Here it reaches heights of up to 420 feet (130 m) above the water, with panoramic views of the river and surrounding mountains such as Breakneck Ridge and Bull Hill.

When built it took 22 miles (35 km) off the trip [1] between Cornwall and Newburgh to its north with Highland Falls and West Point to its south.

Storm King Highway is a two-lane 22-foot-wide (6.7 m) asphalt-paved road with double yellow lines forbidding passing along its entire 21,000-foot (6,400 m) length.

Due to hazards of rockfall as well as avalanches and falling ice, the road is closed by the state Department of Transportation during periods of heavy rain or snow.

In 1913 state highway commissioner Gordon Reel began to think seriously about building a new road to connect them after heavy lobbying by local business and community groups.

The idea he ultimately decided on, a road along the side of Storm King Mountain, was estimated to cost $400,000[6] ($8.71 million in 2008 dollars[7]), far more than his department had funds available for, so the legislature had to make a special appropriation.

[10] In summer of 2011 New York's Department of Transportation (DOT) closed the highway to vehicular traffic for four hours on Sundays to allow pedestrians and bicyclists to enjoy it freely.

[12] Following a flash flood in July 2023, an entire section of the highway, including both lanes and the retaining wall, was washed out.