Harriman Hiker: Harriman State Park and Beyond: Rockleigh Woods Sanctuary and Lamont Preserve

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Rockleigh Woods Sanctuary and Lamont Preserve

Rockleigh Woods Sanctuary and Lamont Preserve
Rockleigh and Alpine
Jersey Palisades
Bergen Co.,
New Jersey

Hiking Trails:
Sneden-Haring-Lamont Trail: Yellow blaze
Roaring Ravine Trail: Red blaze
Hutechon Trail: Blue blaze
Lamont Rock Trail: White blaze

Total Time: 2:00 Hours
Estimated Distance: 3.5 Miles
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
Level of Recommendation: Recommended

Points of Interest: Quiet scenic area with a nice network of trails
Cons: View is disappointing

This was another very nice late fall day with great weather. I had never been to this area and wanted to explore the network of trails. The area is a scenic, wooded area in the northeastern corner of New Jersey, less than a mile from the New York state line. The area is on the foot and slope of the western side of the Palisades cliffs.

I had to drive up and down Rockleigh Road a several towns until I realized where to park. Parking is behind Rockleigh borough hall, which looks like an old restored house, thus making it hard to find. I parked and took the Sneden-Haring-Lamont Trail to the pond, walked around it, and then continued back on the trail until the brook, and right before crossing it, took the Roaring Ravine trail along the side of the gully up the mountain to the Hutechon Trail.

I then took the Hutcheon Trail to the Lamont Rock Trail, where it climbs up to the view and then right after to Lamont Rock. I encountered a few mountain bikers here along the trail (biking is allowed here.) The view was facing north towards Piermont and Nyack, but was quite obstructed by trees. Lamont Rock which is right nearby is a large interesting rock that pops out from the bedrock it is sitting on.

I then continued down the mountain on the Lamont Rock Trail, past the cisterns and rock piles, and then took the same trail back up the mountain (this trail is a loop) to the Sneden-Haring-Lamont Trail, which in then took west down the mountain. I then continued on the Hutechon Trail to its terminus, then tookl the Sneden-Haring-Lamont Trail for a short distance before cutting across back to the small pond to take some pictures as the original pictures I had taken were not written to my card. I then took the unmarked path back towards Rockleigh Road, which I took back to the parking lot behind the borough hall.

I had accidentally forgotten my SD card from my camera inside my computer. I had taken several excellent pictures when I finally noticed this. I was stuck taking the rest of the pictures from my cell phone camera. I had actually only noticed this well into the hike, about 1000 feet past the view. I actually went back again to that spot to take a few more photos, and retraced some other spots to take some new photos.