ramapo mountain state forest

Good hiking trails for families. There's a lake after a short hike from parking lot. A hike up to a burned out mansion with nice views on the way up. Parking lot a little small. Can be crowded on weekends.

I've spent many days hiking the trails of Ramapo Mountain State Forest and never seem to get bored with them. There are 2 main access points to the trail-heads; the main one is off Route 202 (Ramapo Valley Road) just south of Darlington Ave in Mahwah, NJ. This area has a large parking lot. The other is right off of Skyline Drive about 1 mile north of Route 287 in Oakland, NJ. This area also has a parking lot, although not as large as the other one off of Route 202. The trails are usually well marked and easy to follow. However, it is very advisable to get trail maps for the area you intend to hike.

Ramapo Mountain State Park is 4,268 square miles with 30 miles of trails. The trails are well marked and worn but there are nine distinct trails and while it is difficult to get permanently lost you could end up well out of your way. Of the nine trails the easiest is the Ramapo Lake trail. It is scenic, flat and 4 miles long. There are two convenient entrances and parking lots on Skyline Drive which is about .03 miles from exit 57 off of Route 287. All the other trails are considered difficult as designated by the NJ Parks and Forest Service. I consider the trails moderate to moderate difficult. The Castle Point trail which is one mile long takes you to the ruins of a stone castle and it is quite interesting to see. There is a Native Preservation plant center along the Ramapo lake trail which is colorful to see in the summer.The Cannonball trail is six miles long and was used to transport cannon balls during the Revolutionary war to Stonypoint, New York. Pets are allowed. Fishing with a NJ license is allowed however swimming is not. I saw quite a few dogs taking the plunge.The Ramapo Mountain State Park app has a GPS and other valuable features and is free and can be downloaded at the website: state.nj.us/dep/parksand forests. Look on the right side of the web page for the NJ State Parks and Forest Guide download. A New Jersey Trails Map can be purchased online for $9.95 and $1.50 for postage and handling. The Adjacent Ringwood State Park Office also has Topographical Maps. 973-962-7031. If you like hiking this is a great hike with a lot of scenic diversity.

Great place to hike, bike, dog walks, family picnics (as long as everyone is in good health to walk). I love take the short hike a the bottom of the moutain up to the lake.

Overall I found this park & trail a good solution for a simple and fairly quick afternoon getaway from NYC. It's less than an hour from midtown, I found parking pretty easy (it was 2:00 on a Summer Sunday) and the trail is right off the road. I hiked the yellow trail, not the paved one, it pretty much hikes like a dry river bed and is nicely covered with trees. I also found it relatively quiet, not to many people around. Hike to the lake and around, let your dog go for a swim and leash him back up!

I love going to this place year round. It is not great after a heavy rain because of the mud. It's a great place to meet people. You can hike around the lake alone or with a buddy. It is very clean here. I go there for my Sunday exercise routine.

Great moderate hike into the Ramapo Mountains, right off of Route 287. You can hike up to the abandoned castle (it'll take about 45 minutes to get there). Also a nice lake to walk around. Paths are marked. The kids love climbing the large rocks. A number of the woodsy scenes from Hunger Games, Catching Fire were filmed in this park.