With Dyckman Hill Still Closed, Fort Lee Is Where the Palisades Starts This Fall

The Palisades has three park roads that wind down the cliffs from Bergen County to the river. The middle one, Dyckman Hill Road in Englewood Cliffs, has been closed to cars, bikes and people on foot since Hurricane Ida damaged it in 2021. The yellow-marked Dyckman Hill Trail is closed as well.

This is the sixth fall with that entrance closed. For anyone heading out from the southern end of the park, it means Fort Lee's own access points are doing most of the work. This October, those Fort Lee entrances also face a short seasonal calendar and a repair schedule that will eventually run straight through them.

The Middle Entrance Is Still Fenced, and So Is the North End

The Palisades Interstate Park Commission's advisories page still lists Dyckman Hill Road as closed "until further notice." A state capital plan dated July 31, 2026 describes the road as "the central of three entrances to the park," built in the 1920s, with dry-laid stone walls added by Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps crews in the 1930s.

At the far northern end of the park, the Giant Stairs is closed to all use from Peanut Leap Cascade to Forest View. The Commission's public statement, dated June 4, 2026, ties the closure to a rockfall earlier this year. It says experts are studying site stability and ways to fix it. It gives no reopening date.

With the middle entrance closed and the northern scramble blocked, the open trail system tilts south toward Fort Lee.

Fort Lee's Three Ways In

Each of these reaches the park differently, and each runs on its own seasonal rules.

• Fort Lee Historic Park. This is the cliff-top option. It has scenic overlooks, a reconstructed Revolutionary War encampment and a visitor center. Its northern overlooks face the Hudson, Upper Manhattan and the George Washington Bridge. It's also where you can pick up the aqua-marked Long Path, an 11-mile clifftop National Recreation Trail that follows the summit north from the bridge. Parking is metered year-round. On weekends it costs $2.50 an hour for the first four hours, then less per hour, with a $20 daily maximum.
• Carpenter's Trail from Linwood Park. This is the way in on foot from a Fort Lee neighborhood. The blue-marked trail climbs a stairway to the sidewalk on the Parkway overpass, crosses a short pedestrian bridge and enters the woods. It briefly shares the Long Path, then drops on steep treadways to a tunnel under Henry Hudson Drive and down stone steps to the Shore Trail, just south of Ross Dock. The park rates it a steep 320-foot climb. Carpenter's Loop from Fort Lee runs about 5.5 miles and takes about 2.5 hours round trip.
• Ross Dock Picnic Area. This is the riverfront option, at the south end of Henry Hudson Drive. It's open year-round and has picnic facilities. Its parking meters run April through October, and the park notes that its riverfront areas aren't served by public transportation.

All three connect. You can start at Linwood Park, walk down to the Shore Trail near Ross Dock, and climb back to the Long Path without moving the car. If you take the bus, the park lists Fort Lee Bridge Plaza as the nearest stop for the southern trailheads of both main trails.

The Calendar Narrows After October 31

The park's hours and road rules change in stages, and the first change is less than three weeks away. Here is how the rest of the season lines up, along with the events already booked in and around Fort Lee.

The art festival is the biggest event on the list. A Bergen County event listing mentions exhibits, workshops and art talks. A participating artist's 2026 listing gives 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. as the hours and says admission is free. Parking at the park is still metered, so the $2.50 hourly weekend rate applies.

The Fall-O-Ween event from the Business District Alliance of Fort Lee takes place at Hudson Lights Park on Main Street. The listing promises free family activities, including a magician, a DJ, candy, face painters and balloon twisters. The two Oct. 24 events can easily share one Saturday.

The December closure is the one that changes driving routes. Henry Hudson Drive runs 8 miles from the Edgewater entrance to the Alpine entrance. It's open to cars and bikes May through November. From December through April, the stretch from Dyckman Hill Road north to Alpine Approach Road is closed to motor vehicles. With Dyckman closed, that leaves the Fort Lee and Edgewater end as the main way for cars to reach the river until spring.

Why the Repair Schedule Matters Most in Fort Lee

The Commission's latest update on Dyckman Hill, posted March 5, 2026, says the money is in place and the work comes in two phases:

"The first phase will focus on stabilizing and repairing Dyckman Hill Road and will allow for the reopening of the Englewood Cliffs park entrance at PIP Exit 1... The second phase will follow with a broader restoration of Henry Hudson Drive from Edgewater to Alpine, including drainage improvements, roadway rehabilitation, and repairs to the eastern parapet walls."

That same update says work is "planned to begin next winter." It was written in March, so "next winter" most likely means the coming one, though the Commission hasn't announced a start date. It also hasn't released a construction timeline or any plan for road or Ross Dock access during the second phase.

The second phase is where Fort Lee comes in. The Edgewater-to-Alpine section of Henry Hudson Drive includes the road down to Ross Dock. Reopening the Englewood Cliffs entrance in the first phase would give riverfront visitors a second way down. The second phase then rebuilds the road that Fort Lee's own riverfront access depends on.

The state's FY2027 capital plan explains the funding. FEMA approved a Public Assistance project covering 90% of the repair costs for Dyckman Hill and Henry Hudson Drive. An estimate by the Commission's consultant, Collier's Engineering, puts the cost of repairing Dyckman Hill Road at about $25 million. The plan lists $25.5 million requests in fiscal 2027 for each road project. Those figures are agency requests, not confirmed appropriations. FEMA pays construction money back as reimbursement after the work, so the plan says the state has to advance the funds before construction can go ahead.

For now, the riverfront you can reach from Fort Lee looks the way it has since 2021. The Commission notes that signs and staff instructions on-site take priority over anything posted online, so check the advisories page before heading down.

Where to Eat After the Climb Back Up

Climbing back up Carpenter's Trail earns you a meal, and this month brought a new option. Lefkes at The Modern, at 200 Park Avenue, opened in Fort Lee on Oct. 9 in the former Ventanas space. NorthJersey.com reported that the Greek restaurant, previously in Englewood Cliffs, chose Fort Lee for its reopening after a fire closed the original location this summer. New Jersey Monthly lists the menu as modern Greek food and sushi. MyBergen lists hours of 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and until 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, with weekend brunch and daily happy hour.

Hudson Lights has two more options. City Perch Kitchen + Bar, at 2023 Hudson St. on the first floor of the IPIC building, serves New American food. It serves dinner all week and brunch on weekends. Paris Baguette, at 185 Main Street, 8C, has coffee, baked goods and dine-in seating, which fits a quick stop before the Long Path.

Live near Linwood Park or the Historic Park and wondering how the Palisades fits into your home's story? Barbara Perez knows these Fort Lee blocks trail by trail and can talk it through in English or Spanish. Let's connect, and get your free home valuation.