Ramapo Mountain State Forest
Nature preserve
1,017 acres12.1 mi of trail
Wanaque Ridge TrailCastle Loop TrailSouth Shore Drive/Ramapo Lake Loop TrailRamapo Lake Loop/Cannonball Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead
Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's Commons talk page, my Commons user talk page, or my English Wikipedia user talk page; I'll know about it a lot faster) · CC BY-SA 4.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Wanaque
Wanaque has 28 miles of mapped trails, 3.5 for every square mile of land
41% of Wanaque’s land is conserved, about 2,099 acres. 97% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: Ramapo Mountain State Forest (12.1 mi).
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns · #32 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
41%
2,099 acres · of 8.1 sq mi of land
Trails
28 mi
3.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
376 ac
34 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
97%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.3 mi
1.7 mi paths
Highest peak
617 ft
Ball Mountain
Lakes & rivers
6
What kind of outdoors town is Wanaque?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wanaque have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wanaque is ahead of 98% of U.S. towns, #32 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Wanaque’s overall grade.
Conserved land41% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%A+Trails3.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (28 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land34 acres of park per 1,000 residents (376 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home97% of residents within a half mile of a park · NJ 98% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 98%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 93%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Wanaque’s 41% is ahead of 94% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 97% of them.
Water is 14% of Wanaque’s area (1 of 9 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 35%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Ramapo Mountain State Forest, with 12.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
2,099 conserved acres
41% of Wanaque’s land. Water is left out: Wanaque has 8.1 square miles of land and 1.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Wanaque’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State conservation1,598 ac
Town or city279 ac
State natural resources181 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits42 ac
Not recorded146 ac
Conservation Easement · 1,598 acState Resource Management Area · 181 acUnknown · 144 acLocal Other or Unknown · 105 acLocal Conservation Area · 75 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 1,454 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 21 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown Unknown | Not recorded | 146 | Unknown |
| Norvin Green State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 119 | Open |
| Future Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 93 | Open |
| Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 75 | Open |
| Ramapo Mountain State Forest State Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 62 | Open |
| Passaic River Park Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 42 | Open |
| Back Beach Park Local Park | Town or city | 41 | Open |
| Wanaque Borough Forest Local Resource Management Area | Town or city | 25 | Open |
| Addis Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Washington Lake Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 10 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
21 places to go in Wanaque
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Wanaque
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Waterfalls in Wanaque
1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Wanaque
Castle PointIn Ramapo Mountain State Forest
DirectionsProfile Rock
DirectionsRock BeachIn Ramapo Mountain State Forest
DirectionsWanaque Reservoir OverlookIn Ramapo Mountain State Forest
DirectionsWater Tower RuinsIn Ramapo Mountain State Forest
DirectionsPlus 13 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Peaks in Wanaque
Ball Mountain617 ft elevation
DirectionsTrails & water
25 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 14.2 miUnpaved · 15.7 mi
Wanaque Ridge Trail2.9 mi
Cresent1.7 mi
Indian Rock Trail1.1 mi
Mine Loop Trail0.9 mi
Castle Loop Trail0.8 mi
Mine Loop/Highlands Trail0.7 mi
South Shore Drive/Ramapo Lake Loop Trail0.7 mi
Pete's Path0.7 mi
Wanaque Ridge Spur Trail0.7 mi
Pool Hollow Trail0.7 mi
15 more trails
Ramapo Lake Loop/Cannonball Trail
0.6 miCannonball Trail
0.6 miPosts Brook Trail
0.5 miLeGrande-Lake Connector Trail
0.4 miHighlands Trail
0.3 miCannonball / Hoeferlin Memorial Trail
0.2 miPool Hollow Bypass
0.2 miNorth Shore Drive/Ramapo Lake Loop Trail
0.2 miMine Spur/Highlands Trail
0.2 miNorth Shore Drive/Ramapo Lake Loop/Cannonball Trail
0.2 miHigh Point-Mine Connector Trail
0.1 miEast Shore Drive/Ramapo Lake Loop/Castle Loop Trail
0.1 miSouth Ridge Trail
0.1 miRamapo Lake Loop Spur Trail
0.1 miWanaque Ridge/Cannonball Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.7 mi
off-road bike paths
0.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
10Baseball
4Tennis
2Basketball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Wanaque: April to September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 40 | 49 | 61 | 71 | 80 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.4 | 2.6 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.6 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Wanaque →
Next door
Wanaque and its neighbors
Wanaque has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wanaque | 41% | 3.5 | 34 | 97% | A+ |
| Ringwood | 37% | 4.3 | 483 | 85% | A+ |
| Bloomingdale | 10% | 2.3 | 20 | 90% | A |
| Pompton Lakes | 6% | 2.1 | 21 | 98% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Wanaque
Where can I hike in Wanaque?
The longest trail networks: Ramapo Mountain State Forest, 12.1 miles; Elks Camp Moore, 0.4 miles; Addice Park, 0.2 miles; Back Beach Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Wanaque is conserved land?
41% of its land, against a typical 11% for a New Jersey town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Wanaque’s trails?
Ramapo Mountain State Forest and Elks Camp Moore don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Wanaque?
2.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.7 of off-road paths and 0.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Wanaque?
84,280 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wanaque or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,497 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Wanaque have?
Ahead of 98% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #32 of 468 in New Jersey. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Wanaque neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →