The Palisades of the Hudson
Trails
Scenic Byway
Henry Hudson Drive Palisades Interstate Parkway
Picnic Areas
Ross Dock Picnic Area Englewood Picnic Area Undercliff Picnic Area Alpine Picnic Area
Overlook Areas
Allison Park State Line Lookout
Historic Sites
Fort Lee Historic Park The Kearney House Women’s Federation Monument
Hazard’s Boat Ramp
Greenbrook Sanctuary
Park Headquarters
PARK MAP (pdf)
Hiking
Picnics + Grilling
Cycling
Boating + Paddling
Fishing + Crabbing
Park Programs + Calendar
Nature
History
PARK MAP (pdf)

Our staff can present these informative (and entertaining!) programs to groups in the New York–New Jersey Metropolitan area.

The Unknown Palisades: A Slideshow through Time

Crowd at Bloomer's Beach, 1932

Through images and narrative, public historian Eric Nelsen brings the story of the Palisades to life: from fishermen’s villages to palatial estates, the epic struggle to preserve the ancient cliffs, and the thriving beaches and campgrounds of the Depression and New Deal era.

This program is about an hour long, including a question-and-answer period. To book this program: enelsen@njpalisades.org.

Millionaires Row on the Palisades: A Glimpse of the Gilded “Edge”

Cliff Dale manor house

Artists, captains of industry, showmen — all were among the men and women who, from the time of the Civil War through the Great Depression, had unique and often lavish homes built upon the precipices of the New Jersey Palisades. Using newly discovered letters and diaries they have transcribed from the Miles family, public historians Eric Nelsen and Francesca Costa bring the story of the grand estates — and the families and servants who lived at them — into vibrant focus.

This program is about an hour-and-a-half long, including a question-and-answer period. To book this program: enelsen@njpalisades.org.

Cliff Shots: A Photographer’s Exploration of the New Jersey Palisades

Peanut Leap Cascade in winter

In this program, Anthony Taranto, who has served as our staff photographer since 2002, shares some of his favorite images of the Palisades — along with the stories behind them. The images capture both the landscape and the people who come to it to relax, to exercise, to learn, and to admire the beauty of this “great playground next door.”

This program is about an hour long, including a question-and-answer period. To book this program: ataranto@njpalisades.org.

Hidden on Closter Mountain

1891 map

Learn about the history of enslaved people in New Jersey and those who were able to create a thriving Freedman Community along the Palisades. Public Historian Francesca Costa will delve into her own research into this community and share stories about the people who called Closter Mountain home.

This program is about an hour long, including a question-and-answer period. To book this program: fcosta@njpalisades.org.

“An Oft Repeated Anecdote”

Dedication of plaque at Rockefeller Lookout, 1981

“Rockefeller built this park!” … Or did he? Public Historian Francesca Costa busts some common myths about the Palisades, Rockefeller, and undisturbed views. After all is said and done, an even richer story lies under the surface.

This program is about an hour long, including a question-and-answer period. To book this program: fcosta@njpalisades.org.

Recovering from the “Big Ones”

1960 storm tide

Climate change is making storms stronger and less predictable. Look back at historic storms with Public Historian Francesca Costa and learn how our climate impacts our park today.

This program is about an hour long, including a question-and-answer period. To book this program: fcosta@njpalisades.org.

Miss Bugbee and the Palisaders

Park visitors c. 1920

It’s June 1920: Come “Palisading” at the brand-new Interstate Park! You’ll meet some of the thousands of park visitors — most of them arriving by ferry or canoe from the New York side of the river — and learn some of the tricks of the trade from the more experienced “Palisaders” among them. Based on an article and accompanying cartoon illustrations from the New-York Tribune, this illustrated talk will also introduce participants to the author of the piece, writer Emma Bugbee, a pioneering woman journalist and suffragist. To help bring Bugbee’s spirited account to life for this illustrated talk, public historians Eric Nelsen and Francesca Costa have also reached into the Palisades Interstate Park’s vast photo archives of the period.

This program is about an hour long, including a question-and-answer period. To book this program: enelsen@njpalisades.org.

“Cornwallis Headquarters”

Police and Soldiers at the Kearney House, c. 1918

The historic Kearney House in the Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey is the last of its kind, the sole survivor of dozens of similar homesteads that once hugged the shore beneath the Palisades. Today it helps bring to life the stories of more than two centuries of families who depended on the Hudson for their lives and livelihoods. Yet the little house was saved not for that purpose, but by a myth, a bit of local folklore that has long since been discredited. How it became known as the “headquarters” of a British general in 1776 (even ghosts got involved!), the fight to reclaim its “true” identity (which brought at least one more misnaming in the process), and some of the forgotten people who have been brought out of the shadows along the way are the subjects of this lively illustrated talk by interpreters at the house Eric Nelsen and Francesca Costa

.

This program is about an hour long, including a question-and-answer period. To book this program: enelsen@njpalisades.org.

“How the Job Is Done”
The CCC on the New Jersey Palisades

CCC building retaining walls in the park in 1939

Through some of the darkest days of the Great Depression, a pair of Civilian Conservation Corps camps on the New Jersey Palisades served as “home” to hundreds of young men who performed conservation work in the Interstate Park. Park photographs – along with stories and illustrations from camp newspapers that the “CCC boys” themselves published during their time on the Palisades – highlight this illustrated talk by public historians Francesca Costa and Eric Nelsen.

This program is about an hour long, including a question-and-answer period. To book this program: enelsen@njpalisades.org.

About the presenters…

Eric Nelsen was hired as a seasonal employee at the Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey in 1992. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English from Montclair State University in 1997, and the next year became a full-time historical interpreter at the park. He oversees the park’s historic Kearney House, where he’s helped to develop a unique “living history” program based on the house’s role as a nineteenth-century Hudson River tavern and homestead. In the office, he supervises park publications, including the njpalisades.org website, brochures, and interpretive signs. On days off, Eric enjoys being outdoors, getting into or onto the water, cycling, and time travel.

enelsen@njpalisades.org.

Anthony Taranto has served as the official photographer for the Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey since 2003, and is the park’s Supervisor of Park Operations.

ataranto@njpalisades.org.

Francesca Costa started at the park after graduating from Gettysburg College in 2019. She continued to work here as she earned her graduate degree from the University of Edinburgh, and she is now a full-time public historian for the park.