Wawayanda Park Officially Closed 4/7/2020

Santapez

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Pete, have you been there recently?

I'm just thinking that park would be packed with the nice weather at the boating area & such. A necessary decision.
 

BPaze

Well-Known Member
I didn’t see anything on the websites I would think it is still open they are just closing parking lots to reduce numbers and keep people that are traveling from afar to attend.
 

Kaleidopete

Well-Known Member
Pete, have you been there recently?

I'm just thinking that park would be packed with the nice weather at the boating area & such. A necessary decision.
Yes, today. As I was finishing my ride the rangers were locking the park down. They said as soon as they get everyone that is there now out the gates are getting locked up. Closed by Governor Murphy. The rangers opinion was it's because of the AT hikers/walkers causing problems at Point Vista and the boardwalk.
 

Santapez

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
What issues could they cause? Besides there being a lot of them close together.
 

BPaze

Well-Known Member
Yes, today. As I was finishing my ride the rangers were locking the park down. They said as soon as they get everyone that is there now out the gates are getting locked up. Closed by Governor Murphy. The rangers opinion was it's because of the AT hikers/walkers causing problems at Point Vista and the boardwalk.
The state site actually says the boardwalk is closed due to an inability to social distance due to the narrow path.
 

Kaleidopete

Well-Known Member
AT entrance
Cimg0441.jpg

main entrance
Cimg0444.jpg
 

mtbiker87

Well-Known Member
So....as a local, here's the deal. Like has been reported at many other parks, people just cant seem to get it. They mob the lots, use the playgrounds, and act like its almost buisness as usual, with no attempts to even look like they are social distancing. I saw a couple trying to push a freak'n baby carriage through the beginning of Sitting bear last week. No bullshit. These are not regular park users, but folks coming from all over the area. I saw several young families letting thier kids use the play ground equipment. Just plain stupid. What choice do the public officials have, when people dont even try to make an effort. As far as the AT, and boardwalk go....that's been a local town issue before the pandemic, which just made it that much worse. Our mayor shut the local parks down more the week ago. The boardwalk is just about wide enough to walk side by side on. You have to almost stop and turn sideways to let other users pass. They had to start giving tickets last summer because people were creating a dangerous situation on 517, and blocking driveways and causing other problems for those who live in the nearby houses. As usual, those with no common sense ruin it for those that do.
 

mtbiker87

Well-Known Member
As far as getting in the park ? Yeah..there are lots of ways in if you know 'em...and yeah...I know more than a few. It's a big park, and I'm sure once you'er in there, on some of the more remote trails, you'd be ok. But if you crash and get hurt, please, do those of us who love the place a favor, and crawl your ass out of there on your own. If you cant , lay there till this is all over please, 'cuase all the media will need is get a hold of that, for mtb access to be questioned statewide.
 

Kaleidopete

Well-Known Member
As some of you might know, I ride here EVERY day. With all that's going on I gotta say nothing has changed much for me.
Yeah, I get here early, like 7AM. I usually ride for two hours every day. I see NO difference since all this started. At most, I
will see two or three people in my two hour ride. I have heard that later in the day the crowds come in, I don't know cause
I'm home by then. Many days I see nobody. If I didn't see the TV news I wouldn't even know there is a Pandemic going on.
Too bad for me that I'm supposed to give up my riding routine because the town, county, state, country, world, has this problem going on that I feel very removed from because my life is so far removed from all of this. On one hand I feel I shouldn't ride the park anymore, on the other hand I feel why not when I never see anyone anyhow. I ride eighty miles a week and literally encounter no more than a handful of people in that week. And that's not close contact, that's just people I can see off in the distance, not on a singletrack. I'm sure nobody else can relate to this because everyone else doesn't live in the boondocks like me. Just venting.
 
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jimf

Active Member
As some of you might know, I ride here EVERY day. With all that's going on I gotta say nothing has changed much for me.
Yeah, I get here early, like 7AM. I usually ride for two hours every day. I see NO difference since all this started. At most, I
will see two or three people in my two hour ride. I have heard that later in the day the crowds come in, I don't know cause
I'm home by then. Many days I see nobody. If I didn't see the TV news I wouldn't even know there is a Pandemic going on.
Too bad for me that I'm supposed to give up my riding routine because the town, county, state, country, world, has this problem going on that I feel very removed from because of my life is so far removed from all of this. On one hand I feel I shouldn't ride the park anymore, on the other hand I feel why not when I never see anyone anyhow. I ride eighty miles a week and literally encounter no more than a handful of people in that week. And that's not close contact, that's just people I can see off in the distance, not on a singletrack. I'm sure nobody else can relate to this because everyone else doesn't live in the boondocks like me. Just venting.

Going early is the key, I was a Ringwood this morning and no one else was there. Afternoons are pretty bad everywhere, I have never seen more people at the park then I have recently.
 

chris12453

Well-Known Member
Pete,

You are absolutely right. On my rides, I never see people in Wayway. Even when I pop by the ranger station for 30 seconds if I want to go to Iron Mountain I see nobody. What I think everyone is missing the point on is that it's not really Jersey people who are causing the problems, it is a lot of NYC people coming here and Ringwood just for example. That is what Wayway was on Saturday. I just went north and bam, nobody was around. Places in Westchester and further North are just as good and open. Will I be changing my ride style? Absolutely not! We all know the rangers will just be patrolling the main park assuming they have the man power (which they don't so let's get that out of the way). Us locals know all the trails and honestly you never have to touch the main park because the good shit is way in the back. That's my take on this. I cannot road ride everyday, sorry just not going to happen. I too like Pete am going to vent because it is utterly ridiculous at this point. Cuomo has repeatedly said he is not closing parks, I think we should just limit to local people in the parks, it really isn't this hard. I seclude myself all day working from home trying to be productive and this is my escape from reality. Some people love sitting around being lazy as hell, not me. Also, now I don't have any place to do sick burnouts with nobody around.
 

sundaydoug

Well-Known Member
As some of you might know, I ride here EVERY day. With all that's going on I gotta say nothing has changed much for me.
Yeah, I get here early, like 7AM. I usually ride for two hours every day. I see NO difference since all this started. At most, I
will see two or three people in my two hour ride. I have heard that later in the day the crowds come in, I don't know cause
I'm home by then. Many days I see nobody. If I didn't see the TV news I wouldn't even know there is a Pandemic going on.
Too bad for me that I'm supposed to give up my riding routine because the town, county, state, country, world, has this problem going on that I feel very removed from because my life is so far removed from all of this. On one hand I feel I shouldn't ride the park anymore, on the other hand I feel why not when I never see anyone anyhow. I ride eighty miles a week and literally encounter no more than a handful of people in that week. And that's not close contact, that's just people I can see off in the distance, not on a singletrack. I'm sure nobody else can relate to this because everyone else doesn't live in the boondocks like me. Just venting.

I couldn't agree with you more Pete.
 

onetracker

Well-Known Member
Good job, posting on a public forum that you are going to ride illegally in a park that is officially closed. Banner day for the Mountain Bike Community!! Perhaps this is why you guys have not been nominated for a MacArthur Genius Award.

This level of self righteousness is astounding.
 

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