About Town: Explore Fort Lee on Foot, Part I

Before you go searching for things to do this summer in other towns, why not spend mornings off, or weekends, checking out what Fort Lee has to offer? When was the last time you stopped and really took advantage of all the beauty within our borders?

Park the car, put on comfortable shoes, grab the family and take a foot tour of Fort Lee! For goodness sake, the entire town is only about 2.5 miles north to south—you use more mileage walking around the Garden State Plaza! And walking Fort Lee is free.

Hudson Terrace is the best place to start because its Fort Lee’s little slice of paradise. It may not look inviting while you’re driving around the immediate area of the George Washington Bridge, but there’s a reason that bike riders come from New York City and beyond every Saturday and Sunday morning to ride it.

For this installment of “Explore Fort Lee” we’re taking you on a hike to the Hudson River. Don’t be intimidated by the word “hike;” we simply want you to stop for a moment and enjoy the view. Ok, maybe not stop, but slow down. Oh, and don’t forget to bring your camera--nature will give you some fantastic photo ops!

True, we’ve written about exploring the Palisades and the Hudson before, but those were different seasons and part of organized hikes. This time we’re talking about getting the family out for a casual walk.

Hudson River Drive: On Hudson Terrace, south of Main St., you’ll find the entrance to the Hudson River Drive--the long and winding road that leads down to the river. It’s one thing to drive down this road to get to the river, but it’s an entirely different experience to walk down it.

(Of note: across the street from the entrance you can see remnants of the elaborate stone wall that belonged to “The Castle” that sat on top of the cliffs where the high-rise buildings now stand. The artist Peter Max lived there and Edie Sedwick filmed part of Ciao Manhattan there as well.)  

As you walk along the road, walk slowly and look at the abundance of nature that surrounds you; marvel at the spectacular view of the George Washington Bridge and Manhattan; and stop to really look at and listen to the waterfalls. You’ll get a sense of how this place really was a vacation destination for so many people during the depression. Most of all, inhale the silence. If it’s a weekday, except for the errant passing car, you’ll feel like you’re back in the 19th Century taking a leisurely stroll.

Along the Drive you have the option to take the manmade steps, known intimately by generations of kids from Fort Lee and Edgewater who climbed up and down these roughly carved stone steps on a daily basis almost every summer’s day.

Our kids live in such an over-protected world that it would be a thrill to take them down the steps. There are no handrails and no measured distance between each step, but what an exhilarating adventure for a kid--descending the Palisades with nothing between you and the side of the steps except the treeline and the Hudson. Obviously, this is not meant for young children, despite the fact that many of us started climbing these steps around the age of three. Admittedly, it’s a different world now from what it was then.

Towards the bottom, you will actually cross beneath the George Washington Bridge. Despite how many times you’ve driven across it, or even walked across it, seeing it from below gives you an entirely different perspective. If you stand still, your body will vibrate from the force of traffic driving overhead. It’s a great spot for taking unique pictures of the bridge.

It’s only when you walk beneath its massive beams and see how it’s anchored into the cliffs of the Palisades that you get a sense of its majesty, and wonder how in the world it was ever built.

Once you reach the bottom you can walk north to Ross’s dock where there’s a snack bar, picnic tables, barbecues, restrooms and a beautiful playground for the kids.

Or, you can take the foot path and walk south where you can stand at the foot of the bridge and take a walk on the single boat dock, known to locals as “Bunty’s Dock.” Although not the original Bunty’s Dock, this is the exact place where he had his dock and taught hundreds of kids to swim in the river.

This area of the river is little traveled these days unless you have a boat you’re launching so it’s a nice quiet place and a great place for pictures.  

Next week we’ll go a little further on our walking tour of Fort Lee, so rest up.

If you have any special place in Fort Lee that you like to escape to, drop us a line.