James J. Braddock North Hudson County Park covers 167 acres. It opened in 1910 as North Hudson Park and today has a 16-acre lake and about 45 athletic facilities. One part of it has been off-limits to the public since 2008. That part is a 6.55-acre wooded slope on the Palisades, set between Boulevard East, Bulls Ferry Road, the line where 79th Street would run if it went down the cliff, and River Road. After more than a decade with no money behind it, the slope now has a recommended state grant, a design contract, and a proposed line in the county's park bond. The plan the county is pursuing also looks a lot like the one neighbors drew up in 2014.
In 2016, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection noted that the county park had no access from River Road at all. That makes this corner the park's only possible way down to the waterfront.
What sits on the other side of the wall
The southern edge of the site drops about 160 feet, from 170 feet at Boulevard East to 10 feet near River Road. On the northern edge the drop is about 100 feet. A pipe at the northwest corner carries overflow from the park's lake into the site. From there it becomes a stream that cascades southeast to a culvert under River Road and empties into the Hudson. So the lake people walk around and the waterfall hidden on the cliff are the same water.
The site still shows signs of the years it was open. A 2014 planning document records an archway and stairs, along with other remnants from when people crossed the slope on their way to and from Bull's Ferry. The same document says the old trails are still there, but overgrowth has made much of them impassable. In winter, with the leaves down, the slope has views of the Hudson River and the New York skyline.
The best description of what grows there comes from naturalist John Serrao's 1983 survey. He described "two huge American elms, picturesque cascading stream, and steep Palisades cliffs." He measured the elms at nearly 10 feet around and about 90 feet tall, and estimated them at more than a century old, "perhaps even 200 years." He counted 17 bird species in midwinter and expected 50 or more in May. Among them were mourning doves, white-throated sparrows, house finches, blue jays, cardinals, and chickadees. He credited the "dense cover created by the extensive vine tangles and bramble thickets" for the number of birds and rabbits. Later accounts put the count at more than 40 bird species living on the site. The 1983 survey is still the most detailed public record of the slope. None of the 2026 sources describe how it looks today.
How a bird sanctuary ended up padlocked
This land has been fixed up for public use before. In 1992, a New Jersey Green Acres project put $440,000 in grants and loans into what was then called the "Boulevard East Bird Sanctuary." The improvements didn't keep it open, and the gate has been closed for most of the time since.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1983 | John Serrao surveys the slope's trees, stream, and birds |
| 1992 | Green Acres funds the "Boulevard East Bird Sanctuary" with $440,000 in grants and loans |
| 2008 | The site closes to visitors |
| 2014 | The Coalition to Preserve the Palisades Cliffs and the APA New Jersey Chapter publish a community vision plan |
| 2016 | NJDEP notes the sanctuary is still closed because of poison ivy and overgrowth |
| 2024 | Hudson County hires Suburban Consulting Engineers to prepare a concept plan |
| May 2025 | A $2,099,000 Green Acres grant is recommended for the nature trail |
| February 2026 | County commissioners award a $91,440 design contract to Neglia Engineering |
| May 2026 | The county introduces a park bond ordinance that includes $1,000,000 for the nature walk's utilities and communications |
The 2016 note came up during an unrelated state review. NJDEP wrote that the Bird Sanctuary "has been closed to the public for some time due to overgrowth of poison ivy and other vegetation." It also said Hudson County was working on the problem so the sanctuary could reopen. In the same review, the county suggested that two small River Road parcels, Block 437 Lots 2.01 and 2.02, could someday provide access to the sanctuary from below.
The 2014 plan that waited a decade for money
The push to reopen the slope came from a citizens' group. The Coalition to Preserve the Palisades Cliffs teamed up with the American Planning Association New Jersey Chapter's Community Planning Assistance Program to write the Community Vision Plan for the Palisades Nature Preserve, dated June 2014. The Coalition's workshop flyer said this part of the park "has been padlocked from public use for far too long." The workshop was held at the North Bergen Free Public Library at 8411 Bergenline Avenue, and about 50 people came. Most of them lived in North Bergen, Guttenberg, and West New York, within ten blocks of the park.
