Ramapo to Ringwood question...

B

babu

New Member
Hello everyone,
I just looked in the other thread regarding the options for a ride from the top of the Skyline to Ringwood, but I still need some clarification. I rode Ringwood a lot in the past three years so no problems there. However, I have never tried going to Ringwood from the top of Skyline Dr. Is the trailhead across the street from the parking lot? Which trail should I take to Ringwood, and where will it take me out, once in Ringwood...this is in order to plan the RNG side of the ride. One last thing: what options do I have for the ride back?
Pfffff.....that's a lot of questions... Thanks a lot...in advance!
 
babu said:
Is the trailhead across the street from the parking lot?
Click to expand...

No, that is a dirt road leading to a boy scout camp. The Cannonball trail crosses Skyline Drive a couple hundred yards to the north.

I'm going to hold off on the rest because I haven't been up there in a while. I don't want to get you lost.
 
easiest way is to take red/white from upper lot until it intersects cannonball.
at cannonball make a right, you'll end up on a paved road that takes you to Skyline Dr. Cross Skyline Dr and keep on Cannonball.
Cannonball will drop you by the gas line. make a slight right, go over a boulder and take double track climb which will dump you at the top by gas line.
Follow a road that crosses gas line and a little further ahead you will see cannonball trailhead on your right to go to ringwood.
if you keep going you will see unmarked trailhead that becomes yellow.
Both yellow and Cannonball take you to ringwood, but Yellow is more tech and it will take you to the lookout.
If you take cannonball you'll do more double track/fireroad accross the scout camps and you'll end up at bear swamp.
Coming back is easy, either take yellow or Cannonball. Yellow and Cannonball become the same in certain spots.
Do not take RED (ringwood/ramapo) just yet. or Green.

I hope it makes sense...but look for the maps to clarify.

RAMAPO...oh look at that map 😉
http://www.mtbnj.com/wiki/Ramapo_Mountain_State_Forest#Maps
RINGWOOD
http://www.mtbnj.com/wiki/Ringwood_State_Park#Maps
 
Thanks a lot...you seem to know it realy well. What I'll do is just print your directions and off I'll go. I will have the entire day (Tuesday, after the LD weekend) so even if I get lost, no biggie. I'll try to stay on the yellow since it appears that it has more singletrack goodness. Thanks a bunch!
 
Also, are there any trails that are off-limits to bikes? Every sign posted shows only a Hiker icon although I see peeps riding everything.
 
yellow

i've heard that yellow is hiker only,waa? i didn't hear that ,speak up, oops to far away to understand....next time. After descending from the lookout on yellow,through two yummy rock gardens, you get to an intersection.Straight and left both go to ringwood. Straight is way more tech, a couple steps of walking early on then very twisty and rocky and you go past another lookout(eastward)at left turn the yellow becomes blue(you can go straight and go down to the scout camp,very steep) and the blue hits piersons ridgeWhich is both the high point and eastern border of ringwood state park.Back at the intersection on yellow, I prefer the left which goes to a killer dh ending at a WAY over built bridge(10 bridges worth of wood) and a nicely challenging red dot climb,then you're in ringwood. Close by is the 7 bridges loop,recommended rolling,if you havn't. Then i like to go around in ringwood and back to skyline,either by blue/yellow,lft at red /rt on cannonball or green dot down to bearswamp and then cannonball. cannonball is better for getting back to skline,yellow is better leaving skyline.
 
The aftermath...

This is what happened on my ride, this tuesday...my fault for not reading all the posts in this thread...So, my friend and I arrived on top of the Skyline at about 1020am. We geared up and a few minutes after we were on Cannonball. We then followed Elzoller's instructions and took yellow. And we reached the lookout. After that things became interesting...we continued on yellow/white and then kept on yellow. We kept riding and riding, but nothing seemed familiar and by that ti we should have been in Ringwood already. We passed on a fireroad where the were quite a few burnt cars from the 60's and 70's, and then we passed a cross. We also found a couple of burnt bycicles on the side of a fireroad pretty much in the same location...the area looked creepy.Finnaly we arrived to a asphalt road and a lady stopped her car and asked us where we were trying to get. I said: well, is this Ringwood? She looked at us really amazed, and laughing she said: you're in Mahwah!
I have no clue how we got there, but it was the yellow trail we took. So we rode on the road back to Ringwood, to Shepard's lake. We did the race track and Skylands trail and then again on the road, from Ringwood, up tot he top of the Skyline. At that point I had no intention to look for Cannonball in Ringwood.
Total cost: 8.5 hours, 2 apples, 2 power bars, some dried fruits and 4.5 litres of water each. The beers after were some of the best ever...sometimes it's not that bad to get lost.
Next time though, I hope I'll do it right, and take my time to look around whent I get to the bear swamp. Thanks everyone for your input.
 
