The park lies in the New York - New Jersey Highlands, a one-million-acre (4,000 km2) stretch of natural habitat from the Hudson to the Delaware River that links the Abram S. Hewitt State Forest in New Jersey with Harriman State Park in New York. The park conserves a part of the Northeastern coastal forests ecoregion.[16] It also protects the Appalachian Trail corridor, which crosses the northern portion of Sterling Forest.