Trail Improvements Completed at Ramapo Valley County Reservation

Effective August 28, 2016, the trails within the Ramapo Valley County Reservation's core recreational area have been reconfigured into a five-loop network by volunteers and staff of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference.  The work involved 7.2 miles of trail, including 1.2 miles of new construction and 6 miles of reblazing, and in the words of Bergen County Parks superintendent Todd Cochran, the goal of this revamped trail system within a 2-mile radius of the Route 202 parking lot was to provide "more interesting hikes with less confusion" for this very popular park.

2016RamapoReservation_CurrentTrailMap-November.jpg

The trail map to the right (click here to enlarge) shows the new trail configuration.  This map is also posted at the park kiosks and at multiple trail junctions within the park.  The five new loops are:

• Vista Loop Trail - yellow; loop 3.75 miles; trailhead at parking lot; rated "moderate to strenuous"
  • Destined to become the Reservation's signature trail, this hike allows visitors to follow a single blaze to view three panoramas as well as MacMillan Reservoir and MacMillan Brook.
• Ridge Loop Trail - blue; loop 3.0 miles; total to/from parking lot is 4.25 miles; rated "moderate"
• Marsh Loop Trail - red; loop 1.1 miles; total to/from parking lot is 3.5 miles; rated "moderate"
• Reservoir Loop Trail - pink; loop 0.65 mile, total to/from parking lot is 3.0 miles; rated "moderate"
• Pond Loop Trail - silver; loop 0.9 mile, total to/from parking lot is 1.1 miles; rated "easy"
   

To read more about these loops and other changes made to the trails, as well as links to hike descriptions following these trails, visit our Ramapo Valley County Reservation park page.

We wish to recognize the outstanding efforts of several individuals who contributed to the success of this major reconfiguration.  Volunteer Chris Connolly not only conceived the reconfiguration, but also scouted and flagged new trail segments, coordinated approvals with Bergen County Parks, installed updated maps, and removed old blazes and put up new blazes, all on a quick timeframe during the hottest part of the summer.  Other volunteers, including James Dalgleish, Alec Malyon, Peter Meyer, John Moran, and Karl Soehnlein, assisted with new trail construction and blazing efforts, and Daniel Chazin and Phil McLewin helped to update hike and park descriptions.  Trail Conference staff member Peter Dolan worked closely with Chris, especially in relationship to trail scouting and trail system refinement, and staff cartographer Jeremy Apgar produced easy-to-follow maps to help visitors navigate the new trail system.