wanaque ridge trail in ramapo

C

crash

New Member
New orange blazed trail in Ramapo Mountain State Forest. Starts off at blue trail (macevoy) north of lake then heads west / southwest, ends up on red trail (indian head) near the intersection with red trail (cannonball) south of lake. About 2.5 miles with views, Any reviews?
 
If it is the trail I am thinking - the orange which starts on the backside of the castle, has some great views of the reservoir and dam, then I will say it is a very challenging trail. Some of it is doubletrack that gets torn up by quads, and other sections are probably the most technical sections in the whole park. There is a section on the ridge where you are riding on the knife edge of a long boulder with exposure on both sides. It isn't that tough but the exposure makes me a bit jumpy. There are a couple of really steep loose descents as well.
 
If it is the trail I am thinking of, it was put in at least a year ago by a NYNJTC member. It goes to Indian Rock overlook above Wanaque. Very technical.
 
what they said 😛

Engignar said:
If it is the trail I am thinking - the orange which starts on the backside of the castle, has some great views of the reservoir and dam, then I will say it is a very challenging trail. Some of it is doubletrack that gets torn up by quads, and other sections are probably the most technical sections in the whole park. There is a section on the ridge where you are riding on the knife edge of a long boulder with exposure on both sides. It isn't that tough but the exposure makes me a bit jumpy. There are a couple of really steep loose descents as well.
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trailhead said:
If it is the trail I am thinking of, it was put in at least a year ago by a NYNJTC member. It goes to Indian Rock overlook above Wanaque. Very technical.
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It also has one impossible climb...oh wait, it is not impossible anymore 😉

You want to take it from Blue to Indian.
 
Did that trail today. It's no joke but seriously super fun. I also have to say, this was the most confusing part of my ride. I took 3 wrong turns and even climbed up to wanaque ridge twice. oops. I was following Manny's Everytrail 8-mile plot. Which I have to say, is freakin great. Thanks to you guys that post trail gps. It's been extremely helpful.
 
argyle said:
Did that trail today. It's no joke but seriously super fun. I also have to say, this was the most confusing part of my ride. I took 3 wrong turns and even climbed up to wanaque ridge twice. oops. I was following Manny's Everytrail 8-mile plot. Which I have to say, is freakin great. Thanks to you guys that post trail gps. It's been extremely helpful.
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Glad you found it useful....next time how about an invite.🙄
 
Question. I rode cannonball, blue and orange yesterday at Ramapo. There are a lot of large downed trees. Can someone explain to me the process of how these get either cut, worked around... Can I volunteer, do you need special permission or permit? This is the closest place to ride for me and I would love to keep things flowing nicely for everyone! 😎
 
CosmicAvenger said:
Question. I rode cannonball, blue and orange yesterday at Ramapo. There are a lot of large downed trees. Can someone explain to me the process of how these get either cut, worked around... Can I volunteer, do you need special permission or permit? This is the closest place to ride for me and I would love to keep things flowing nicely for everyone! 😎
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I was out there this weekend and know what you mean. With all the heavy snow this winter we have quite a few dead falls. I will talk to Art White from Jorba and see when he might have time to go out and clear them.

As for volunteering, keep an eye on the board because Jorba will be scheduling some TM to work on Cannonball this season and we can use all the help available.
 
Happy to say Art and I were out at Ramapo today and cleared 15 dead falls. Only two were left in place on blue by the pipeline to discourage quads. We also looked at some potential reroutes for yellow as future projects. Stay tuned!

Kudos to Art for his hard work as a Steward of Ramapo and Ringwood.
 
MannyL358 said:
Happy to say Art and I were out at Ramapo today and cleared 15 dead falls. Only two were left in place on blue by the pipeline to discourage quads. We also looked at some potential reroutes for yellow as future projects. Stay tuned!

Kudos to Art for his hard work as a Steward of Ramapo and Ringwood.
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I know those trees by the gasline! Did you guys go on trails south of the lake heading towards 287?
 
Thanks so much Manny for helping out with trees and planning. Many Jorba leaders are stretched pretty thin now, so the help is really appreciated. This is looking very encouraging for future projects in Ramapo! 🙂
 
Just my 2 - cents on this trail and area in general ...
Me and my wife have been hiking from Back Beach park near our house to these trails for years. I've always considered them more suited for hiking but recently have been mountain biking there. I have been mtb for 25 years or so and consider myself an intermediate rider - more for the years of service than for technical riding , which i barely do . Turning 50 recently :cry: I have to be careful - college tuitions , mortgage , etc . Actually I've always been abit afraid of going for it on steep rocky decents and climbs and prefer double track and fire roads . It's sorta been a work thing for me - If I get hurt I don't work and then don't get paid . Sounds kinda wimpy but that's the way it has been .
Anyway , back to the trails - the orange trail is not for beginners for sure - unless they enjoy walking with their bikes alot ! I would go as far as calling this an expert trail , because if you're not used to steep rocky descents and climbs and tight areas it is very dangerous - as I found out . I did have to walk with my bike quite a few times and when I did ride it was hairy quite often . Now here is the real reason I am posting - I ended up taking quite a fall going downhill when the rocks went out from under me . Luckily I landed ok except for really twisting my knee , which instantly was extremely painful and swollen - not good . The other problem with this trail , especially if you're riding solo - which I was - is that you are alooong way from anywhere. It took me an hour and a half to walk painfully back to my car . So I just wanted to put this out there if you venture to this trail . I know most of you would already no this - it goes for alot of trails in NJ. I just wanted to point out some of the dangers of this area. Sometimes we forget what the consequences are if we aren't careful or unfortunate .

Oh - and also - the bugs and flies suck!!! Whatever those flies are that go at you until you kill them or they get you ( deer flies I call them ) are everywhere !
 
Last night the bugs were nuts! I was on Cannonball up to TOS and back. You are right though, Orange is nuts, especially at night. During the winter my knee went sideways (with a pop sound) while on the gas line. Not a comfortable hike back to TOS. I feel your pain.
 
UnionRider475 - after posting about the orange trail awhile back I have accepted the fact that some trails are just better for training runs rather than mountain biking for us over 40 crowd. The orange / gas pipeline / blue at Ramapo fall into that category. I cut my teeth in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the early 90's, and nothing was like the granite patches and drop offs I find throughout the Ramapo mountain area nor are my knees and back twenty five anymore!
 
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