3.6 miles | 633 ft gain | Difficulty: Moderate | Rating ★★★★

First hike of summer! Well technically the solstice was 12 hours after we completed our hike, but let’s go by the day, not the hour. We were in New Jersey for a party, our first since the pandemic, and Father’s Day so decided to take advantage of Sunday morning to get in a quick hike. Ramapo Reservation is only a 10 minute drive from where I grew up, so while I know the location well, I never took advantage of the trails in the way I should.

Arriving at the parking lot around 9am, it was nearly full. However that can be deceiving. Ramapo is a favorite family stroll or dog walking area. Most people tend to walk the lake loop or hike the mile to the falls and reservoir. But if you venture out to the corners of the park, you can more or less have it to yourself. We saw about a dozen people on the trail, which is higher than normal, but still relatively peaceful.

I realized that often stay further to the west (left) side of the park, unless I’m doing a lake loop. This time we journeyed counterclockwise east, first going halfway around the lake, then following the yellow blazed Vista loop. At the park entrance, the trail was rated as strenuous but that’s all in stride. It only gains a little more than 600 feet, all in the initial climb. So really, one steep part, then smooth sailing. I would consider it moderate at best.

After our first steep climb, we reached Hawk Rock about a mile in with a great view of the mountains in the distance and Ramapo College in the foreground. Climbing a bit further we came to Cactus Ledge, covered with (surprise, surprise) cacti. It was a bit starting to see cacti in the wild in New Jersey, but apparently the prickly pear cactus is the only native cactus east of the Rocky Mountains.

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We continued climbing a bit more, without views, to our highest point at 1.5 miles, then started our descent into the forest. We got one final view over the valley before we headed all the way down. I was alerted to our proximity to the reservoir by an increase of voices. Our solitude was over.

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Past the waterfall, the trail opened to a wide carriage road for a bit, before we went back to a narrower trail, following rock steps down to a waterfall, meeting up with all those families we saw parked in the lot. It was a beautiful trail and a perfect way to kill a few hours in the morning before the heat really kicked in.

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