While the five flights of stairs to reach your apartment may get your heart rate up, the view is a little less than scenic. The Palisades Interstate Park on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge is a spectacular place to stay active year round, with 25 miles of trails for the experienced or leisure hiker and mostly car-free roads for cyclists. Plan your next quick getaway to the Garden State for a refreshing workout and some of the best views found outside the city limits.
Hiking
New Jersey’s Palisades Interstate Park is full of well-marked hiking trails of varying difficulty. The Long Path route is a 13-mile hike that can be intersected by way of the George Washington Bridge’s Hudson Terrace, which will lead you south towards the Fort Lee Historic Park visitor center and into the woods. Between the parkway and Hudson River, the Long Path lets hikers trek the cliff-tops of the Palisades and continues as far north as the Catskill Forest Preserve and beyond to Albany. A shorter, but equally entertaining hike option is the five-mile Closter Landing Loop, more commonly known as “Millionaire’s Row,” in honor of the remains of over a dozen mansions—like Cliff Dale Manor, built in 1911—that once populated the park. (Explore these stone ruins at your own risk.) The 3.5 mile, dog-friendly Shore Trail Lollipop-Loop is another easy-to-moderate hike marked by stunning Hudson River views and more haunting relics of the early 20th century. If you’re pumped to navigate more difficult terrain, take on the oft-steep 12.2-mile Shore Trail, which runs along the Hudson River from Fort Lee to just beyond the New Jersey-New York state line. For information on the best x-country ski trails, visit njpalisades.org.
Biking
Fit cyclists looking for a fun and challenging alternative to prosaic laps around Central Park should discover River Road. Coming off the west end of the George Washington Bridge, take the first left (staying on the sidewalk) and pedal south, then swing left onto Henry Hudson Drive (also known as River Road). The road turns back north under the GWB. You’ll confront few if any vehicles and if you stay right, you will eventually get to a scenic park by the banks of the Hudson river. After you’ve snapped a photo and re-hydrated, pop a Shot Blok and get ready to climb back south. Or feel free to keep going north for a longer ride, with more climbing. However you choose to combine the park’s 25 miles of looping trails and bike paths, you can anticipate increasing your workout endurance and enjoying every moment of it.
How to get there
By Bus: Red and Tan routes #9A and #9W from the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal and the Port Authority Bus Terminal [at 41st Street] stop along US 9W. Check the park’s website for trail maps that highlight these stops. By Bike: To get to the George Washington Bridge, go North on Riverside Drive, make a Right on West 165th, a left on Fort Washington Ave., a left on West 177th, then a right on Cabrini. Follow the GWB sign, go left on the sidewalk and take the path onto the bridge. By Foot: Arrive at the park on foot by crossing the George Washington Bridge.
Photo by Jason Jenkins.
Sarah Knapp is a Brooklyn based entrepreneur whose love for the outdoors and community building led her to the October 2013 creation of OutdoorFest. She has a BA in History, is a Wilderness First Responder and a NY state hiking, camp and boating guide. Her proudest achievement to date is reading the Aeneid in Latin. 
Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
Annie is a travel writer, environmentalist, and surfer based in Venice, CA. She heads up our West Coast team, keeps our grammatical errors in check, and makes sure our California writers always have a plan for their next adventure. Follow Annie’s travels @annelisemcb.
Carly Pifer is a freelance writer who has been known to follow whims inspired by romantic movie scenes or colorful street style shots to India, Japan, Tunisia and Argentina. After stints living in Seoul, Boston, Paris and Los Angeles, writing and searching for something intangible, she landed somewhat steadily in Brooklyn and has begun to find inspiration in her more immediate surroundings. 
Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram