Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Drive 97
Hudson River Valley
Like Rip van Winkle, modern-day travelers will find themselves spellbound by
the ageless grace of this lovely, legendary waterway.
Length:
About 100 miles, plus side trips
When to go:
Popular year-round
Nearby attractions:
Kykuit, the John D. Rockefeller mansion, Sleepy Hollow; Harri-
manState Park,accessible viathePalisades Interstate Parkway; StormKingArtCenter,
off Rte. 32 at Mountainville; Washington's Headquarters State Historic Site, Newburgh
Further information:
NYS Division of Tourism
Hudson Valley Tourism
1.
George Washington Bridge
The Swiss architect Le Corbusier called this awesome 3,500-foot span “the most beautiful
bridge in the world.” Its two towers are, he declared, “so pure, so resolute, so regular that
here, finally, steel architecture seems to laugh.” Cross over from New York to the New Jer-
sey side, where the drive turns sharply northonthe Palisades Interstate Parkway,andyou're
likely to agree—the graceful sweep of the bridge is a perfect counterpoint to Manhattan's
serrated skyline.
Theparkway,thefirstlegofthedrive,runsnorthfromthebridgetoBearMountainState
Park. At first it travels atop the Palisades, a wall of cliffs that here form the Hudson's west
bank. Giovanni da Verrazano, who probably sailed up the river in 1524, was most likely the
first European to glimpse the Palisades. For your own riverside views of the cliffs, take Exit
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