Greetings From Ringwood Park, a 4,444-Acre Oasis in New Jersey

Located just an hour’s drive east from New York City, the whopping 4,444-acres of greenery at Ringwood State Park is enough to daunt even the most gung-ho outdoorsman. The park is located in the heart of the Ramapo Mountains in Ringwood, Passaic County (in northeastern New Jersey). Hiking, backpacking, camping, fishing, and swimming are all permissible on the property, though completionists will find it hard to get a sense for the park’s magnitude in a single visit.

Ringwood State Park’s forests are part of the Northeastern Coastal Forests Ecoregion of New Jersey– but that doesn’t mean the grounds are without more manicured touches. The park encompasses the New Jersey Botanical Garden at Skylands, the historic Ringwood Manor and Skylands Manor (a Jacobean mansion open for tours one Sunday a month through November), and the Shepherd Lake Recreation Area.

Since its creation in 1966, the park has been operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.

The Ramapo Mountains include sections of the Appalachian Trail that range in height from in height from 900 feet to 1,200 feet.

In the fall, white-tailed deer and pheasants can be seen roaming around clearings in this wide-ranging oak forest.

The New Jersey Botanical Garden, also known as Skylands, is open year-round.

Ringwood Manor was home to a number of well-known iron masters dating back to the 1740s, when Robery Erskine, who would later become George Washington’s first geographer and Surveyor-General, managed ironmaking operations on the property. Accordingly, Washington visited the manor house several times.

Many of Ringwood’s multi-use trails are still in bloom in October; hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, cross country skiing, and snowmobiling are offered year-round, depending on the weather. Look out for the 7.5 mile mountain bike loop, which is particularly popular when the fall foliage starts to reveal itself.

Ringwood’s 74-acre spring-fed lake is open for swimming, boating (with electric motors only) and fishing when weather permits; boat rentals are also available. In the Fall, a network of trails maintained by the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference offer beautiful views across the lake.

The main entrance to Ringwood State Park is located at 1304 Sloatsburg Road in Ringwood, New Jersey, 07456. For a full listing of local places to stay, go here.