Trail Improvements in Ramapo Mountain State Forest

September 17, 2020
Kylie Yang, Program Coordinator
New York-New Jersey Trail Conference

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Trail Improvements in Ramapo Mountain State Forest
Ramapo Mountain State Forest

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Several trail improvements, which aim to make the trails easier to follow, have been completed throughout Ramapo Mountain State Forest. The improvements include changing blaze colors and creating new trails.

This "Completed Major Trail Changes" map shows the trail system in Ramapo Mountain State Forest as completed on September 17, 2020. Please take a moment to review this map, and photograph or print it for easy reference during your outing.

This "Old Trail System" map shows what the trail system looked like before the 2020 changes. 

As of September 17, 2020, the changes include:

  • New Castle Loop (white blazes), which uses existing trails to create a loop hike option from the Upper Parking lot on Skyline Drive
  • New Ramapo Lake Loop (blue blazes) and Ramapo Lake Spur (black-square-on-blue blazes), which use existing trails to create a loop hike option from the Lower Parking lot on Skyline Drive
  • New Tamarack Loop (purple blazes), which uses existing trails to create a loop hike option from the Upper Parking lot on Skyline Drive
  • Extension of Wanaque Ridge Trail (orange blazes) down to the new Ramapo Lake Loop, and new Wanaque Ridge Spur (black-square-on-orange blazes) to connect with the Wolfe Drive access point
  • New Todd Hill Loop (green-on-white blazes), which uses existing trails to create a loop hike option from the new Tamarack Loop
  • New LeGrande-Lake Connector (red-on-blue blazes), which connects the southwest edge of the LeGrande Hill Loop (formerly Lookout Trail) with the southeast  edge of the Ramapo Lake Loop

The changes being made to the trail system In Ramapo Mountain State Forest were sparked by a rise in visitation, which has been accompanied by a rise in lost hikers, leading to a persistent need for the services of local search and rescue. This concept of reinvisioning trail systems to create loop trails has already been successfully introduced at Ramapo Valley County Reservation in New Jersey, where reports of lost trail users have been drastically reduced and the overall hiking experience has been greatly improved.

The improved trail options at this very popular day-hike destination consist of the white-blazed Castle Loop, the purple-blazed Tamarack Loop, the blue-blazed Ramapo Lake Loop, and the green-blazed Todd Loop.