Lake Sonoma/Overlook Rock/Manaticut Point Long Loop from Crescent Drive
Directions to trailhead
Take Skyline Drive to its northwestern terminus at Greenwood Lake Turnpike (County Route 511). Turn left and proceed south for 1.6 miles to West Brook Road. Turn right onto West Brook Road and cross the Wanaque Reservoir on a causeway. At the next T-junction, turn left and proceed for 0.8 mile to Magee Road. Turn right onto Magee Road and take the first left onto Burnt Meadow Road. Continue for 0.9 mile and turn left at the second intersection with Crescent Drive. Continue for 0.2 mile until you reach a huge boulder and a kiosk on the right side of the road, just beyond a curve. Park along the side of the road. GPS address: 1 Crescent Drive, Ringwood, NJ 07456.
Hike Description
Between the boulder and the kiosk, a triple black-square-on-yellow blaze marks the start of the Manaticut Spur Trail. Head into the woods on this trail. Soon, you'll cross two branches of a stream on rocks, with several abandoned sections of concrete pipe adjacent to the stream, and pass by a huge fractured rock. A short distance beyond, you’ll cross another stream.
After crossing a third stream below an interesting inverted-V-shaped rock formation and proceeding through an area with an understory of ferns, the Manaticut Spur Trail ends at a junction with the yellow-blazed Manaticut Loop. Here, the yellow blazes head both to the left and straight ahead. You should continue straight ahead, uphill (towards Lake Sonoma), to follow the Manaticut Loop in the counterclockwise direction.
About a mile from the start, the orange-blazed Lake Sonoma Trail joins from the right. Continue ahead, now following both orange and yellow blazes. A short distance ahead, you’ll notice a triple yellow/orange blaze on the left, but you should continue ahead on the joint Manaticut Loop/Lake Sonoma Trail, which descends to cross the inlet stream of Lake Sonoma at a woods road, immediately turns right, and soon reaches a limited viewpoint over the lake. The trail reenters the woods, with views of the lake through the trees, then bears right and reaches a panoramic viewpoint over the lake. Soon, it bears sharply left and heads away from the lake, following a narrow ridge, then turns right onto a woods road.
The Manaticut Loop/Lake Sonoma Trail soon turns left, leaving the woods road. It briefly parallels a stream, then crosses it below an attractive cascade. Here, the orange-blazed Lake Sonoma Trail turns right, but you should turn sharply left, continuing to follow the yellow-blazed Manaticut Loop. The trail briefly joins another woods road, then bears right and begins a steady climb. At the top, it bears left, briefly descends, then turns sharply left at a switchback and climbs gently to reach a junction with the white-blazed Overlook Rock Trail, which joins from the right.
Continue ahead, now following both yellow and white blazes. In 150 feet, both trails turn right at a double blaze. Here, you should turn left and make a short, steep climb up a rock ledge, emerging onto Overlook Rock -- a massive exposed rock face. Overlook Rock affords a panoramic east-facing view over Lake Sonoma and Windbeam, Bear and Board Mountains, with the Ramapo Mountains in the background. You've now gone about two miles from the start.
After taking in the view, descend from the rock, turn right, and retrace your steps along the joint yellow/white-blazed trail for 150 feet, then turn left onto the white-blazed Overlook Rock Trail. The trail descends gradually, crossing a woods road and then a stream. It turns right and parallels the stream, soon joining a level woods road, which it follows for 0.2 mile.
Immediately after crossing another stream, the Overlook Rock Trail turns left, leaving the road, and climbs to reach a long rock outcrop. It parallels the outcrop on the left, then bears right and climbs to the top, with another broad east-facing view.
The trail descends from the outcrop and again begins to climb, soon joining a woods road. After passing under power lines at the crest of the ridge, the Overlook Rock Trail reaches a junction with the blue-blazed Tapawingo Trail, which begins on the right..
Turn left and proceed south on the Overlook Rock Trail, which parallels the power lines. It soon heads back towards the power lines but then turns further west, away from the power lines, and begins to climb. Soon after passing a west-facing viewpoint from open rocks, the trail turns left, emerges onto the power line clearing and briefly joins the service road that runs under the power lines.
In 200 feet, the Overlook Rock Trail bears left and continues along a grassy woods road just east of the power lines. Soon, the power lines diverge to the right, while the woods road bears left and begins to head southeast. About half a mile after leaving the power line service road, another woods road joins from the left. Just beyond, the Overlook Rock Trail turns left, leaving the road, and continues on a footpath, which climbs a rocky hillside. A short distance beyond, it makes another steep climb. Soon, it emerges onto a rock ledge with several cedar trees.
After descending a little, the trail climbs to another rock ledge, marked by a single cedar tree. Here, the white-blazed Overlook Rock Trail turns left, but you should continue ahead on the yellow-blazed Manaticut Loop, which descends briefly, then climbs steeply to the crest of the ridge. It heads southeast along the ridge, passing viewpoints on the right over Saddle Mountain and then descending gradually. At the base of the descent, there is a small pond on private property to the right.
After climbing through a cleft in the rock, you'll pass on the left the southern end of the yellow/orange-blazed connector trail. Continue along the Manaticut Loop, which descends a little and then climbs steadily to a panoramic viewpoint from Manaticut Point - an open rock ledge. Windbeam Mountain is directly ahead (east). To the south, you can see a quarry, with the New York City skyline visible on the horizon on a clear day (the best view of the skyline is from the rock ledge just below the one traversed by the trail).
The trail now descends very steeply. Watch carefully for a double blaze painted on a rock. Here, the pink-blazed West Brook Connector begins on the right, but you should continue to follow the yellow-blazed Manaticut Loop, which turns left and continues to descend more gradually. The trail soon bears left and climbs a little, goes through an interesting passage between rocks, then resumes a steady descent. After passing several rock formations on the left and crossing a stream, it climbs to the junction where the Manaticut Loop ends. Bear right and follow the black-square-on-yellow blazes of the Manaticut Spur Trail, retracing your steps to the trailhead on Crescent Drive, where the hike began.