[2] The park is in the southeast part of the Town of Cornwall, next to the Hudson River.

New York physician Ernest Stillman donated the park's initial 800 acres (3.2 km2) to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission in 1922, hoping to protect land surrounding the Storm King Highway.

The park has since grown to its current 1,972-acre (7.98 km2) size through additional donations and purchases of land.

[3] The park was the focus of preservation efforts in the early 1960s after a proposal by Consolidated Edison to build a hydro-electric power plant on the property.

Additional unexploded shells were also discovered that likely originated from a nearby West Point artillery range.