Greenwood Lake

Half in New Jersey and half in New York, this 16.8 mile loop around Greenwood Lake offers a challenging ride in the Highlands region, an area abundant in natural beauty. Stretching from Pennsylvania to Connecticut, the Highlands have been deemed “nationally significant” by the federal government for its incredible diversity of flora and fauna, as well as important water, agriculture and recreation resources.

Historically known as a resort community and a hangout for celebrities, such as Babe Ruth and Cecil B. deMille, today Greenwood Lake is a popular destination for outdoor activities, including hiking in the surrounding parks. Within a couple of miles of the lake are the Appalachian Trail, Sterling Forest State Park in New York, and Long Pond Ironworks State Park, Ringwood State Park, and Abram S. Hewitt State Forest in New Jersey.

The tour begins and ends at Brown’s Point Park in West Milford, NJ. The park, located on the southwestern side of the lake, features a playground, picnic tables, and a Frisbee golf course. The first half of the tour travels along the mostly flat western edge of the lake. On the eastern side of the lake, the route moves away from the edge of the lake up tree lined roads with some steep ascents and descents where cyclists must exercise caution. On summer weekends, you’re likely to encounter motor vehicle traffic.

Long Pond Ironworks Historic District
Located 3 miles from Brown’s Point Park are ruins of the Long Pond Ironworks, an 18th-19th century iron-smelting complex. Furnaces, casting house ruins, charging areas, ice houses, waterwheels and other structures are a part of the remains. Long Pond was the colonial name for Greenwood Lake, the source of waterpower for the furnaces and forge. Founded in 1766 and in operation for more than a century, Long Pond produced iron for the Continental Army during the American Revolution, for the American forces in the War of 1812, and for the Union Army during the Civil War.

Members of the Friends of Long Pond Ironworks offer tours of the furnace area and village on the second Saturday of the month at noon and 2 pm, April through November. The museum is open to the public Saturdays and Sundays between 1 and 4 pm, with an earlier opening on tour dates during the April through November tour season. Special arrangements can be made for accessing the facility throughout the year.

Village of Greenwood Lake
The Village of Greenwood Lake is an ideal location to take pleasure in the pristine lake and surrounding area. You can enjoy the views, swim, fish, boat, and dine at a lakeside restaurant or stroll along Windermere Avenue, a half-mile strip of retail shops and restaurants in the heart of the village. There are also two public beaches: Thomas P. Morahan Beach on Windemere Avenue and Gamache Lane along the east side of the lake. There are picnic areas, volleyball nets, swimming areas with lifeguards, swings, restrooms, and boat launches. Both day rates and season passes are available.

File Formats

KML (13k)
Use to view tour guide routes in a mapping application on a desktop computer, mobile device or GPS device.
Geospatial PDF (1.6m)
Use to view your current location along the tour guide routes using a GPS enabled mobile device.
PDF (2.7m)
Use to view or print the tour guide routes in a brochure format.

Instructions for using these files formats is available.