Jungle Habitat Ringwood Trail Connector Proposal

Overview Introduction Rationale Existing Conditions Description Route Design Next Steps

Deadman's Curve | Green Turtle | Jennings Hollow | Lake to Lake | Sterling-Ringwood | RW-Beech Rd | Beech-Patterson Mine | Patterson to Jennings Hollow | Ringwood

Overview

The goal of this project is to develop a multi use mountain bike trail between Ringwood State Park and Jungle Habitat.  This trail will connect Ringwood Manor State Park, Sterling Forest, Long Pond Ironworks State Park, and Wanaque Wildlife Management Area. 

Introduction

JORBA has determined that the mountain biking community can greatly benefit from construction of a new connector using existing trails and woods roads.  This is an opportunity to link historic, state and regional and regional parks. 

Rationale

The main purpose of the proposed Jungle Habitat Ringwood Connection is to provide direct recreational opportunities to mountain bikers, as well as to the other trail user groups like hikers and equestrians. It would also open the regional trail system to interconnection and provide a missing linkage to major off-road trails with this system.

Both Jungle Habitat and Ringwood have been successfully developed into major mountian biking areas. 

Context

Within the highlands

Existing Conditions

Mostly double track, heavily used by ATV's.  The map below only hints at the density of trails in this area. 

Deadman's Curve to Awosting Woods

Entrance at White Rock.  Uphill sections are fall line, heavily eroded by ATV traffic. 

Green Turtle Pond to Trestle bridge

Currently necessitates a road ride from the north parking lot on East Shore Rd.  Would prefer a more direct route to the trestle bridge.  Re-route is an option to take advantage of single track. 

Jennings Hollow

Steep slopes just north of trestle bridge.  River ford on southern route is problematical in wet conditions.  Same with western route along swamp.  North of swamp recent blowdowns.  Low lying wet area with small stream crossings

Lake to Lake

Heavily traveled trail western slope is very steep either on the trail or the quad bypass. 

Power Lines to Ringwood Manor

Power Lines are just that, steep and rocky sections, fun downhill but up, eh.

Ringwood Manor

White trail single track steep in sections. 

Ringwood Manor to Hasenclever

Double track off the power lines north of Peter's Mine completely avoids the superfund site.  Hasenclever westbound mud flats until Beech Rd.

Beech Rd to Jennings Hollow via Patterson Mine

Beech Rd is baby heads, toddler heads, child heads, adult heads and giant heads, basically just a stream bed.  Climb to Patterson mine is OK, the mine(s) are just open pits off the trail, western slope is rocky. 

Description

Mostly woods roads and double track the route becomes steep and rocky in sections. 

Route

From Jennings Hollow North through Sterling Forest or South past Patterson Mine.  At no time are we to apprach Peters Mine Superfund Site. 

Two routes were scouted, the north route through Sterling Forest via the Lake to Lake Trail and the south route, that includes parts of the Hasenclever Iron Trail. 

North Route

The North route exits Jennings Hollow and picks up the Lake to Lake trail in Sterling Forest.  Heading either direction on this trail the issue is getting over the mountain.  The western side of Lake to Lake (L2L) is in really bad shape.  Major erosion, on either the trail or the quad bypass is mostly fall line.  Too steep for me to ride up.  Down is hairy when wet.  The eastern side of L2L seems doable riding up.  Down is fun. 

From Sterling Lake heading South into Tranquility Ridge, via Western Beech Rd. runs into the big muddy.  Not good.  From there the climb west up and over the mountain is way steep.  I don't even think it will be good downhill.  It does however, connect directly to L2L.  There are a couple of trails to explore on the eastern flanks.  I also need to head south and check some other possible routes.

One good thing about L2L is you can take it out to Castle Tavern for a beer. 

South Route

The southern route can be a little more problematical.  The trail colocates on the double track Hasenclever Iron Trail, however, our route veers north and around the Peters Mine Superfund site.  Other issues with this route include the heavily eroded Beech Road section.  It's just baby heads, toddler heads, teen heads and larger. 

