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Reporter |
Summary: I began at the main entrance and took the Halifax Trail around Scarlet Oak Pond. Here the park has an urban feel, paved roads and many dog walkers & joggers. The trail enters the woods, becomes more rugged & begins to climb towards Hawk Rock. Here you can clearly see all the way to NYC. The HF trail leads down to Havemeyer Rd, and old mine rd, and meets a pipe line road. I followed this up over Drag Hill to the Cannonball Trail. This area became park property in the 70's & many houses & foundations can be found intact around Bear Swamp Lake. The Cannonball Trail led me through the BSA's Camp Yaw Paw & to the Yellow trail. I climbed steeply, crossing the pipeline road again to wonderful views of the Ramapo Valley below. I encountered many deer and pheasant. I descended to meet the Bear Swamp Creek which was bursting with all the recent rains. The falls were incredible! After that I passed the ruins of the Darlington Estate and soon reached the parking area. Trailhead: Parked at the Ramapo Valley Reservation parking lot whihc is located on New Jersey Rt 202, 2 miles south of Nj 17 in Mahwah, justs outh of the NY/NJ Trail Confrence Office (Lat:41.0779603157915 Lon:-74.1886505065807) Trail Guides for Ramapo Reservation Loop: Iron Mine Trails Of NY & NJ by Edward Lenik (NY/NJ Trail Confrence) Best Seasons: Fall, Spring, Summer, User Groups: Hikers, Ranger Contact: Bergen County Parks Dept - 201-336-7275 Localhikes Reporter: This hike was submitted by Brian Walter, who has posted 10 other hikes on this site Trail Reviews Page 1 of 4 Submit your own review Been hiking here since I was a child. The whole "dog culture" thing has brought some changes. This should not keep anyone from trying this trail. Some days every dog is on a lead and everyone is happy to share the trail. I run the trails here. Parking Lot: Silver to Orange to Silver / Red to Drag Hill ( up to radio tower, gas pipeline service shacks) back down via the Green back to Silver back to parking lot is a nice 6 mile loop. The 4 mile version cuts off the Drag Hill portion by taking the blue (ridge trail) intersect. I think the blue trail is the nicest part. Great hike. Been hiking this for years. Nice if you want a quick hike, or to work out for the more challenging hikes. We took the Green Trail (Havermeyer Hollow) up the hill today, then circled back on the blue, blue/white and white trails, and it was lovely BUT the map we had (2005 NYNJTC) didn't agree very well with what was on the ground. If anyone else has had problems with this map, please let me know, though my copy is now ashes. Very confusing.......I wanted to make the loop, followed the orange markers and wound up on Skyline Drive in Oakland, NJ. The pizza at Juniors was great. My partner and I had to take a taxi back to our car at the parking lot in front of the reservation in Mahwah. This is the second time I have become misled while hiking here following the orange markers. Great hike for kids too! My grammar school buddy asked of me if I would like to go for a hike at the Ramapo Reservation just off of Skyline Drive. We ventured out today (4/13/08) A great day it turned out, and a fabulous hike indeed. I'm looking online to see how far we actually walked. We're gonna hit this again, but to venture other routes. Perfect cardio workout! This is a beautiful hike and I might do it again with a map AND a compass! The trail markings are difficult and things get confusing at Yaw Paw. I don't think you need to go "through" the camp, do you? The cannonball trail intersects the yellow trail in both directions, which is misleading. I ended up on Skyline drive in Oakland before I got some help and figured out home to get home. Notice: Traveling in the backcountry can be hazardous. You are responsible for informing yourself about these hazards and taking necessary precautions. Information on this web site comes from volunteer reporters and may contain errors or omissions. A current guidebook and proper equipment are essential for safe enjoyment of the hikes posted on this site. Keys: New Jersey Hiking, New Jersey Trails, New Jersey Hikes, Bergen County Hiking, Bergen County Trails, Bergen County Hikes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||