Palisades Interstate Park
The Palisades Interstate Park was created in 1900, in response
to concern over the quarrying of the Palisades. The new park was
formally dedicated in 1909. Before the creation of the park, all of
the Palisades had been in private hands, the lower portion, along
the river, consisting mostly of riverfront villages, the cliff top
mostly either wood lots or the site of large summer estates.
The New Jersey section of the Palisades Interstate Park
encompasses about 2,500 acres along the Hudson River from Fort Lee
to the New Jersey state line, where it continues into New York
State. It is a long narrow park averaging less than an eighth of a
mile wide.
The Palisades is a unique geological formation offering stunning
views of Manhattan and the Hudson River, not to mention its own
imposing splendor.
Cache Description
'Grey Crag' is an old concrete span crossing a 20 foot deep
crevasse and providing access to a free-standing crag of rock. At
some 300 feet long and 10 to 20 feet wide, this crag is the largest
free standing piece of rock separated from the Palisades cliffs
within the park. The bridge to the crag was built by John Ringling,
of the Ringling Brothers' Circus, to accompany his summer mansion
at this location. Some of the foundation remains of the mansion can
still be found just south of the concrete bridge.
Accessed via an unmarked side trail off the Long Path, the crag
affords impressive views of the Palisades up close. The many-sided
columns you will see were formed by huge vertical fissues in the
rock which were produced as magma cooled and contracted. The
horizontal cracks often intersecting these vertical fissures result
in diabase rock breaking down into distinct masses resembling
stairs. Thus, these intruded igneous rock formation have been
termed as traprock, derived from the Swedish "trapp" meaning
stairs.
The cache is located on the crag, however, it is not necessary
to scale down the rocks. Please look carefully, do not destroy the
area, and ensure the cache is replaced as found.
WARNING: Cross this bridge at your own risk, noting that
the crag is prone to poison ivy growth!
References:
NY/NJ
Trail Conference
Palisades Interstate
Park