Monroe Ridge–Cactus Ledge Loop, 11 sights is a 3.9-mile loop in Ramapo Valley County Reservation near Darlington, NJ. The route passes Scarlet Oak Pond, Vista, MacMillan Reservoir and 3 more. It climbs 633 ft, with sections as steep as 31% grade. It scores 33/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: green fringe.
Elevation
0 mi240 – 866 ft · steepest grade: 31%4.4 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Unnamed 41.07729, -74.18699
Nearest town Darlington, NJ
Directions
AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com
Monroe Ridge–Cactus Ledge Loop, 11 sights
3.9 mi · ▲ 633 ft · 1 hr 37 min
Elevation 241–867 ft
Loop · Ramapo Valley County Reservation
Trailhead: 41.07729, -74.18699
Weather Sep 7: Overcast, high 76°F / low 57° · precip 0% · wind 5 mph · sunrise 6:30 AM · sunset 7:21 PM
Toilets at the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead
- Start at the trailhead, heading NW.
- 250 ftBear left onto Vista Spur Trail, heading W.
- 350 ftPass Scarlet Oak Pond.
- 250 ftPass Vista.
- 0.2 miContinue straight onto Pond/Vista Loop Trail, heading NW.
- 150 ftContinue straight onto Vista-Ridge Connector Trail, heading NW.
- 0.2 miBear left onto Ridge Loop Trail, heading SW.
- 0.1 miContinue straight onto Ridge/Vista Loop Trail, heading NW.
- 300 ftPass MacMillan Reservoir.
- 150 ftTurn left onto Ridge Loop Trail, heading NW.
- 0.1 miContinue straight onto Reservoir Loop, heading W.
- 0.3 miContinue straight onto Brookside Trail, heading NW.
- 0.2 miBear right onto Ridge Loop Trail, heading NW.
- 0.8 miBear left onto Havemeyer Trail, heading SE.
- 150 ftPass Monroe Ridge.
- 300 ftTurn right onto Tenessee Gas Service Road, heading S.
- 0.6 miTurn right onto Halifax Trail, heading SE.
- 0.1 miBear left onto Vista Loop, heading E.
- 350 ftPass Cactus Ledge.
- 350 ftSharp right, heading S.
- 0.3 miTurn left onto Pond Loop Trail, heading SW.
- 450 ftPass Lake Henry.
- 50 ftBear right, heading SE.
- 0.3 miTurn left onto Vista Spur Trail, heading SE.
- 0.1 miBear right, heading S.
- 50 ftThe loop closes back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
48% dirt19% gravel7% paved26% unspecified
Weather
OvercastTemperature 76°F57°
Precip0%Wind5 mphUV6Humidity63%
Rained 0.2″ 4 days ago (0.4″ over the last week)
Hourly temperature
80°55°
Sunrise 6:30 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PMSunset 7:21 PM
Tue
79°61°
Wed
85°61°
Thu
80°67°
30%
Fri
76°56°
22%
Sat
80°56°
Sun
84°59°
Good to know
- Toilets at the trailhead
- Parking lot at the trailhead
More from this trailhead
- MacMillan Brook Falls–Scarlet Oak Pond Loop, 5 sights 1.6 mi · ▲ 215 ft
- Ridge Overlook–Scarlet Oak Pond, 4 viewpoints 1.6 mi · ▲ 464 ft
- Cactus Ledge–Scarlet Oak Pond Loop, 8 sights 2.3 mi · ▲ 581 ft
- MacMillan Reservoir–Mill Race Ruins, 5 lakes 2.7 mi · ▲ 398 ft
- MacMillan Reservoir Overlook–MacMillan Reservoir, 6 sights 3.5 mi · ▲ 739 ft
- High Mountain–Erskine Lookout, 14 sights 7.3 mi · ▲ 969 ft
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