The plan itself said plainly that Hudson County had no plans or funding to reopen the site. It proposed:
- Reopened entrances at Boulevard East and Bulls Ferry Road, plus a new entrance on River Road
- An upper loop trail, a connecting path, a bridge over the stream, and rebuilt stairs
- A switchback route down the slope, named the "Bramble Trail"
- An ADA-accessible metal ramp, a treetop walkway, and a limited accessible section
- Restoring the stream, managing invasive plants, and adding interpretive signs
Most of that list shows up again in the county's current project. Hudson County's May 12, 2025 announcement describes a walking trail with lighting, observation platforms, interpretive signs, and seating. It also lists invasive-species removal, native plantings, better maintenance access, Wi-Fi, and an emergency call system. The county says the idea "originated through community feedback" and points back to the 2014 plan, which went unbuilt because there was no funding. Wi-Fi and the emergency call system are new since 2014. The basic idea, a quiet trail through restored woods on the cliff, hasn't changed.
Where the money stands as of October 2026
There are three separate pieces of funding, and each one is at a different stage.
The first is the state grant. NJDEP's 2025 Green Acres project list includes the James J. Braddock Park Nature Trail as a park development project with a non-matching award of $2,099,000. The list locates the project near Bergenline Avenue and JFK Boulevard East. It says the work "will open this part of the park up to the public" and connect the area to "the waterfront parks to the southeast." When the county announced the grant, it said the award still needed approval from the New Jersey Legislature.
The second is the design contract. On February 12, 2026, the Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to give Lyndhurst-based Neglia Engineering a $91,440 professional services contract to start early-stage work, according to Hudson County View. The county's contract notice confirms the firm and the amount. Commissioner Bob Baselice, who represents North Bergen and Secaucus, told Hudson County View the county is "invested in providing opportunities to enjoy time outdoors, and in the preservation of the nature that surrounds us."
The third is the county bond. In May 2026, Hudson County View reported that the county had introduced a park bond ordinance proposing $4,046,000 for Braddock Park, with a public hearing and final vote still to come. The sources gathered here don't confirm whether it was adopted. That includes $1,000,000 for utilities and communications for the nature walk. The rest covers $1,996,000 for picnic area remediation, $1,000,000 for retrofitting the sports lighting, and $50,000 for pickleball fencing. The $1,000,000 for utilities and communications probably covers the trail lights, Wi-Fi, and call boxes that the grant description lists, though the ordinance doesn't break it down.
What nobody has published yet
None of these sources gives a construction start date, a completion date, or a final route. They also don't say where the trail would reach River Road. Both the state and the county talk about linking to River Road and the waterfront parks without naming a specific endpoint. The 2014 plan did suggest a walking connection down the Palisades to the Hudson and possibly to the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. The Hudson River Waterfront Conservancy describes the Walkway as an 18.5-mile path through nine municipalities. If the connection gets built, a walk around Braddock Park's lake could go down the cliff to that path.
The sources also disagree on the size of the site. The 2014 plan's formal description says 6.55 acres. The Coalition's flyer for the same workshop called it an "11 acre parcel." The research also didn't turn up any 2026 source confirming whether the gate is still locked. Until the county publishes a schedule, the safest assumption is that the slope is in early design and not yet under construction.
Birding the parts of the park that are open
The rest of the park is open now, and it has its own bird records. The eBird "North Hudson Park" hotspot covers the whole park, not only the closed slope. When we checked, it listed 161 species from 263 checklists submitted by 117 birders. The species list includes Baltimore Oriole, American Redstart, and Northern Waterthrush. These counts are live and go up as people submit sightings. The 2014 plan describes the cliff's thickets as habitat for birds that migrate along the lower Hudson. eBird currently lists access to the sanctuary itself as "Unknown."
Monica Capellan follows county projects like the Braddock Park nature trail because they can change how a block in North Bergen, Guttenberg, or along River Road is used day to day. If you own a home near the park and want to know how its value compares to nearby homes, request a free consultation or home valuation, in English or Spanish.