My guess is you were on Bear Swamp road although I haven't seen the burnt bikes and cars. It can theoretically still be considered part of Ringwood. After the lookout, you headed in a Easterly direction, when you should have gone in a Westerly direction. I'm probably pointing out the obvious here.

Next time, from the Yellow, hang a left on Blue once you get into the Ringwood area. You can bomb down Blue it's almost downhill-like and will lead you do the Ringwood trails. The red trail (to the left back toward Ramapo) after you come down from Blue is where the TM has been going on all summer.
 
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babu said:
This is what happened on my ride, this tuesday...my fault for not reading all the posts in this thread...So, my friend and I arrived on top of the Skyline at about 1020am. We geared up and a few minutes after we were on Cannonball. We then followed Elzoller's instructions and took yellow. And we reached the lookout. After that things became interesting...we continued on yellow/white and then kept on yellow. We kept riding and riding, but nothing seemed familiar and by that ti we should have been in Ringwood already. We passed on a fireroad where the were quite a few burnt cars from the 60's and 70's, and then we passed a cross. We also found a couple of burnt bycicles on the side of a fireroad pretty much in the same location...the area looked creepy.Finnaly we arrived to a asphalt road and a lady stopped her car and asked us where we were trying to get. I said: well, is this Ringwood? She looked at us really amazed, and laughing she said: you're in Mahwah!
I have no clue how we got there, but it was the yellow trail we took. So we rode on the road back to Ringwood, to Shepard's lake. We did the race track and Skylands trail and then again on the road, from Ringwood, up tot he top of the Skyline. At that point I had no intention to look for Cannonball in Ringwood.
Total cost: 8.5 hours, 2 apples, 2 power bars, some dried fruits and 4.5 litres of water each. The beers after were some of the best ever...sometimes it's not that bad to get lost.
Next time though, I hope I'll do it right, and take my time to look around whent I get to the bear swamp. Thanks everyone for your input.
Click to expand...

sorry about that. i think i migh have missed pointing out that at Yellow/White split, you should've taken white towards ringwood instead of yellow to bear swamp. sounds like you came out by Ramapo Reservation by rt 202 some how.

Blue, like Soundz said also takes u to Ringwood, but skips some nice techy sections (white/yellow).

getting lost is the best way to learn 😀
 
Well, now I know! I remember intersecting the blue trail at one point, but I could see an interesting tech section on the yellow so we continued on it. I also thought about taking the white when the trails split, but obviously I took the wrong turn..hahaha...next time I know!
Elzoller, you mentioned the trail work that's been going on during the summer...I am a Jorba member, but because I'm in NYC, I only come to NJ for Ringwood, and that's when I'm not going to Blue (no toll to ge there); however I did not know the work continued on the red trail beyond the point where you're coming down that beautiful section where Jorba did all that rock moving work, ending in the fireroad...not too much logic in what I wrote but I think you know what I reffer to. Anyway, does the trail go beyond that point now? That's where I stopped Tuesday. Thanks again.
 
Ringwood swallows up yet another victim! This is why I always go with a guide to Ringwood. On the other hand, Ramapo is becoming quite familiar.

Sounded like one crazy adventure. 8.5 hours!
 
At least you didn't run into any Jackson Whites 😀

I don't know how far the new trail goes. I helped out with some of the early work there, but haven't checked it out now that the new section opened.
 
Sounds like you did the same route an old friend of mine did with me many years ago. I wish I could track back again that route. I saw the same cars, etc that were on the trail, no big deal to worry about. I'd be more concerned about bear encounters than anything else there.
 
Hey JerseyPete....not that I was worried about the place, but thinking about those cars, one must have a good reason and be well determined to drive a vehicle all the way there and set it on fire. And you're right, the place, especially the upper areas (close to the lookout), seemed like a bear's paradise. I could only imagine how happy they roam when all those blueberry bushes have something to offer.

Elzoller...interesting story about the Jackson Whites.

Now all this discussion about the ride makes me want to try it again this weekend.
 
is this car that you saw??
 

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The one group of cars I saw was a Ford Tempo from the 80's and a couple of older cars.
 
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BTW, was there someone from here on Cannonball around 7 AM this morning (Saturday)? I was behind with another guy on my black Klein Mantra. Did CB past ruins to gasline to blue to CB back.
 
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