Trail Improvements Complete in Ringwood State Park

September 24, 2020
Kylie Yang, Program Coordinator
New York-New Jersey Trail Conference

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Trail Improvements Complete in Ringwood State Park

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Several trail improvements, which aim to make trails easier to follow, are complete in Ringwood State Park. The improvements include changing blaze colors and creating new trails.

This "Trail Changes Complete" map shows the newly implemented trail system in Ringwood State Park. 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 October 21, 2020 the changes include:

  • Five Ponds Connector (black-on-pink blazes) which runs from Glasmere Pond south down main woods road and then up Defiance Cutoff is complete
  • Blazing for the Five Ponds Loop (pink blazes) is complete

The changes being made to the trail system at Ringwood State Park 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 new loop trail option at this very popular day-hike destination will consist of the pink-blazed Five Ponds Loop.