Liberty State Park

Liberty State Park (LSP) is a 1,212 acres (490 ha) state park in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Upper New York Bay in Jersey City opposite Liberty Island and Ellis Island. The park opened in 1976 to coincide with bicentennial celebrations and is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry. Statue Cruises provides ferry service from the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal to Liberty Island and Ellis Island.

The park is the largest in Jersey City, the largest urban park in the state, the most visited New Jersey state park and one of the most visited state parks in the United States with approximately 4.5 million visitors each year as of 2025.

The main part of the park is bordered by water on three sides: on the north by the Morris Canal Big Basin and on the south and east by Upper New York Bay. The New Jersey Turnpike Newark Bay Extension, which is part of I-78, marks its western perimeter.

Communipaw Cove is part of the 36-acre (15 ha) state nature preserve in the park and is one of the few remaining tidal salt marshes along the Hudson River estuary. The Nature Center, designed by architect Michael Graves, is part of the preserve. To the west lies the Interior Natural Area, which is off limits to the public and is being allowed through natural processes to recover from environmental abuse.

At the center of the park, 240 acres have been fenced off and contaminated with hazardous materials, such as chromium, arsenic, and petroleum. The six acre train shed is also fenced off and contaminated with asbestos.

Much of the park is situated on landfilled tidal flats. In the latter half of 19th century, a small island named Black Tom was joined via landfill with the mainland. It became a major shipping, manufacturing, and transportation hub within Port of New York and New Jersey, leading to the construction of Communipaw Terminal. It was from this ferry/train station that an estimated 10.5 million immigrants, roughly two-thirds that were processed at Ellis Island, entered Jersey City to spread out across the United States. In 1916, on what is now the southeastern corner of the park, the Black Tom explosion killed as many as seven people, caused $20 million in property damage, and was felt throughout the Tri-State Region.

The park was conceived in the 1960s. with the land transferred from the city to the state in 1965. Jersey City residents Audrey Zapp, Theodore Conrad, Morris Pesin and J. Owen Grundy were influential environmentalists and historians who spearheaded the movement that led to the creation of Liberty State Park. They are remembered by the naming of places and streets along the waterfront.

It is estimated the park suffered $20 million in damages during Superstorm Sandy in October 2012. In June 2016, the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal reopened after a $20 million renovation to repair the extensive damage caused by Sandy. The Nature Center reopened in June 2021.