We haven't hiked in this park for over two years, mostly because the parking area and area near it are extremely crowded on weekends, even though the park isn't built
up. On a given Saturday there can be hundreds of dogwalkers, joggers and strollers. But most of the action is within a half-mile of the very large parking
lot. Once you get further in you may not see another soul. We took today, Friday, off to view the last fall foliage before a monster hurricane named Sandy gets
here in a few days. The storm projection shows it hitting land in New Jersey, a very rare event. Even if it doesn't hit us head-on, the winds generated by
this very huge storm will be felt along the entire east coast, so chances are all of the leaves will be off the trees and on the ground by Halloween.
Today we did the Hike of the Week for 12/26/2002 (updated on 4/15/2012) as described on the NYNJTC site, but with the addition of a complete loop around MacMillan Reservoir following an unmaintained trail along the bank. The majority of the ground covered are on trails we haven't hiked in the past. And, as you can see in the photos, the fall foliage was absolutely stunning. Total distance hiked today was nearly 6.5 miles in under 4 hours.
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Kiosk at trail head |
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Swamp near trail head |
Fishing in the Ramapo River |
Ramapo River looking south |
Fall foliage over ... |
... Scarlet Oak Pond |
Tangles on Schuber trail |
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Ramapo River |
Tree tomfoolery |
Schuber parallels river |
Rock hopping |
Foliage at intersection |
Bridge on Schuber |
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Pink explosion ... |
... near stream |
Remains ... |
... of camp ... |
... stone ... |
... cabin |
Beautiful waterfall ... |
... below Schuber |
Intense ... |
... fall foliage ... |
... along ... |
... Schuber trail |
Stream below ... |
... Schuber trail |
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Bridge amidst yellow |
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Silver trail looking east |
Dam at MacMillan Reservoir |
Rocky outcrop on eastern bank |
[Photo by Laura] |
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Red explosion |
Various ... |
... views of ... |
... MacMillan Reservoir ... |
... from eastern bank |
Giant rock at northern bank |
[Photo by Laura] |
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Crossing over ... |
... inlet stream to north |
Rock at northern tip |
Graffiti |
Views ... |
... from ... |
... western bank |
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Foliage on ... |
... Yellow-Silver trail |
Old mill race channel |
Amazing color ... |
... on Marsh Loop |
Back on Schuber |
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On Ridge trail |
Lots of leaf drop |
Rocky Mountain through trees |
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Remaining green |
Climbing on Ridge trail |
Leafy carpet |
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Maple color |
View point off Ridge trail |
Zoom view |
Various ... |
... views ... |
... from ... |
... our lunch spot |
Zoom south |
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Hill mansions |
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Descending on Ridge trail |
Huge mushrooms on downed tree |
Picnic table at ... |
... Scarlet Oak Pond |
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A lone swan ... |
... preening in the lake |
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Photographs and content copyright © Dan Balogh Web design by Dan Balogh |