Lamont Reserve
Directions
Take the Palisades Interstate Parkway to Exit 4. Turn left at the bottom of the ramp onto Route 9W (if coming from the north, turn right onto Route 9W) and proceed for 1.1 miles, entering New York. At the next traffic light, turn left onto Oak Tree Road and, in 0.2 mile, turn left onto Closter Road. In 0.5 mile, after crossing under the Parkway, you reenter New Jersey, and the road becomes Rockleigh Road. Continue for another 0.2 mile to the Rockleigh Municipal Building (26 Rockleigh Road) and turn left into the driveway. Park in the rear of the building. GPS Coordinates: 41.003805, -73.925389
Park Overview
With the contiguous Rockleigh Woods Sanctuary, Lamont Reserve offers the public more than 200 wooded acres and 4.5 miles of trails.
Trail Overview
Trails at Lamont Reserve and the adjacent Rockleigh Woods Sanctuary comprise a network of about 4.5 miles that includes former farm and logging roads as well as footpaths. Difficulty ranges from an easy walk around Sneden Ice Pond to a steep climb along Roaring Brook or Lamont Rock. The trail system, consisting of 5 blazed trails, is described as approximating 'circles within circles.' Various combinations of hikes are possible. All start at Rockleigh Borough Hall, where parking is available.
Use the Web Map link on this site to view a trail map of both parks. Although contiguous, there are no trails connecting to the Palisades Interstate Park -- NJ Section.
Click for detailed descriptions of hikes in the adjoined parks.
Park Description
Lamont Reserve covers 134 wooded acres adjacent to Palisades State Park. Some remaining stone walls, well, cisterns, and old lanes testify to former occupation and logging on the site.
A significant historical note is the existence of a community of freed black slaves on the property in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Called the Skunk Hollow Community, a track to it from Rockleigh persists as a hiking trail.
The land was purchased in the early 20th century by the Lamont family, then donated in the middle of the century by them to the New York Boy Scout Council, which established Camp Alpine. In 1996, the Boys Scouts sold the land to Rockleigh Borough, Alpine Borough, and Bergen County, which now jointly administer the property, now known as the Lamont Reserve.
Some of the old logging roads have been incorporated as hiking trails. Classified natural habitat parkland, with the exception of a few hiking trails, the tract continues unimproved as "passive use open space" under New Jersey's Green Acres program.