Lake Sonoma Orange Trail Hike, Ringwood, NJ

On May 16th, 2010, Ken Bitz organized a terrific hike along the Lake Sonoma Orange Trail in Ringwood, NJ. You can read my original post, titled Orange Trail Hike, Ringwood NJ On 5/16/10, which includes directions and trail description.

In this post, I share with you details on the actual Ringwood, NJ, Lake Sonoma Orange Trail hike we took. This photo above was taken from a magnificent overlook point with our trail guide, standing in the middle....

The 3.4 mile trail [which took us approximatley three hours] included fantastic vistas, several creeks, a waterfall, a submerged mine, a bat cave that the kids checked out, and our first ever geocaching quest for cache sites.

The kids particularly enjoyed exploring the cave below.  Note: if you decide to do this hike, be sure to have in your pack a flashlight or two! Per a sign posted by the cave's mouth, exploring is discouraged during the winter months when the bats hibernate. The bat population, though, has been significantly affected by white-nose syndrome [see USA Today's Biologists head to bunkers to fight bat disease].

Inside the cave!

The Ringwood, NJ, Lake Sonoma Orange Trail Hikers!

Thank you, Kim Parkins, for sharing such marvelous photos! Here is the link to Kim Parkins' Ringwood Hike photo album on Picasa.

To see my photos of Lake Sonoma Orange Trail in Ringwood, NJ, click on this link.

Finally, here is the trail we followed along the Lake Sonoma Orange Trail in Ringwood, NJ!

Lake Sonoma Orange Trail, Ringwood NJ

Map your trip with EveryTrail

Thanks, Ken, for organizing this hike!