Fort Lee Historic Park

We have been here a few times, and enjoyed our hike… but just got hit with a $ 50 parking ticket yesterday! We did not notice the very small posted sign at the entrance, and I’m pretty sure no one else did (the actual entrance booth where you would normally pay a parking fee was not staffed). This ruined our post-​hike enjoyment, and we will probably not return. Thanks to Fort Lee for trying to make money from nature lovers!

I love this park! I just completed a 2 hour bike ride of a trail that follows along the Hudson River. This place is not only great for biking but for hiking and family picnics too. It also has a marina for boats and jet skis. The best part is you can stop anytime along your route and enjoy the great views!
P. S. I just saw Geraldo Rivera drive by too! I know that one of a kind thick mustache face anywhere !

Nice park to stroll around. Views of the bridge are phenomenal but to besides that there’s not so much to see. Definitely a historical park with all the cannons and stone built houses that the weapons were kept

Two years ago I went on a mission to walk across every major NYC bridge. I had fun walking across the George Washington Bridge (that will be a future review). I have driven through Fort Lee, NJ, which has some great Korean restaurants and supermarkets. While walking across the bridge, I noticed the park on the New Jersey side. I decided to check it out.
When I entered the park, I had a «Moment of DUH» when I realized that Fort Lee was named after an actual Fort Lee. It was an American fort during the Revolutionary War, and it was named after General Charles Lee. From the cliffs, the Continental Army would shoot cannons at British ships attempting to sail up the Hudson River.
Of course, I love the historical aspect of the park. There is great visitor center/​museum. Also, parts of the fort exist, including restorations of various buildings. You can also walk along the fort walls and check out the cannons and mortars.
The park also some great views of Manhattan and the George Washington Bridge. You definitely will want to take your camera. There are also some wonderful hiking trails.
While the park is free, parking is not. If you drive in, be careful, because if you don’t pay, you will get a $ 51 fine. However, at $ 5 for the first 3 hours, and $ 2 each additional hour during the weekends, the cost of parking isn’t expensive. Also, if you go during a weekday, the parking costs $ 1/​hour for the first 3 hours, and $ 2 each additional hour after that. It’s a beautiful park, and a great place to spend the morning or afternoon on a nice day, but, unless you are there for a special event, your visit would probably last about 3 hours anyway. There are also picnic tables if you want to have lunch there, and the visitor center has vending machines for drinks.

The park closes at six and I arrived at 5:45 for the sunset. Unfortunately the lot was closed and I could not enter with my car. I drove down the road a few miles and entered at a lower entrance. That lot was also closed but I entered a private property area where I was able to quickly park and run down for the sunset. I definitely want to return to see the view from up top as well as walk on the beach. There Was a paved trail and a gravel trail, however, I’m not sure where the gravel trail led to. The paved trail leads you directly under the bridge which was good for some photo ops.

There are nice view of GWB is you want to take pics. The park is unimpressive and the museum is good for five minutes. I expected better. The museum building’s exterior is in urgent need of care.

I used to love coming here (especially at lunchtime) just to walk the paths and see the great views of the bridge. I would occasionally come across some wild turkeys and deer as well. Unfortunately, with the advent of this new parking FEE, I am unable to enjoy the park anymore. I am not going to pay for an hour or more just to walk around for 45 minutes! I believe this is due to the hundreds of bikers that would come here to just park their cars, and then leave to bike up and down 9W. Well, thank you for ruining everything for the people who do actually enjoy and stay in the park. Everything is all about the money…

Beautiful park, but you have to pay to park your car. Which is insane, because it’s a free park. The signs telling you that you have to pay to park are minuscule and not at all noticeable. So when you park, and don’t realize you have to pay, you are then smacked with a $ 51 parking ticket… for your time at the FREE park. $ 51 f-​ing dollars. And before you get all snippy and say that it’s my fault for not noticing you have to pay, let me tell you that every single car in the lot got a parking ticket. Every. Single. One. NO ONE knew that they had to pay. And everyone’s standing there yelling at the cops, complaining about their tickets, and the cops are standing there smiling, because they’ve heard these complaints a million times, because they write dozens of tickets a day, because they make it impossible to know that you have to pay. They must make thousands a day that way.

