Long Pond Ironworks State Park is a large and varied state park in Passaic County. Once the site of an ironworks, the property is now home to historic buildings, and an excellent reservoir to fish and boat at, the ruins of an abandoned safari and zoo, and miles of hiking trails. The many distinct sections make Long Pond Ironworks feel like multiple parks in one, as multiple tracts of land were added to the property over the years. The park is a popular place to boat, but its other sites are underutilized.
Explore North Jersey Review: Varied park highlighted by the Monksville Reservoir and Jungle Habitat
Basic Information
Parking:
- Long Pond Historic District: 1334 County Rd 511, Hewitt, NJ 07421
- South Boat Launch: 1081 County Rd 511, Ringwood, NJ 07456
- North Boat Launch: Beech Road, Hewitt, NJ 07421
- Beech Road Boat Launch: Beech Road, Hewitt, NJ 07421
- Jungle Habitat: 109 Airport Rd, West Milford, NJ 07480
- Green Turtle Pond: Green Turtle Lake, West Milford, NJ 07421, Hewitt, NJ 07421
Visitor Center: Open Friday-Sunday 9:30-4:30 at the Long Pond Historic District at 1334 County Rd 511, Hewitt, NJ 07421
Restrooms: Yes-when the visitor center is open and portable toilets at each boat launch
Activities
Hiking
There are numerous miles of marked and unmarked trails at the park centered around Jungle Habitat, Long Pond Ironworks, and Monks Mountain. Many trail connect to Norvin Green State Forest, Tranquility Ridge, and Sterling Forest (New York)
Mountain Biking
Jungle Habitat is a popular mountain biking location
Fishing
Boaters can fish from Monksville Reservoir and Green Turtle Pond. Additionally, the Wanaque River along East Shore Drive is popular for wade fishing.
Boating
Boaters can launch from Monksville Reservoir and Green Turtle Pond. Monksville South and North, and Green Turtle Pond have launch ramps. The Beech Road launch area does not have a ramp. Kayaks and paddleboard rentals are available at Monksville Reservoir
Points of Interest
- Long Pond Historic District
- Monksville Reservoir
- Jungle Habitat
- Green Turtle Pond
Alerts
- Many of the hiking trails past the Long Pond Historic district were affected by the 2024 Jennings Creek Wildfire. These trails have reopened but there is still extensive damage along the trails.
- Swimming is not allowed at Monksville Reservoir
Long Pond Historic District
The namesake of the park is the Long Pond Historic District, a historic site and ironmaking plant dating from 1765. Here you will find multiple historic buildings from the ironworks itself and the housing village, including 2 water wheels. Unfortunately, many of the buildings are in disrepair. In fact, the first building you see from the parking lot is caving in on itself. A highlight is two water wheels located in the back of the historic district. Unfortunately, one of the wheels caught on fire at some point and sustained heavy damage, but it is still viewable today.
There is a visitor center for the historic district. I cannot comment on it as it has never been open when I have visited.
Past the historic district are many miles of trails. Unfortunately, they were not well-maintained before the wildfire, as these trails were not highly trafficked. They are likely in worse condition now
Monksville Reservoir
Monksville Reservoir is one of the highlights of the park and one of the best places to kayak in the state. Mainly used for kayaking, canoeing, and stand-up paddleboarding, motorized boats of 10 hp or less are allowed.
Monksville Reservoir is uniquely horseshoe-shaped as it was created by damming the Wanaque Reservoir as it flowed around Monks Mountain. This shape makes the reservoir seem much larger than it is and creates multiple distinct areas to explore. A highlight is an area of fully and partially submerged trees from when the river was dammed in 1987. Additionally, there are many small coves between the North and South boat launches to explore.
There are three boat launches:
- South Boat Launch: This boat launch is located near the widest area of the reservoir and is where the rentals are located. As such, it tends to be busier and fills up the quickest.
- North Boat Launch: This boat launch is located in a thinner area of the reservoir on the other side of Monks Mountain. This is my favorite area to launch as it is more secluded once you are in the water than the South Boat Launch, but still easy to reach. This area fills up quickly as well.
- Beech Road Launch: This boat launch is the least known of the three and is located in the least trafficked area of the reservoir. Unfortunately, the launch itself is not as refined as others, and you will need to carry your kayak/canoe a short distance to the water before launching from a dock or the shoreline. Larger towed boats cannot launch here.
Jungle Habitat
Jungle Habitat was a former safari park and zoo that is now open for the public to explore. There are multiple old roads and exhibits for visitors to explore. Despite being a locally well-known site, this location is rarely busy. For more information on the sites at Jungle Habitat, click here.
Green Turtle Pond
Green Turtle Pond is a small lake that is open to boating and fishing. The pond is down a rough road that should be passable for most vehicles if driven carefully. Green Turtle Pond is much more secluded than the nearby Monksville Reservoir. As with Monksville Reservoir, standard car-top boats such as kayaks and paddleboards are welcome, as well as boats with electric motors. Gas-powered motors are not allowed. There are no rentals or facilities at Green Turtle Pond.
Trails
Long Pond Ironworks features 10 marked hiking trails of varying difficulty. Additionally, there are many miles of unmarked multi-use trails in the Jungle Habitat section of the park. Click the link above for information on the marked hiking trails.
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