Ramapo Mountain State Forest

Busy busy busy… but beautiful. Earlier is better as the parking lot fills up fast. Lots of dog walkers so if you have a friendly pooch it’s a great place to go.

Skyline drive was closed due to recent bear activity. We accessed the park at a different unidentifiable access point and followed the white trail where it lead us to a warehouse but still had great. Views on a beautiful fall day.

Take Route 287 to exit 57, follow Skyline Drive to parking lot on the left — easy to miss if you are driving too fast.
Fantastic mountain for a drive along Skyline path or climbing locally, with several clear paths for beginners and moderate hikers alike. There are a number of points where you can cross to see the Ramapo Lake and several points of interest, including a ruined castle-​like tower and city from a-​far (assuming a clear day).
Great to take the kids around and chase the wildlife (there are bears here, though, so keep an eye out).
Open sunrise to sunset and you can get a few great photo ops here. Saw a bunch of people fishing on the lake, too.

After seeing «Jurassic World» in theaters, I felt an urge to traverse the wilderness. I ventured with a friend today to this hike. We «started from the bottom» parking lot into the blue trail. Eventually we passed by a serene lake and progressed onto the white trail towards the castle ruins. Whoever thought that building a castle here was a great idea must have been a real bozo because it makes no sense location wise. Regardless, it was a cool site. So far there’s been lakes, castle ruins, and bears, oh my!
Backtracking to where the car was parked, my friend and I were about halfway down the blue trail when her arm shot up to stop me from moving. Perplexed, I glanced around and there it was: a big honking black bear! I’ve always heard about black bears growing up, but this was the first time I saw one in person. My first instinct was to go take a picture of the bear so I could edit it later with cool Instagram filters. However, logic kicked in and I realized that this thing could devour me like a soccer team at Chipotle. Thankfully I watch plenty of Animal Planet so I knew what to do. Upon sight of a bear, do NOT run away, scream or Unilocal (hah). I don’t care if you are Usain Bolt or are wearing the Yeezy Boost 350s, bears will always outrun you. Even if I did attempt to run, yesterday was my leg day at the gym so I would’ve been easy prey for this mammal. Luckily the bear never detected us and we happened to find other fellow hikers along the path. We warned everyone we encountered of our bear sighting and gradually banded together until we made it back to the parking lot. It was just like the movie «300» except we lived.
Overall, this was a pleasant hike and I can sure feel it in my Paul Bunions. If you’re looking to quench your inner manifest destiny, I recommend this hike.

Ramapo Mountain is a great place for a hike if you live near NYC/​Bergen County.
The main «attraction» is the Ramapo Lake and the Castle Ruins.
There are many trails you can follow so it can be confusing.
I started at the parking lot on Skyline Drive.
I used the Horferlin Trail (yellow) and MacEvoy Trail (Blue) and saw the Ramapo Lake in between.
Then I got to the Castle Point Trail and followed it to the Castle ruins.
With few rests, it took me 3 hours to go up and come back down using the same trails.
On the NJ state park website, it says the trails are «difficult» but it’s not too difficult even for a beginner. The trails do have uphills but those sections are not too hard.
You can also download the NJ state park App on your phone for the address for the parking lot and a map of the forest.

Kick ass hike, and definitely worth the hustle up the rock to see the old mansion ruins — what an amazing view up there. The footprint of the building that once stood up there is tremendous, and the rock wall exterior still stands. If you look for them, there are still some old tiles, water and heating pipes in the ground, and what’s left of the beams can be found up there. And a swimming pool — nutz!
Great workout too — a 4 hour /​5 mile hike that forms a loop, so you’re almost never tracking back over old ground, and the peaks are placed right where you need em along the way, aerobically speaking :)

Amazing place.
1) Take the yellow trail as a warm up.
2) Once you have reached the lake, look for the blue trail.
3) Start walking on the blue trail, and you will find a sign for the Castle point trail.
4) Use the Castle point trail (white trail) to see the Foxcroft Mansion. The hike here is somewhat challenging, unlike the other parts which is just walking.
Come. Relax. Enjoy.

I enjoy nature, this is a place that give you quiet, peaceful hike. time to get away with city and people (of course you still do meet some people in here) It has nice view, clean trail, good spot for fishing and some adventure spot you can go hike and seek. be careful with water snake, they are harmless but don’t step on them.
Parking is free, remember your bug spray!

A short distance from exit 57 on Route 287. Get there early, the parking lot fills up quickly! There are wide walking paths around the lake, and several narrower marked hiking paths that lead to a scenic overlook. The walk around the lake is easy while the hiking paths require scrambling over many boulders. At the top of the red/​yellow trail, I sighted a hawk cruising not far over my head. Breathtaking!

Definitely a great spots for beginners. However, like most hiking trails, you can’t get here without a cars but if you can, Ramapo is a nice little get away to go and enjoy nature.
I came here not too long ago and the trail was not difficult at all. Part of our trail included views of the large lake where you can see people fishing. We also headed up the trail to see the ruin «castle». It was certainly a nice treat as there was plenty of photos to take and exploring it’s surroundings was fun.
A unique advantage to this hiking trail is that you’ll see the city from afar once you’ve reach the top, which can be a pretty breathtaking view and zen-​ish.

Lovely state park in New Jersey, just 45 minutes from NYC. They have trails of varying difficult and a lovely lake. I went recently for a 5 mile wintery nature walk/​hike. The trails are well traveled and marked nicely. I was surprised how many people were there and many with their dogs (for a wintery day).
I wish there was a map at the entrance that showed all the trails and where they went. Some trails were closed due to hurricane/​super storm Sandy.
I would def recommend and return.

I am not sure which amazes me more: that I have lived in NJ for 6 years now, and only JUST discovered this place, or that I am the First to review it!
This is the best natural area I have yet discovered within a reasonable distance of my home. Over 1400 acres, with several different parking areas, Ramapo Mountain State Forest crosses several towns, and two counties: Bergen and Passaic. There are multiple parking areas, offering access to different trail heads, as well as a road which leads to a boat launch.
Activities include hiking, fishing, boating, cross-​country skiing and mountain biking. There is no swimming, and the park is carry-​in, carry-​out, and the garbage bag dispenser is well-​stocked with trash bags for you.
There are several major trails, which are generally very well blazed, however people have carved out unofficial trails which can confuse you if you aren’t careful. The majority of the trails are listed as «difficult», but I would call them «moderate to difficult». Supposedly some trails offer views of the NYC skyline, but we took trails that offer mountain views instead.
At the apex of the «Castle Point» trail, one of the ones we took, there is the ruins of a manor home, built in 1910. It is fantastic, (See pics) and a nice reward for a hike.
We saw a variety of wildlife, including an endangered eastern box turtle. We also saw mushrooms and flora of many types. This is my new favorite place to explore!
Please note, although the state forest is managed by the Ringwood State Parks system (and they use that park for phone calls, this is really a very different experience, and in a different area.