The trails are nice and the view is good. There’s a lookout right next to the GW Bridge.
The Visitors Center is fairly lame. It has some displays, some costumes and some weaponry, but I don’t think kids will be interested for more that a few minutes.
It’s mostly there for drinks and bathrooms.
The entrance is near the southern pedestrian path of the bridge.
Take the drive along the river for about five minutes to reach a nice little park, right at the edge of the water, that’s a much better place for a picnic and such, and there is a small building with bathrooms and vending machines there.

Come here for a great view of the GWB and discover the hidden history of Fort Lee during the revolutionary war. It has plenty of parking, easy flat paved trails, some mock soldiers quarters and barracks outside and a small indoor museum. Great place to bring out of town guests!

Great views of the George Washington Bridge, and relaxing walk. Loved the Carpenter’s Trail down to the Hudson river, and the Shore Trail along the river all the way to the entrance of Edgewater. A great day trip from the city that I thoroughly enjoyed. The visitor center offers a display of modest, but cute exhibit of relics from 18^th century.

Its a free park. Has great views, picnic areas, bike trails, cliffs, bbq stations, restrooms, and playgrouds.
It makes for a pleasant place to enjoy nature. The location is right off the gwb. It feels refreshing whenever I do venture over here. Highly recommend checking it out for the park and the fans of the bridge
It’s free and near the city and A beautiful scenic escape, with enough space for everyone to enjoy.

I love this place. It’s really a nice little gem in a great neighborhood. The views are spectacular, the history is tied to our nation’s origins, and the park has enough going on to grab the interest of most anyone coming here.

Came here during the winter. It was a nice park to walk around. Nothing very impressive, which makes paying 5 bucks for parking a downer. However, it is historic, and when we went there were people recreating life in the colonial days which was interesting. As such, I gave the bump to 5 stars.

A wealth of offerings for the casual visitor or the hardcore hiker, Fort Lee Historical Park is a recent favorite. Granted, I only made my way here because I was on the New Jersey side of the Hudson for work. A historical museum and a trail-​laden park make this a great way to spend your time! Definitely worth checking out.

My grandfather took me to see the views of the George Washington Bridge over the hudson, it is a great place for a walk and the views are great. There are restored cannon batteries and wooden cabins from the American Revolution period. There is also a little museum, which is ok, not amazing describing Fort Lee’s part in the revolution war.

Great place to come and clear your mind for a bit. I think they close the gates to drive up around 9, but it gets better at night anyways so park nearby and you can walk up there… but don’t blame it on me if that’s frowned upon ;)

Fantastic views and history and a nice museum. A revolutionary war fort was here, recreations of the various structures are on site and the spotlessly clean and well maintained museum has lots of interesting info about the events in the area during the Revolutionary War. Several short trails to hike around on with great views of Manhattan island and the George Washington Bridge. In the winter parking here is free, it is a nice walk across the GW Bridge to get a nice Dominican lunch in Washington heights or there are plenty of great Korean options in Fort Lee itself.

This place is has wonderful views of Manhattan and especially the George Washington Bridge. A nice little park to sit at and just take in all the scenery. The visitor center is also real nice and clean. They have information and displays about the park in there. Again very good place to go for the views.

What a lovely little hideaway in North Jersey!
This small park isn’t spectacular, but the view of the GWB, Upper Hudson River and Manhattan’s West Side surely is a sight to behold. I love coming here for an easy afternoon stroll through the tree lined trails. Walking through the short path will lead you to more lookout points and historical structures [recreated] from when George Washington & Co. kept it gully back in the 1700’s. Well kinda, this fort was frigging useless back then! Today however, it commands spectacular views that are simply breathtaking.
Other deets/​recommendations:
–If coming from NYC, — heighten [literally] your experience by running/​walking/​cycling across the GWB to the park!
— Park hours: 8a — dusk
— Parking: free off season, not so during the summer season. [There’s metered parking on Hudson Terrace. 12 hr max. Free on Sunday.]
— Check out the visitor’s center. [One of the first things you’ll notice is that women wore fugly shoes back in the day. Egats!]
— During the summer season, wear a shit ton of mosquito repellent.
— Bring a book and spend a lazy day on a bench at one of the various lookout points