Boy Scout Camp

These are good trails, and as a bonus they are within riding distance of NYC. Unfortunately riding here is illegal and currently must be discouraged for a few reasons:

1.) The Boy Scouts of America lease this land from several different owners/municipalities. The terms of the lease prohibit mountain biking.

2.) The BSA does not want anyone, especially adults, trespassing near their camp; they have young kids staying and sleeping there and all adults they come into contact with need to be vetted. Troop leaders are well within their rights to ask you to leave or call the police if they see you.

3.) One of the troop leaders is pro-mountain biking, and until recently had been maintaining the trails and conducting his junior MTB team practice there. He has recently learned that even scout MTB activities are prohibited by the terms of the lease and has had to stop.

Up until recently the BSA showed some tolerance to folks riding bikes, running, and walking dogs, so long as users stayed on singletrack/hiking trails and OFF the double track, paved roads, and away from camp sites. They have not put up no-trespassing signs, they are nice people and they are not taking a heavy-handed approach. However, people invariably get lost and find themselves encroaching on camp facilities and campers. With online maps and resources bike traffic has steadily increased, and riders have continued to wander off-trail and come into contact with scouts. Where before public use was tacitly tolerated, public use has increased and now we are asked to stay out of the area entirely.

The Palisades MTB advocacy group is currently in negotiations with the BSA and the leaseholders so that junior and scout MTB programs can continue. The eventual goal is to get public access for riding, via a new lease agreement and a compromise with the BSA that would spell out some clear boundaries and improve signage. Until that happens, please avoid these trails. Riding there, and especially encroaching on scout activities, will only hinder progress toward public access.

Nice trail for any giving day !

I rode the yellow and the red Trails today. The yellow side was dry as usually is but the red side still had a fair amount of Dismount and walk around mud holes. Please refrain from riding through them until they dry up.

Went there the day after it rained. Took one loop that was pretty fun but another trail was full of mud and puddles. There was also some tech, rock featured and some north shore features. My only complaint was that some bridges were in disrepair and caused my tire to get stuck in between the planks and branches which resulted in me falling into 6 inches of mud.

It was a nice day on the trail....cold enough so the muddy spots are mostly frozen and you don't add new ruts. Passed a few hikers and bikers...everbody says hello adding to the pleasure of the day.

Boring, sloppy trail. also illegal to ride.

A nice track, I don't know what that other reviewer is referencing regarding 12 miles. I found about 2 miles on the yellow trail that makes a nice loop. Nothing crazy but close enough to home to make it a nice evening spot after work. Not the easiest to find and it's not marked well. But a fun ride regardless

If you take the fireroad... or ruckman road about 90% of the way to the top... there is a fallen tree, chainsaw cut, there is the yellow trail on both sides of the fallen tree. I have parked at the top of ruckman as well. near kiku restaurant. hope this helps.

Has gotten better, thanks to some very diligent trail builders. What used to be a very simple 2 mile single climb is now a 12 mile loop w/1200 ft climbing, multiple fairly tricky rock beds ... and lots of mud if it's rained at all recently. Still, mucho kudos to the dudes & dudettes building out this backyard trail for all of us in NE Bergen County. Riding here rt out our back doors beats driving 45 mins each way to hit Ringwood or Jungle after work before dark.

It's hard to find but. Once you do. Guaranteed good time

Boyscout camp NEEDS to be ridden the first time or two with someone who knows the trails. There is actually a LOT of fun to be had in here, especially with some lights on after the sun goes down. It's a fantastic place to ride with great climbs. Some say its technical. I dont find it too crazy, I ride on a singlespeed hardtail in here and its awesome. I can understand why it got the negative reviews it has because if you go here, it IS poorly marked as its not really meant to be ridden in, but with that said, once youre in with someone who knows the inner workings of scout camp, it wont be possible to not be smiling and having an awesome time. Tons of kickers, rollovers, and some rock gardens.

You can technically connect this trail with some other stuff and make it a 10-15 mile ride if you want.

Don't waste your time. Zero maintenance, zero fun.

I dont understand how you get to this trail. I went looking for it one day and did not come across any entrance to the path?? where do you go??

As it was said- it is very short trail- like 2 miles (I rode with my wife around 10times this summer/autumn) Still it was a lot of fun till.. This Saturday a ranger came out of his cabin while I was close to it and with Clint Eastwood style pointed finger at me and said:"Hey You! Yes, you!!!" I stopped by - he asked me for my name- which I provided and then he asked for my last name- which I provided too. He then said if I know that it is a private property- I replied "Not really"- I was smiling and tried to be as much friendly as possible. He then said: "Well, now you know, and since it is a private property, you cannot ride your bike on the trails, I will write your name and make sure you will not do it again. If I see you on the trail, I will call State Troopers and they will take care of you." I asked then what is his name- the guy replied: " I was talking to you politely, but if you do not leave, I will call the cops and you don't worry about my name." Then I repeated my question stating that he asked my name and I provided it, and in return I want to know with whom I am speaking. He said again- "Leave now, or I will call cops". Another ranger came out (this guy I chatted before a couple of times, and when he told me like a month ago, that the sun was behind the clouds and there was some coyote activity, if I can leave and come some other day- I left, even it takes me 20mins to get to this place, left without any bad thoughts) and made my day, stating that I was photoed and recorded and if I do something illegal, they will give it to cops. I told them to have a nice day, and left.
I do not know why he's got so upset about me, I do not know if it is really private property and I cannot ride my bike there. The only thing I know, I will not go there, I will not bring my kid there.
"The Boy Scouts of America provides a program for young people that builds character, trains them in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and develops personal fitness."

P.S. There is no signs, that the place is a private propery, there is no signs, forbidding riding bikes there, the only signs I saw- no fireworks, hunting, parking on the trail (there is a short fireroad).
I do not know why he's got so upset, and firstly, why he had to be so rude talking to me, which he called "polite".
PS2. He could of just tell me "Listen buddy, I do understand you like this place and it is great for biking, but we have new rules and regulations, that forbid biking on the trail". I would said "Damn, man, thank you for letting me know. I will find another place to ride".
* Review edited 10/25/2010

It's like I said above, a good after-work ride if you're in the area. -----

Re the above report about the so-called "ranger": those guys aren't rangers. They are guys who like to hang out, drink beer and pretend to be rangers so they can scare riders away to prevent accidentally hitting us with an arrow when they go bow-hunting in the woods after a sixpack or two. Which, btw, is a hell of a lot more illegal than riding bikes in the woods.

You don't have to leave. Call their bluff. The only place you ever see them is outside their shack on the Homans Road extention, which is a public road. We have just as much right to be on a public road as they do. Tell 'em to go ahead and call the troopers, FBI and Al Quedda while they're at it. Then see what happens .... nothing* Review edited 5/23/2012* Review edited 5/23/2012* Review edited 5/23/2012