Wawayanda State Park Conditions

Kaleidopete

Well-Known Member
@Kaleidopete looks like you have the southern-end of the park GPS well-mapped, even the unmarked trails. I just moved into a house on Shadyside road, I can actually see the Wayside trailhead from my driveway. I discovered the trails off of your red-labeled Wayside trail (Sandpit, Ridges, white Wayside) but I got turned around and confused a bit. Could you possibly screen shot your GPS trails in that area from a bit of a wider/zoomed out angle? I'm trying to see if those trails link up with Ferber circle area at all.

Thanks!
Image @sundaydoug
My hood3.jpg
 

trekfan

Member
sweet jesus i almost take back all the terrible things i've said about the very poor trail maintenance support from the ranger's office. when did they pave / gravel that swampy mess at the bottom of old coal on the way towards the pipeline? it was easily the worst section in the park, and now it's perfectly rideable!

thanks to whoever's been trimming the top of pines and tombstone. i only got mildly shredded. park's actually drying out nicely. hopefully it won't rain the rest of the week and things will really be in good shape
 

sundaydoug

Well-Known Member
Funny, I rode up Old Coal from Cherry Ridge Rd. to Split Rock last week and I remembered why I stopped doing that years ago. Even a few days after a rain the march up that hill is soggy and awful. I also noticed that the brush had been cut back a bit up top of Tombstone/Pines by the pipe line. Still got cut up, I'll bring my folding saw next time I go out and try to hack at it some more.

Thanks @Kaleidopete for the image. I've been wandering around the Sand Pit trails to get over to Banker the last few times I got out. Some great rock bridge work down there, fun stuff for sure.
 

Kaleidopete

Well-Known Member
sweet jesus i almost take back all the terrible things i've said about the very poor trail maintenance support from the ranger's office. when did they pave / gravel that swampy mess at the bottom of old coal on the way towards the pipeline? it was easily the worst section in the park, and now it's perfectly rideable!

I don't think they did it for the hikers and bikers. I don't think Wawayanda did it either.
It was most likely the NJ Forestry guys keeping their trails good for themselves for when they need to get in there.
Either way, it's a plus for us!
 

Kaleidopete

Well-Known Member
Conditions are very good in the park, even with the wet weather we've had, things are pretty dry.
The Cardinal Flowers are starting to bloom throughout the park, a favorite of hummingbirds.
cardflow.jpg
 

trekfan

Member
I don't think they did it for the hikers and bikers. I don't think Wawayanda did it either.
It was most likely the NJ Forestry guys keeping their trails good for themselves for when they need to get in there.
Either way, it's a plus for us!

you're probably right. i remember when the pipeline fiasco happened i came upon a utility truck stuck in that spot. guy said they were in the mud for an hour and had to wait for another truck to come and free them...

rode this new gravity trail yesterday. FUN! started from the end of buddha. definitely some spots which are unrideable to me, but then, most of the trails in the park were unrideable to me at one time or another...

the trail is kind of a mashup of splitrock, the start of mojo (around the lake) and the springy singletrack from hemlock & loaded. REALLY impressed with the rock work. someone spent a ridiculous amount of time building those rock ledges in the beginning. trail has some great flow and is one of the longer trails i remember. i got so twisted around i had no idea where it dumped me at the end. i felt so lost i had to whip out the phone and examine the satellite map. when i saw the sign for pines i felt just like charlton heston riding up to the statue of liberty on the beach. OOOOOH! now i know where i am!

incidentally, saw a massive timber rattlesnake on the climb up pines. this guy was massive. he was crossing the middle of the trail and i had to dismount once i spotted him maybe 6-7 feet away from him. he was not happy and let me know it. cooler heads prevailed after i backed off and let him go about his way. first time ever seeing a rattlesnake in the park. i was absolutely terrified, but a day later it was pretty damn cool. when he got off the trail and i passed him, i had no idea where he was. couldn't spot him for the life of me (excellent camo), which was at the very top of my mind in the thorny sections of pines and the top of tombstone, where you can't see a damn thing on either side of your wheels. good times...
 

Kaleidopete

Well-Known Member
i got so twisted around i had no idea where it dumped me at the end. i felt so lost i had to whip out the phone and examine the satellite map. when i saw the sign for pines i felt just like charlton heston riding up to the statue of liberty on the beach. OOOOOH! now i know where i am!..
I always get lost & confused back in there
 

sundaydoug

Well-Known Member
REALLY impressed with the rock work. someone spent a ridiculous amount of time building those rock ledges in the beginning.

incidentally, saw a massive timber rattlesnake on the climb up pines. this guy was massive. he was crossing the middle of the trail and i had to dismount once i spotted him maybe 6-7 feet away from him.

I think Nature Jim is the person to commend for that rock work, it really is impressive. I spotted a big rattler on Split Rock the other week, just baking himself in the sun in the middle of one of the switchback turns. Good thing he didn't notice me until after I got off my bike and backed off...
 

pixychick

JORBA: Ringwood
JORBA.ORG
Today a load of wood was delivered to the circle to deck the swamp on the pipeline, probably pipeline maintenance.

Very nice conditions today! I almost hate to say it, but it is starting to smell like fall out there. :(
 

huffster

Well-Known Member
@pixychick
Does that mean no parking in the circle at this point? I have to imagine a load of wood that size filled up a pretty good amount of the circle.
 

pixychick

JORBA: Ringwood
JORBA.ORG
Only a few spots lost from the wood. It sounds like it will be getting used soon. It may interfere with some sections of the pipeline while they are working. I have no idea which direction they are going on the pipeline.
 

huffster

Well-Known Member
I just saw your note on Strava, too. So, missed both of your notes until just now. I was up in Sullivan County this morning for work, so I hit Stewart for a ride on the way back.
 

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