Women's Federation Monument — Attraction in Alpine

Ok, the FIRST thing you need to know is it takes a hike to get there. It's only ~0.25mi, sure, but it's a trail of foresty steps down, then up, and that's each way - I went on a whim and was unprepared for it. I can walk for forever on relatively flat land, but a couple hours after visiting the monument (tiny castle), i'm home and my calves and quads are cramping. Also, If you got bad acrophobia, you might want to sit this one out.

That being said, it's a gorgeous walk down and up a slice of the Palisades with a cute bridge and trickling stream at the bottom, with views on the Hudson and New York all along the way. If you're reading this, then you're after the tiny castle, but even so, stop every few steps along the way and take in the scenery. On the little bridge, close your eyes, listen to the stream, and you may even forget that you're in the midst of one of the most densely populated and aggressive parts of the world. It's lovely - don't underestimate it.

Once you get to the monument, it's quite cute - it's the castle equivalent of a tiny studio apartment. There's a gate locking you from going inside, but you can go up the steps to the roof, though not the tower. It's about half the size of a parking spot there.

The monument is along a trail, so even in the span of a few minutes on a sunny winter afternoon, there were 3 couples and two larger groups of about 6 and then 12, respectively. If you're looking for a moment for yourself(ves), you'll get a chance to take a breather and meditate.

That may be one of the previously unspoken selling points. I did meet some super nice people on the way and while there. Many were hiking enthusiasts, and many had hiking poles - good idea, I'll probably get some for next time.

And yes, there will be a next time. Hope to see...

One could make the joke that the Women's Federation Monument was put in a place so that no one could actually see it. As the walk-in to this location is quite hard. if you walk in from the entrance that is closest to the parking lot, which is not that close, it involves some serious climbing down a set of stairs made up of rocks. If you enter from the other end you would have to walk out almost all the way to the Palisades parkway and that walk is a lot less strenuous albeit quite far from the parking lot.

Once up to the monument, you can enter into the little mini castle and look out over the Hudson River. You don't have to go up to the castle to do this of course, but hey you made it this far you might as well walk in the castle too.

During the day that we came here it was quite busy. In fact it might have been too busy as we had to drive around the parking lot several times to find a parking space. Upon exiting we noticed they had closed off the entrance and we're only allowing a certain amount of cars in to the park. Our assumption was that they had already allowed too many people in.

It appears they allow you to park on the left side coming in but not on the right side coming in, as there a sign stating no parking on the right, but there are no signs at all on the left hand side and cars were parked almost bumper-to-bumper on the left side.

unlike many other parks there is an actual place to get food here and there are a lot of trails to walk through this park. Just remember to consult the board there to see the difficulty level of the trail you're going to walk as they vary from easy to...

The Women's Federation Monument is one of many interesting structures in the wonderful Palisades Interstate Park. The monument overlooks the river with great views in all directions. You can climb the steps up to the second level of the structure for better views. From the monument, there are additional trails that take you throughout the park, The Women's Federation Monument was dedicated in 1929 to honor the role that the New Jersey Federation of Women's Clubs took in preserving the Palisades. If you enjoy castle like structures and beautiful views,...