The Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC) has announced that due to damage from intense runoff and flooding generated by heavy rain on August 6, 2024, sections of Palisades Interstate Park are closed. Affected areas include the Park’s Englewood and Alpine Recreation Areas, and Henry Hudson Drive between Englewood and Alpine. Ross Dock Picnic Area remains open for public use. PIPC expects to reopen the Alpine and Englewood Recreation Areas within a week. However, due to the severity of damage, the northern section of Henry Hudson Drive is likely to be closed for an extended period.
The public is encouraged to check the park website at https://www.njpalisades.org for updated information.
Tuesday’s rain overwhelmed the Park’s century-old drainage infrastructure, causing rock and mudslides in multiple locations that sent debris spilling across Henry Hudson Drive and the lower levels of the park. Retaining walls under pressure from rain-saturated soils and debris were also damaged in several locations and will need to be assessed. Park staff are working diligently to re-open roads and make facilities safe for the public. PIPC encourages all hikers, cyclists, and motorists to exercise caution on the trails and be on the lookout for unstable debris and hanging branches left by the storm.
As intense storms become more frequent throughout the region, PIPC has stepped up efforts to protect the park. However, as one of the oldest parks in the State of New Jersey, Palisades Interstate Park is vulnerable to damage from severe storm events that exceed what the park was designed to withstand a century ago. Damage caused by Hurricane Ida in 2021 caused significant structural damage to the Park’s Dyckman Hill entrance in Englewood Cliffs. Repairs from that storm are currently in design and will be paid for through a reimbursement program under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Formed in 1900, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission is the nation’s first bi-state entity established to protect and conserve natural lands. Today it manages 21 parks and 9 historic sites spanning over 125,000 acres in New York and Northern New Jersey. PIPC’s early work helped inspire the emerging fields of environmental stewardship and education, pioneered the goal of exposing children to nature through its group campgrounds, and served as a model for the early growth of the national park system. The Commission’s maple and oak leaf logo represents the official state trees of New York and New Jersey.