Liberty State Park and the Statue Across the Water
From Liberty State Park's lawns and promenades, Jersey City holds the closest mainland view of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
Liberty State Park is Jersey City's great open space on Upper New York Bay, a broad sweep of lawns, promenades and waterfront paths behind the Statue of Liberty. Ferries to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty depart from the park, near the historic Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal, making it both a local park and a gateway for visitors from around the world.
For Jersey City residents, the park serves a different purpose on ordinary days. Its flat paths are used for walking, running and cycling, its picnic areas fill on mild weekends, and its open fields host everything from kite flying to youth sports practices. The Liberty Walk promenade along the water offers an uninterrupted view from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to the Manhattan skyline.
The view is the park's defining feature. The Statue of Liberty stands on Liberty Island, with its back to New Jersey, and Ellis Island sits just offshore from the park. Standing at the water's edge in Jersey City, you are looking at the same harbor that arriving ships entered for generations, with the modern skyline of lower Manhattan completing the frame to the north.
The park is also a place of remembrance. The Empty Sky memorial, dedicated to New Jersey's victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, consists of two long steel walls directed toward the site of the World Trade Center, with the names of the victims inscribed. Many visitors encounter it quietly while walking between the terminal and the ferry landing.
Late autumn is a fine time to visit. Summer crowds have thinned, the air over the bay turns clear, and the low sun makes for long views in the late afternoon. Dress for wind off the water, check ferry schedules in advance if you plan to visit the islands, and allow time simply to walk the promenade from one end of the park to the other.
