Ringwood State Park Conditions

pixychick

pixychick

JORBA: Ringwood
JORBA.ORG
I know we have had a ton of rain recently and with the weekend coming, some trail conditions would be helpful.

According to Art: Ringwood conditions are good, but be prepared for some standing water and eroded sections from Hurricane Irene. In most cases roads are worse than trails. ... have fun this weekend! 🙂
 
Since Monday we've had 3 1/2 days of rain with torrential downpours Tuesday night, somewhere between 4-5" of rain and new flooding. It may be best to find a park with more sand.
 
How is this place looking ? I wanna take out my new bike here since its close by to me.. I was thinking on 9/20 ..
 
Thursday Oct 6 ... most trails dried out from the big flood. A few soft spots here and there, but should be primo this weekend. .... ENJOY! 🙂
 
As of Nov 3, all the snow has melted at Ringwood. Trails are in good condition. Some forest roads have standing water, and muddy, soft spots where recently repaired after Irene. Best to avoid those areas if possible. Trails are looking good!

Many branches and tree limbs down on trails, so please lend a hand and clear a few on your ride. If everyone chips in like after Irene, things should be perfect in a few days. Art and I will try to get in with a saw to take care of any big trees on trails. Have a re great weekend!

Please report any large trees on trails to rvcc@jorba.org
 
December 24 2011

It was 28 degrees this morning and the trails were excellent. Ground is firming up and puddles all had thin ice on them.
 
I have not explored into Ringwood since the rain, but there is standing water in my neighborhood and we are expecting another half inch tonight. My guess is that trails could be soft this weekend in spots.

I know everybody is excited about spring around the corner, but this may not be a prime mountain bike weekend in RW. Although I doubt the trails will be super muddy, riding on soft trails does cup the tread and degrade the surface, as to not to allow rain to run off the trail. What does this mean? ... we may have to stop building new stuff and repair treads. This would especially apply to any of the new stuff we just built in the last 3 years.

Sensitive trails to avoid: Warm Puppy, Field trail across from Lot C.
 
Conditions great today 🙂. We did some work on the cabin trail near lot c and that may need a few days to dry out.
 
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Post Sandy conditions

I rode some of the trails this past weekend. Some good news, some bad. The "fenceline" trail by Ryerson is clear. Red trail climbing up from Ryerson has a few trees down, but not so bad. Catsnest (AKA Renegade) has a few trees down, but mostly OK. On over to the White trail downhill (clear) then the unmarked, un-named trail, clear. Then took fireroad up past Millie's house to the the racecourse switchbacks.....bad news. The Switchbacks have several large clusters of large trees down. Then.... the really bad news; took a left onto the Skylands trail. From here to the green trail intersection is really bad.... many, many clusters of large fallen trees make this section a nasty hike-a-bike (picture "pick-up-sticks" but with mature trees). This is all unrideable. Then the rest of the red trail back towards Warm Puppy is not too bad with a few smaller single trees down.

The section of the Skylands that I mentioned will either have to be re-routed, or a crew of skilled forresters will have to hack through the tangle of downed timber, it's that bad. I look forward to future trail maintenenance days to address this, I hope many people volunteer to help clear these trails. I know I'm ready and willing to go back with a chainsaw, but would want to work with an organized, authorised crew.

If I ride other trails next weekend, I will report what I see.
 
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Thanks for update. Art and I were called in to start inspecting on Saturday.

At that time the park was open but all trails closed to public. The main gate was locked due to a power line down on Morris Rd.

major tree damage on:
Cooper Union trail had 23 trees down on trail.
Skylands - 15+ and some are complicated

I hope to check out some more trails over the next few days. A few chain saw crews have been formed, but with the current crisis and gas situation, this may take some time to get things cleaned up. I will try to update by the end of the week.
 
pixychick said:
Thanks for update. Art and I were called in to start inspecting on Saturday.

At that time the park was open but all trails closed to public. The main gate was locked due to a power line down on Morris Rd.

major tree damage on:
Cooper Union trail had 23 trees down on trail.
Skylands - 15+ and some are complicated

I hope to check out some more trails over the next few days. A few chain saw crews have been formed, but with the current crisis and gas situation, this may take some time to get things cleaned up. I will try to update by the end of the week.
Click to expand...

Ellen, on a related subject.....does JORBA plan to host Sawyer Certification at anytime in the near future? I'm a former Arborist with some big saws but I know the parks require Sawyer certs to use saws. Seems like this kind of weather is going to be the new norm and I would love to be able to pitch in and help out. I know how to safely operate chainsaws but don't have a piece of paper that says so.
 
There are a couple of trees down on double S. Also two big trees down on bridges as you get to the top of the first climb going clockwise. Otherwise the rest of bridges is not too bad.
 
HumanVise said:
Ellen, on a related subject.....does JORBA plan to host Sawyer Certification at anytime in the near future? I'm a former Arborist with some big saws but I know the parks require Sawyer certs to use saws. Seems like this kind of weather is going to be the new norm and I would love to be able to pitch in and help out. I know how to safely operate chainsaws but don't have a piece of paper that says so.
Click to expand...

Funny you mentioned. Jorba has the funds to host something like this and it has been in the works, but the storm came first. I'll add your name to the list for cert.
 
Ellen,
Can mere mortals get chainsaw certified, or is specialized training / background required? I live right by Ryerson and would gladly help with tree removal if authorised.
 
I believe the chain saw certification is a 2 day process of classroom and field work.

Yesterday afternoon I walked from TOS into Ringwood and cleared small stuff, that probably could have claimed a few deraillers. There are a few big trees across the trail that we will try to clear on one trip. A date has not been set, but we may be able to use a few helpers. This will not be a publicized work day, but an invite to those with knowledge of the trails and experience working around saws. Art's contact: rvcc(at)jorba(dot)org
 
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