Ringwood State Park is a state park in Passaic County in northeastern

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The Park is located in the heart of the

Ramapo Mountains The Ramapo Mountains are a forested chain of the Appalachian Mountains in northeastern New Jersey and southeastern New York, in the United States. They range in height from in New Jersey, and in New York. Several parks and forest preserves en ...

in Ringwood. Its forests are part of the

Northeastern coastal forests The Northeastern coastal forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of the northeast and middle Atlantic region of the United States. The ecoregion covers an area of 34,630 sq miles (89,691 km2) encompassing the Piedmont a ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

. It contains the New Jersey Botanical Garden at Skylands (includes

Skylands Manor Skylands is a estate property located in Ringwood State Park in Ringwood, New Jersey, a borough in Passaic County in the state of New Jersey. The Skylands property consists of the historic Skylands Manor mansion, The Castle at Skylands Mano ...

), the historic

Ringwood Manor Ringwood Manor, located in Passaic County, New Jersey, was the site of an ironworks and home to a number of well-known ironmasters from the 1740s to the late 19th century. The current manor house was not built until 1807. History Scottish engine ...

and the Shepherd Lake Recreation Area. The park is operated and maintained by the

New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry In the state of New Jersey, the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry is an administrative division of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. In its most visible role, the Division is directly responsible for the management and ...

Skylands Manor and Botanical Gardens

A forty-four-room English Jacobean mansion, the building was designed in the 1920s by

John Russell Pope John Russell Pope (April 24, 1874 – August 27, 1937) was an American architect whose firm is widely known for designing major public buildings, including the National Archives and Records Administration building (completed in 1935), the Jeffe ...

for Clarence McKensie Lewis, a wealthy stockbroker and civil engineer. The gardens were established by lawyer

Francis Lynde Stetson Francis Lynde Stetson (April 23, 1846 – December 5, 1920) was an American lawyer. He was president of the New York State Bar Association in 1909 and of the New York City Bar Association from 1910 to 1911. Early life and education He was born i ...

, who owned Skylands from 1891 to 1922. The

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

contains a variety of plants, evergreens and deciduous trees and shrubs. The landscaping includes a

crabapple ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 30–55 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples, wild apples, and rainberries. The genus is native to the temperate zone o ...

vista, terraced gardens, perennial and annual gardens and woodland paths. The extensive gardens offer views of the

. Skylands Manor is open for tours one Sunday per month March through November.

Ringwood Manor

Was home to a number of well-known ironmasters from the 1740s to the late 19th century. During the American Revolution,

Robert Erskine Robert Erskine (1735–1780) was a Scottish inventor and engineer who came to the British colonial Province of New Jersey in 1771 to run the ironworks at Ringwood, New Jersey. He subsequently became sympathetic to the movement for independen ...

managed ironmaking operations from Ringwood, and became

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

's first geographer and Surveyor-General, producing maps for the

Continental army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

; Washington visited the Manor House several times. Ringwood iron was used in the famous

Hudson River Chain The Hudson River Chains were a series of chain booms constructed across the Hudson River at West Point by Continental Army forces from 1776 to 1778 during the American Revolutionary War. These served as defenses preventing British naval vessels ...

, and for tools and hardware for the army. One of the Manor's last owners was

Abram S. Hewitt Abram Stevens Hewitt (July 31, 1822January 18, 1903) was an American politician, educator, ironmaking industrialist, and lawyer who was mayor of New York City for two years from 1887–1888. He also twice served as a U.S. Congressman from an ...

, ironmaster, educator, lawyer, U.S. Congressman, and mayor of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The Manor is part of a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

District and is open for tours from Wednesday through Sunday year round from 10 am to 3 pm.

Shepherd Lake Recreation Area

Centered on , spring-fed Shepherd Lake. Swimming, boating (electric motors only) and fishing are permitted, and boat rentals are available. A network of trails maintained by the

New York - New Jersey Trail Conference New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

surrounds the lake; some are multi-use trails, and may be used for hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, cross country skiing or snowmobiling. A mountain bike loop, maintained by the Jersey Off Road Bicycling Association, is especially popular. Shepherd Lake also operated as a ski area during the 1960s and included a rope tow and double chairlift. Hiking to the top of the hill will reveal the top station and bullwheel of the chairlift. The old ski slope is now mostly overgrown. Sledding used to be permitted on the lower half but is no longer allowed due to the safety hazard of sledding into Shepherd Lake. Sledding is still available in the park on two hills in the Ringwood Manor section.

Gallery

File:Skylands2.jpg, A former pumphouse at Skylands Manor File:Skylands3.jpg, The State Botanical Garden at Skylands File:Ringwood2.jpg, Ringwood Manor showing a mortar and part of the

Great Chain The Hudson River Chains were a series of chain booms constructed across the Hudson River at West Point by Continental Army forces from 1776 to 1778 during the American Revolutionary War. These served as defenses preventing British naval vessels ...

File:SheperdLake2.jpg, Shepherd Lake Recreation Area File:Skylands.jpg, Skylands Manor

References

{{authority control Parks in Passaic County, New Jersey Ringwood, New Jersey State parks of New Jersey

Skylands Manor and Botanical Gardens

Ringwood Manor

Shepherd Lake Recreation Area

Gallery

See also

References