Jungle Habitat Ringwood Trail Connector Map

In the map below roads are black, double tracks are green, single track blue, hiking red.  The light red areas are properties.  The route is dashed.  Not all trails are included.  Where appropriate blazes are indicated. 

Click here for a larger image you can save and print out. 

From Jungle Habitat to Ringwood Manor

1. Park at Jungle Habitat enter at Kiosk and make an immediate laft onto Lower Shute.  Ride Lower Shute until it exits onto the road (Safari 1).  Make a left on the road and ride downhill bearing left to Deadman's Curve the old Jungle Habitat Exit. 
2. Cross Greenwood Lake Turnpike and Enter WWMA Awosting Woods at the white boulder.  Ride the trail(s) uphill to a small flat area, continue past a mound on the left used as an ATV jump.  Climb up the hill at the top make a quick right that leads to a small lookout over Ponderosa.  Continue on the double track bearing right-but not make any right turns-the trail runs behind the houses on Awosting Rd.  Make a right past the last house, the trail will run right next to the property line exiting on Awosting Rd.  Cross the street and enter the trail slightly to the right, bear left on the double track heading north.  Stop at the second trail intersection on your left. 
3. This is where it gets tricky, to find the single track make a right into the woods as if you came straight up the trail from the left.  The path seems to peter out at a ledge, but carefully look to the right where you will find the trail dropping off the rock. Follow the trail to the bottom left exiting on a double track.  
   1. If you cannot find the single return to the double and continue in the previous direction eventually heading downhill.
   2. If you're looking for some fun, following the single track at the bottom to the right up the hill, right again for a nice loop with some rock drops.
4. You're now on the main trail in WWMA Green Turtle Pond, make a left and head North.  You'll ride this for a bit eventually coming to an intesection from the left, there will be evidence of an old dump, make a left riding through the crap on a double track with a slight downhill exiting onto a parking area on East Shore Rd.  Make a right on East Shore Rd. ride looking for the yellow trestle bridge barricade on the left hand side. 
5. Cross the bridge past the barricade.  Head straight up the trail dropping down the other side to Jennings Hollow.  You are on the yellow trail.  Stay on the west side of the hollow heading north past the swamp.  Continue north on the yellow blazed trail, past some blow downs, and through a low lying wet area with multiple small stream crossings.  Just past the last stream crossing take the quad trail to the north abandoning the yellow trail.  You know you are on the right trail if you see NY DEC signs on the trees.  Continue north until you hit the next intersection the Lake to Lake trail.  Blaze white with a red bar. 
6. Make a right on the Lake to Lake Trail (White a/ Red Bar), heading east.  You will ride Lake to Lake trail all the way over the mountain until you reach the lake on the other side where you'll be able to see IBM.  Some landmarks on the way:
   1. A footbridge over a stream-the stream is easily fordable with a bike.
   2. One hell of an uphill, you can take the quad trail to the left or the blazed trail to the right.  Both suck.  I'm sure somebody can ride this but not me, and I'd definately like to see it. 
   3. At the top the intersection with the Highlands Trail. 
   4. A nice long downhill reward for that bitch of a climb. 
   5. And finally, the lake.
7. Make a right on the dirt road near the lake.  Go past Dump Truck Valley on your left.  Ride the dirt road around the lake couterclockwise ending at a power cut. 
8. Make right on the power cut working your way to the high tension power lines.  Follow the trail exiting on a double track.  Make a left back to the high tension power lines and a right the ride the power lines up the big hill. 
9. At the top on the hill on the power line make a right onto a double track into Ringwood Manor State Park, ride the double track south to pickup the white trail.  Make a left on the white trail dropping down into the grounds of the Manor House in the north lot. 
10. To find you way back, print out these directions and hold them up to a mirror. 

Design

Current plans are to use existing trail system. 

Next Steps

GPS and Mapping 80%