Ramapo Lake is a 120-acre man-made lake in Ramapo Mountain State Forest in Northern New Jersey. Ramapo Lake originally consisting of a 25-acre pond named Rotten Poel by the Dutch. It was enlarged and deepened by Jacob Rogers in the late 19th century when he built a stone dam across its outlet.
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Van Slyke Castle
4.7
(199)
A beautiful secluded lake between Oakland, Mahwah, and Ringwood. You can get there from every side, but the most common way is by parking on Skyline drive at the upper(fastest way) or lower lot and hiking to the lake. I have also hiked there from Pompton Lakes using Canonball Trail and I have hiked over from Wanaque using Pete's Trail. It is even possible to hike from route 202, but that can be as long as 10 miles each way, depending on where you start. The lake itself is big with nooks and coves all around. The hike around it is a few miles with side trails to good views such as the cliffs by 287 or up to the castle which allows views from the lake all...
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Very well maintained with the trails well marked. We hiked a portion of the yellow trail (Hoeferlin) from the upper parking lot to and around the lake. There are plenty of clearings around the lake that allow for fishing (NJ fishing license required) and while the NJDEP allows for caneoing on the lake, its one heck of a hike to get your floatables to the water and back to...
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Beautiful! There are places you can slip in for a swim, though not sure it's allowed (other people were swimming there too with their dogs :] ). Hiking is beautiful! Mild to moderate trails.
09/19/18 Have been here 3xs since first visit. many different trails to explore. *Update: over the summer a teenager unfortunately passed away swimming here. signs everywhere saying...
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