Landing," once an important port of call on the Hudson, serving as an access point to much of the farmland in eastern Bergen County. Here the red-blazed Huyler's Landing Trail begins.
Take the Huyler's Landing Trail uphill until you get to Henry Hudson Drive. Here use caution, as you'll have to walk for about 50 yd. on the active roadway. Turn left (south) on the Drive and look for the continuation of the Huyler's Landing Trail up the hillside. Take this trail up to the top, where it will intersect with the aqua-blazed Long Path. Turn right (north) on the Long Path and follow it.
In about 0.25 mi. you'll get to an old overlook with a wrought-iron fence. This was part of Manuel Rionda's "Rio Vista" estate, the largest on the Palisades. (Rionda was the owner of sugar plantations in Cuba in the first half of the twentieth century. His actual manor house was located just north of this overlook, where the Alpine Lookout is today—the Long Path passes through the Lookout area as you head north.)
Continuing north on the Long Path, you will pass a number of old foundation remains (these are best viewed during times of year with less leaf coverage), until you come upon the largest foundation in the park, that of George Zabriskie's "Cliff Dale" estate. The ruin you see is only the garage portion of the house. Looking through the woods, you may find some old stone pillars and other odds and ends from Cliff Dale. Explore the foundation ruins at your own risk! (The estates on top of the Palisades were knocked down during the construction of the Palisades Interstate Parkway.)
Continuing north, you will pass a number of other foundations and old driveways, until you eventually come to a small tunnel that passes underneath Alpine Approach Road. This brings you to the top of the orange-blazed Closter Dock Trail. Take this trail downhill until it meets the Shore Trail again. Turn right here (south), and you will come back to the Alpine Picnic Area in less than 0.25 mi.
Clinton Point (moderate +)
Area: Englewood Cliffs, Tenafly, and southern Alpine
Length: 8 mi. (round-trip distance)
Time: 4.5 hrs.
Map: Map 1
Parking: Englewood Boat Basin & Picnic Area
Alternative access: Linwood Park Overpass
By
bus
from New York City...
Get off the bus at Palisade Avenue in Englewood Cliffs, walking the long block
east to the park entrance and the top of the Dyckman Hill Trail at its
intersection with the Long Path.
Description: The loop between Dyckman Hill and Huyler’s Landing Trail is generally flat, Huyler’s Landing being the most gradual ascent up the Palisades in the NJ Section. From the south end of the Englewood Picnic Area, notice the set of stone stairs that goes up to the sidewalk on Dyckman Hill Road. Take these, then using caution cross to the yellow-blazed Dyckman Hill Trail on the other side of the road, taking this trail up to the summit. Bear right (north) at the junction of Palisade Avenue and the entrance to the northbound Parkway and find where the aqua-blazed Long Path goes north from that point.
An
alternative route up to this point...
Beginning at the north end of
the Englewood Picnic Area (by Bloomer's Beach), find the
unmarked trail that goes up behind the old bathhouse. A branch from this trail
(also unmarked) then turns left (west) and up the hill. Follow this branch until
a set of stairs takes you to the junction of Dyckman Hill Road and Henry Hudson
Drive. Using caution,
cross this intersection to the south, to the sidewalk along Dyckman Hill Road.
Stay on the sidewalk until it intersects with the
yellow-blazed Dyckman Hill Trail, and
continue as described above. (The trail from Bloomer's, as well as the "toll booth" at the top of the stairs,
were used for beach access in the 1930s.)
Continue north on the Long Path, using the appropriate hiking descriptions on our Long Path page, to the red-blazed Huyler's Landing Trail. (To shorten this hike, we recommend High Tom's or the Rockefeller Lookout or Clinton Point as turn-back points—beyond Clinton Point, the trail begins to get more difficult, and considerably less scenic until you are beyond Greenbrook Sanctuary.)
Take the Huyler's Landing Trail to the white-blazed Shore Trail, then head south (right turn) to return.
Peanut Leap Cascade (moderate +)
Area: State Line, Alpine
Length: 4 mi. (round-trip distance)
Time: 2 hrs.
Map: Map 3
Parking: State Line Lookout
Bus Access: See "Point Lookout" hike description on our "Public Transportation" page
An all-time favorite: splendid river vistas on the way down, one of the prettiest spots in the park once you get there. But be prepared for some steep parts along the way, too…
Begin at Lookout Inn, heading north along Old Route 9W, noting the aqua blazes of the Long Path along the way—you’ll be following these markers for the first part of this hike. About 100 yd. along, the Long Path leaves the old cement road and goes into the woods, more or less following the cliff edge (and for a while overlapping Ski Trail E). About 1 mi. along, you come to the State Line Monument and a chain link fence; here the trail jogs right (east) to go around the fence and begins to descend a series of stone steps, with excellent vistas north toward the Tappan Zee. At the base of the steps, the trail jogs to the left, to bear northwest for a time and so headed away from the river. In less than 0.5 mi., you’ll cross a stream on wooden bridges. Across this stream, turn right (east), at the start of the white-blazed Shore Trail that follows the stream toward the river. Just before the river, this trail gets quite steep and is prone to erosion—use caution.
The ruins at the base of Peanut Leap Cascade (the round structure with columns was known as a "pergola") are from the beginning of the twentieth century, when the sculptress Mary Lawrence–Tonetti, whose family owned an estate at nearby Sneden's Landing, designed an "Italian Garden" here to entertain friends from the New York art world. (This makes a great lunch spot.)
Return using the same route.
An
alternative exit route...
Those wishing to avoid the steepest ascent on
the return (that section between the northern terminus of the Shore Trail and
the State Line Monument) can opt to take the Long Path northbound
(approximately northwest at this point) after its junction with the Shore Trail—in
other words, don't cross the stream. Within
several minutes of the stream crossing, you should see an unmarked but obvious
trail to your left (here you will cross the stream). This trail will take you out onto
Old Route 9W (closed to
traffic). Turn left (approximately
east) and follow the old
highway back to Lookout Inn, or continue on ski trail "D,"
to "C," then left at the junction to come out at the northwest corner of the
parking area.
Should you miss this turnoff, the Long Path will a short distance later take you
to the
Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory entrance;
from here, you can take the old roadway back as well.
Hint: The thin soils on the Palisades mean streams tend to discharge storm water very quickly and then dry out. To see the Cascade at its most dramatic, try to time your visit for after a rainfall.
2010 Area Information & Fee Schedule (.pdf file, 4 pages)
