Palisades: Discover culture, local history and nature

Palisades offers several distinct points of interest for a trip: local history, cultural activities and the landscape at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. The old section of Palisades Cemetery contains graves dating from before the American Revolution; historic buildings also give the town a special cultural connection. If you’re looking for a vacation rental in Palisades, you can first consider whether local history, exhibitions and performances, or the observatory’s surroundings should shape your stay most.

Local history and culture

Many members of prominent families from Palisades’ history are buried at Palisades Cemetery. Together with the graves dating from before the American Revolution, this makes the cemetery a subject in its own right for anyone interested in the town’s past. These different historical periods provide tangible points of connection to local history without requiring any one era to define your entire stay.

The iO Arts Center is a contemporary cultural venue set in Palisades, New York’s historic Yonderhill Building, built in 1858. It offers exhibitions, concerts and performances. These formats offer different experiences: those more interested in exhibitions will find a different cultural experience there than at a concert or performance. This means you can also plan your visit to Palisades around the kind of cultural experience you’re looking for.

The Palisades Community Center is another site with a historic building connection. It is housed in a historic schoolhouse built around 1870. The Yonderhill Building, built in 1858, and the Community Center’s schoolhouse represent two different architectural histories: one houses a contemporary cultural venue, while the other is a community center. For travelers interested in local history, these buildings add further historical points of interest to the cemetery’s older graves.

Landscape at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory campus covers 189 acres and includes protected woodland on the Hudson River in New York. This adds a distinct landscape dimension to Palisades’ cultural and historical attractions. Those interested in the observatory can also consider a private tour: at present, tours are offered on a limited basis, approximately every two months. This approximate schedule is a useful planning detail if a tour is an important part of your stay.

A digital discovery

You can also explore the Palisades Free Library’s nearly complete photo collection, which is available through New York Heritage. This offers another way to discover Palisades, distinct from visiting the cemetery, the Arts Center or the campus. Including the photo collection in your exploration of the town lets you complement its historical and cultural attractions with a digital resource.

Discover more places

If you’d like to compare other destinations as well as Palisades, you can also explore Orangeburg, Airmont, Haverstraw, Suffern, West Nyack, Pearl River, Spring Valley and Nanuet.

For the broader travel overview: Rockland.