Headed over to Ramapo Mountain State Forest to check out a newer trail, Wanaque Ridge, in the western part of the park. We slapped together a route as we went along and ended up only with 7.2 miles, but there was a decent amount of up and down along a pretty rugged trail surface. It was a brrrrisk and dreary day, so we plan to come back to take photos when it’s more colorful.

Ramapo is a great park to hike and the Wanaque Ridge trail was no exception, especially if you enjoy ridge hikes. Once we got to the Wanaque Trail from MacEvoy Trail, it started out just as nice forest, then climbed up to the ridge for some great views of Wanaque Reservoir and dams and all the surrounding mountains. (and, well yeah, houses too)

Further down the trail, views opened up back toward the main part of the park and we could just see the ruins of Van Slyke Castle and the water tower (another great hike in the park).

There were views along the YELLOW trail as well – but you have 287 there which, while interesting, is not as scenic.

Ramapo does tend to suffer from 287 traffic noise, especially in the southern part of the park as it edges closer to the highway, but it’s not a deal-breaker… the hiking is just really nice here.

Parking: We parked at the main lot – Exit 57 off of Rt. 287, left at the light and go straight for just a bit. The lot is on the left – it’s pretty rocky and rutted so take it easy pulling in there. There is a porta-john. A trail kiosk contained no maps and I’ve never seen one online for this park… best bet is to buy the NYNJTC map anyway because there are so many trail options here.

Route: BLUE (MacEvoy) to Ramapo Lake, turn right and walk around the north side of the lake. Keep following BLUE up a little hill and pay attention to BLUE as there are several blazes in the area. Pick up ORANGE (Wanaque Ridge). It will end at Indian Rock Trail (red diamond on white), take that for a bit then turn RIGHT onto Cannonball (red C on white) [you can take Cannonball left back to the lake if you prefer to shorten it up]

Cannonball to YELLOW (Hoeferlin Memorial – hard to spot going this direction). YELLOW takes you over some rugged ridges and back to the road that goes around the lake. At the woods road, turn RIGHT and take it around over the spillway to make a RIGHT onto BLUE and follow back to the lot.

Wanaque Ridge trail can also be accessed from a parking area at “Back Beach Park” – you could use this to make a nice shorter hike just up along the ridge and back.

7.2 miles – Moderate trail surface, some hills, rocky sections. A little snow on the trail, mostly muddy from snowmelt. The path near the pond, and a large section of trail near the reservoir was totally slick ice from all the foot travel compacting it. Crossing the pipeline later was also very icy, once false move and you would have starting sliding down the huge hill of the pipeline cut.

Rt. 287N, exit 58 to 202N in Mahwah. Large lot is on the left.

Our route: Silver to Green (Halifax) to Blue (Shore) to Red-Silver to Orange to Silver. Lots more options, connect to Ringwood and Ramapo Mountain to make longer loops; or do a short 2-mile roundtrip to Hawk Rokck viewpoint…


This is a very very popular park for strolling and dog walking around the pond and reservoir. The beginning will be overrun with people, but if you hike out past the Reservoir or Hawk Rock you will run into less hikers.

Bonus: this is a no-hunting park so it is a good option during hiking season. Note: the surrounding park do allow hunting, so keep that in mind if you want to hike far.

Lots to see in this park… Ramapo Lake, Van Slyke Castle ruins and water tower, views of the area’s mountains and NYC on a clear day, millstones, a couple more lakes, lovely forests and streams…

This is a popular spot for a short hike with lots of results for a little effort. The approach from the parking lot on BLUE MacEvoy trail is rugged enough to feel like you are hiking, and follows a pleasant stream in a cool, shady forest… arriving at a lake in a little more than a half-mile.

Hike a little further, and you are rewarded with outstanding views and get to explore the ruins of the Van Slyke Castle. (watch out for TONS of poison ivy)

We kept going, and did a 9.8 mile loop. Moderate trail surface, enough ups and downs to wear you out…

**If you do the short hikes listed, they are easy to moderate. Do the whole loop only if you are an experienced hiker in decent shape and want a nice challenge.

Once out of the popular areas, we passed only a handful of people and actually had a several hour stretch where we saw no one, on partly sunny, 80 degree day. The Camp Glen Grey area was almost eerily empty… all these camp buildings… and no campers. Assuming it’s a busy place when there is camping.

ROUTE: BLUE (MacEvoy) – WHITE (Castle) – Cannonball (RED CIRCLE, WHITE C) – Old Guard (GREEN LEFT on WHITE) – WHITE (Millstones) – Yellow (Diamond shape) – WHITE (Todd) – BLUE (MacEvoy)

Trailhead: Rt 287 to Exit 57 to Skyline drive. Parking is on W side on a bit of a blind curve. Lot entrance is rutted and not fantastic if you have a low vehicle. Lot fills up and people were waiting for our spot when we left. Porta Potty at the end of the lot was maintained and had TP. This is a popular trailhead as there are many trail options and it’s not far to get to Ramapo Lake.

Decent amount of elevation changes on this route. Several nice viewpoints along Hoeferlin, which also crosses 287 on a foot bridge. There is some road noise along this route due to 287 proximity.