The Highlands Region:  Part of the great green sweep of the Appalachian Mountains that shadows the East Coast, the Highlands Region stretches from Eastern Pennsylvania through New Jersey and New York to Northwestern Connecticut.  The forested ridges of the Hudson Highlands form a landscape of national significance.

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The Hudson Highlands: The heart of the Hudson River, where warm Atlantic waters meet cool freshwaters from the north in a true fjord, is know as the Hudson Highlands.  This unique mountainous region is framed by Dunderberg Mountain in the south and the gap were Storm King Mountain faces Breakneck Ridge in the north.  The 15 miles of mountainous terrain stretching along the Hudson River  has been the backdrop for events central to the historic, aesthetic and ecological evolution of the American experience and is one of the most majestic natural wonders of North America.  On the west shore, General George Washington transferred his headquarters to Fortress West Point and considered West Point to be the most important strategic position in America during the Revolution.   President Thomas Jefferson established the first military academy soon after in 1802. During the nineteenth century the river inspired a famous school of painters which bears its name.  Incredibly rich and ecologically diverse, the Hudson, the only East Coast river to cut through the Appalachian Mountains at sea level, boasts nearly 200 species of fish and is the North Atlantic's premium source for stocks of commercially important striped bass and American shad. The Hudson Highlands Land Trust’s work, regardless of municipal boundaries, focuses on this estuarine habitat and its interior regions.

(click here to see map)