Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1totheEnglewoodBoatBasin,orExit2totheAlpineBoatBasin.Bothhavepicnictables,
justrightforapleasantbreak.BeyondExit2,anoff-rampleadstoStateLineLookout,with
a dazzling vista of the Hudson, Manhattan Island, and the George Washington Bridge.
2.
Bear Mountain State Park
Verrazano may have beat him by a century, but it was Henry Hudson and the crew of the
Half Moon
who gave this region its first detailed inspection in 1609. Believing that the
great waterway might be the elusive Northwest Passage to China, Hudson sailed upriver
as far as present-day Albany. The explorer never gave up hope completely, but it's easy to
imaginehisfrustrationashesawtheriverplungeeverdeeperintomountainwildernessand
his dreams of a shortcut to Asia wither away.
Explorers of the Hudson River valley nowadays suffer no such disappointments. Espe-
cially during the October foliage season, the Palisades Interstate Parkway grows ever more
wild and lovely as it approaches Bear Mountain State Park. With 5,067 acres on the Hud-
son's western shore, the park is a popular destination for downriver urbanites and can be
crowded. But a drive to the mountain's rocky summit is not to be missed. Take Exit 19,
where Seven Lakes Drive leads to the Perkins Memorial Drive, a picturesque route leading
to the top of Bear Mountain. From this perch at 1,305 feet, the views are sensational.
3.
West Point
The Hudson Highlands, named for the steep mountain slopes that hem in the river like the
walls of a Norwegian fjord, are at their best from Dunderberg Mountain, opposite Peek-
skill, toStorm KingMountain, some 10miles north.Longachallenge topainters, the river
here is indeed, as novelist Henry James described it, “mountain guarded and dim.”
To sample the serenity of the Highlands, drive north from Bear Mountain on Rtes. 9W
and 218. You'll soon arrive at the United States Military Academy, which stands guard
above West Point, a strategic river overlook. Guided tours of the Military Acadamy's
grounds begin at the visitor center found just outside its Thayer Gate.
As you explore the historic campus, you can walk in the footsteps of military giants
from Robert E. Lee to Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as lesser comrades such as George
Armstrong Custer; take in the stirring spectacle of a cadet parade; and examine the West
Point Museum's collection of wartime memorabilia, one of the nation's richest. Perhaps
mostrewardingofall,youcanrevelinthesweepingviewsfromTrophyPoint;bothupriver
and down, they are among the finest along the Hudson.
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