Joe Malinconico – Paterson Press
PATERSON — On one side of the Passaic River, a chained gate blocks the entrance to a parking lot in the Overlook section at the Great Falls national park.
On the other side of the river, two orange road barriers stretch across the walking path leading to the viewing platform where visitors can stand about 20 yards from where the Passaic thunders over the waterfall.
Those obstacles — the first from the federal government shutdown and the second for an ongoing improvement project — stood in the way of a family from Philadelphia who came to visit the Great Falls on Oct. 28. The family ended up driving back down the New Jersey Turnpike, disappointed. Oct. 30, 2025, 4:15 a.m. ET