Stonetown Circular Trail

Stonetown Circular Trail is a rugged, strenuous loop hike in Ringwood, NJ built around five climbs—Windbeam, Bear, Board, Horse Pond, and Harrison mountains—connected through Norvin Green State Forest and nearby water-supply and conservation lands.

The loop is commonly described around 10.5 miles, with roughly 2,500+ feet of elevation gain. It’s steep and continuous enough that even strong hikers treat it as a “butt-kicker,” not a casual circuit.

Navigation is part of the work: the route uses red-triangle-on-white blazes and also overlaps for sections with the teal-diamond Highlands Trail. Expect multiple trail junctions and marker dropouts; stay marker-focused and follow the intended blazed corridor.

The steepest effort comes as you work through successive mountain climbs and descents, including a section that drops after Board Mountain before re-entering woods roads and starting the push up Harrison Mountain.

A notable late-stage challenge is Tory Rocks, where you’re dealing with rockier ground and exposed scrambling/stair-step movement. Near the end, the route also includes a boulder scramble where the line of least resistance is to stay left at rock-arrow choices.

If you start from the Stonetown Recreation Complex area, the loop is typically completed by finishing near Magee Road / Stonetown Road and using a short road walk back to the parking area. Parking is at the recreation complex lot on Mary Roth Drive.

More information: Map, Stonetown Circular, NJ - Gone Hikin', Stonetown Circular Hike, Ringwood, NJ - Gone Hikin'