Governor's Mountain via Cooper Union Trail (Ringwood State Park)
Hike Type: Lollipop Loop
Distance: 2.17 miles
Elevation: 325 feet
My Time: 46 minutes
Book Time: 1 hour, 14 minutes
Parking: Extremely limited parking on Carletondale Road where the Cooper Union Trail crosses (4PCQ+3W, Ringwood, NJ 07456 on Google Maps, labeled as "Cooper Union Trail").
Hiking Challenges: Ringwood-Ramapo Hiking Challenge
Hiking Challenges: Ringwood-Ramapo Hiking Challenge
The Hike
My plan was to do a big loop in Ringwood State Park, but to my horror I found out when I got there that it had a cash-only entrance fee that I could not pay, so instead I pivoted to the collection of small hikes on the list that I still needed to do. I drove over to the Cooper Union Trail trailhead at Carbondale Road, which was kind of a parking area for like one car? It was super unclear, so I backed into a slightly hidden spot and just power hiked this one!
I was bit within seconds of leaving the car, so bug spray went right on. I crossed the road and the trail slightly descneded into the woods and passed a man-made shelter with chalk all over the ground. It was a wider trail than I expected, which I was happy to see! The trail followed a private property boundary, an old lid on a tree (maybe an old old blaze?) and a bunch of small orange mushrooms.
I passed a spur path to a large parking area/building, I wonder if people use that as a trailhead? Around the 0.3 mile mark, the actual loop began. The trail began to easily climb to a grassy ridge that was actually quite nice. I could hear somebody doing yardwork down below as I hiked through a humid air. I was just glad it wasn't dreadfully hot out. I found myself thinking about a conversation Sarah and I recently had - I think what I like most about hiking lists (besides the patch) is that it takes a lot of thinking out of the "what do I want to hike" question. I just open my spreadsheets and go from there!
I maneuvered a huge blowdown and followed a spur I saw on AllTrails that led to a decades-overgrown viewpoint. I then descended into some thicker vegetation with herd paths all around - thankfully the trail was well-blazed.
I hiked up a little steep spot that led to a cute view to one of the nearby reservoirs.
There was an illegal fire ring just after and a few nice erratics just after that. The trail descended pretty easily after that with one moderate pitch, an old reroute sign, and a ton of mushrooms that might have been chicken of the woods. I walked under another large blowdown and soon reached the end of the loop! There was a little frog under a bridge, a sea of potato chip-looking mushrooms, and then I saw a coyote run across the trail with a groundhog in it's mouth?! That was a first!
Back at the car, I changed the wettest part of my clothes and started my drive towards Long Pond Ironworks State Park for Hike #2 of the day!
Step-by-Step
- Start Hike on Cooper Union Trail at Carletondale Road (yellow).
- At split, turn left to hike the loop counter-clockwise.
- Return to car.
