Continental Soldiers Field

From NJ 17 in Mahwah take Ramapo Valley Road (US 202] two miles south to just beyond Ramapo College, turn right into Continental Soldiers Park. Parking is available at the playing fields.  GPS Coordinates: 41.081128, -74.183953

A separate small dirt parking area is off Halifax Road just before crossing the Ramapo River. GPS Coordinates:  41.085337, -74.183371

A Short Line bus runs from the 42nd Street Port Authority Bus Terminal in NYC to Ramapo College in Mahwah, just across Ramapo Valley Road near the park.

A one-mile loop trail around picturesque Lake Henry fed by the Ramapo River and visited by waterfowl.

In back of the playing fields is a little known lake with a mile-long flat circular pathway around it, complete with two broad bridges over the Ramapo River. The hike is just long enough to clear a head or reduce blood pressure.  Use the Web Map link on this site to view a map of the larger area including the (un-blazed) trail in this park.

To extend the hike, an open field at the northern edge of the lake goes to another informal parking area at Halifax Road, which leads to a mowed path paralleling the Ramapo River.  At the main parking area, a walk around the perimeter of the playing fields adds 1/3 mile.

After heavy rains sections of the pathway can become very muddy.

Click to read a detailed description of a hike.  Click to view compelling photos taken in the park in late summer.

This park with recreational fields, grandstands and Lake Henry -- secluded at its western edge -- is owned by Mahwah Township.  It is a beautiful, quiet place regularly frequented by waterfowl such as swans, geese, cormorants, and egrets. 

Ramapo Valley County Reservation and the Darlington Schoolhouse, headquarters for the Trail Conference, are nearby.   Curently there is no off-street pathway between Soldiers Field and the Schoolhouse -- a short walk of roughly 600 feet is required along Ramapo Valley Road over a narrow bridge with potentially quick-moving traffic.