Ringwood State Park Trail

Nothing extraordinary about the trail, but we only did a portion of it. Didn’t see any bears. Nothing is in bloom yet so all brown hues. Saw two small ponds connected with a culvert.

Beautiful fall foliage.

Very nice, and lightly challenging, hiking. Mostly good footing and nothing too steep. Beautiful surroundings. Lots more trails than what is shown. We changed trails to reduce the hike to 4.3 miles. There are signs everywhere stating that dogs are not allowed, but once you get to one of the trail head parking areas you can bring dogs. Dogs are not allowed in the other, more groomed areas. Also, during the warm seasons there is an entrance fee of $7 per car for non-NJ residents and $5 for residents. Well worth it. This is an excellent park for bikers as well.

NOTE: All Trails always comes out significantly shorter, if you track yourself, than my Garmin hiker's GPS. On this hike AT measured 3.8 mi, Garmin measured 4.3. I believe Garmin to be correct.

Fun hike, minus the gnats and skeeters! Met a bear in the blueberry bushes by Ilgenstein Rock. The trails are well marked and maintained.

The trails are nicely marked but this red infinity loop covers multiple trails - not many views and not too strenuous. You need a map or to use your phone but no maps at the trail head

Awesome! My friends aren't avid outdoorsy people but we also didn't want a basic trail path either. We took the red dotted trail and it brought us up in to different elevations and a more scenic route that we thoroughly enjoyed.

Great woods. Very rocky trails, so wear appropriate shoes. Not too difficult although we didn't have any maps, none at the trail heads at all. You have to keep an eye out for the trail markers or you can get off the trail. We accidentally went off trail, but found our way back quickly. This time of year (late winter) the trees and brushes are obviously bare, no leaves, no greenery, so the trails are harder to determine because everything looks more open. Still very beautiful and nice workout. We ran into quite a few streams and a lake. We had two dogs with us and they had a blast.

We had a team of four much mature men, I was the youngest at 54 and the next in age was 74 to 83, wow, these guys can hike the packs off, we had a great time, the scenic view was majestic and the hike down this ridge was somewhat challenging.

I did some of these trails carrying my 30lb two year old in a back pack today. They were decent as I'm not a beginner but don't usually carry the baby. Definitely wear thick soled hiking shoes as you will come across rocky paths. The trails are marked well although there is no explanation as to where each leads. A map on the trail heads would be nice. Otherwise, my GPS served me well. Beautiful view of Ringwood lake. Will definitely do again sometime soon.

Completed the Ringwood Ramapo Loop (Ringwood-Ramapo/Hoeferlin /Pierson Ridge Trails Loop from Skylands Manor). This is a complex series of trails all intertwined throughout Ringwood Start Park.

Our goal was to complete the 10'r named We had a difficult time locating the trail head and given the alternatives for parking once in Skylands Manor, I am not sure why the recommendation was made to park at Parking Lot A when B & C are much closer to the start. None the less, it was a great hike.

The Crossover Trail is actually an awesome Mtn Bike trail but the constant switchbacks, which make it interesting on a bike, grew tedious on foot.

We were on Ringwood-Ramapo Trail for quite a while and actually considered turning around because our return time was making available light a concern. This is also a Mtn Bike trail. We ultimate found the return leg, Hoeferlin Memorial Trail with little issue.. it was just a few hundred yards east of Ringwood-Ramapo Trail.

Hoeferlin Memorial Trail is a foot trail (though there was clear evidence of bicycle traffic having come through frequently. It was much more difficult to hike than the earlier sections.

The connection for Halifax Trail wasn't clearly marked and we missed it.. this cost us a few miles off track and we had to blaze to get back to a marked trail.

All in all, a great trail. Limited views. Well kept. We had some light rain and it was quite humid under the canopy of trees.

Ringwood Sate Park is located 20 minutes from my home. It offers every possible activity you can imagine including a shooting range. I love to mountain bike at Ringwood because of the vast network of trails. Check out a recent video I made which gives you a good look at the park. http://vimeo.com/24952135

There are several nice trails here. You get scenery and history, and the park includes the NJ State Botanical Gardens.