AT A GLANCE
Why go?
James J. Braddock North Hudson County Park is one of Hudson County's largest and most scenic green spaces: a 167-acre clifftop park perched on the Palisades above North Bergen, wrapped around the 16-acre Woodcliff Lake and framing a celebrated view of the Manhattan skyline. Founded in 1910 and named for the area's own "Cinderella Man" boxing champion, it pairs a big active-recreation complex with trails, picnic groves and a calm lake setting just minutes from New York City.↗↗↗
Visitors come for the mix of sport and scenery: roughly 45 lighted athletic facilities, eight miles of walkways, nature trails through an arboretum of diverse tree species, a dog run, playgrounds and a cross-country course, all set against the skyline and the water. It is the kind of park that suits a competitive morning of tennis, a family picnic by the lake, and a sunset walk along the Palisades cliffs in the same day.↗↗
A Clifftop Park with a View
The park sits on the cliffs of the Palisades at the northern edge of Hudson County, and that elevation is its signature. From the walkways you look straight across the Hudson at the Manhattan skyline, while below and behind you lies Woodcliff Lake, the 16-acre body of water the park was built around. Hudson County calls it one of its largest and most beautiful parks, and the combination of open water, tree-lined trails and a big-city panorama is what makes a visit feel like an escape without leaving the metro area.