Old Guard
- 2.7 mi
- round trip
- 1,019 ft
- climb
- 1,091 ft
- high point
- Out and back
- route
- Apr–Oct
- best months
Old Guard is a moderate out-and-back hike of about 5.3 miles on Ramapo Valley County Reservation in New Jersey, managed by county land. The route starts at an elevation of about 675 feet and climbs to a high point of 1,091 feet, with a total gain of about 1,019 feet over the course of the trip. The steepest stretch comes at about 1.6 miles in, where the grade reaches 22%. For comfortable weather, aim for late spring or early fall. Typical averages from a nearby weather station at Wanaque Raymond Dam show May highs around 71°F and September highs around 76°F, though that station sits well below the trail, so temperatures on the higher ground run cooler. Several other trails start close by. Yellow; Millstone and the Millstone Trail are each about 0.3 miles away, and Matapan Rock Trail is about 0.6 miles off. Climbers can find Sector 2 about 1.4 miles away.
Local outfitters
- Pier 13 Hoboken24 mi away
Not on Roamze yet. Their page has how to reach them.
- Yellow; MillstoneHiking0.3 mi
- Millstone TrailHiking0.3 mi
- Matapan Rock TrailHiking0.6 mi
- Sector 2Rock climbing1.4 mi
- QuarantineRock climbing1.4 mi
- Easter Island BoulderRock climbing1.4 mi
- Wanaque RiverCanoeing3.3 mi
- Ramapo RiverRiver fishing3.8 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
Legrande Loop TrailHiking · ~4 min drivePhoto: Roadgeek Adam, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)
White TrailHiking · ~5 min drivePhoto: Flyinace2000, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)- Reservoir LoopHiking · ~4 min drivePhoto: Flyinace2000, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)
- Ramapo Lake LoopHiking · ~5 min drivePhoto: Roadgeek Adam, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)
- Vista Spur TrailHiking · ~5 min drivePhoto: Flyinace2000, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)
- Matapan Rock TrailHiking · ~1 min drive
Legrande - Lake Connector TrailHiking · ~5 min drivePhoto: Roadgeek Adam, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)- Yellow-Silver TrailHiking · ~1 min drive
- Yellow; MillstoneHiking · Next door
- Yellow TrailHiking · ~1 min drive
Best time to visit Old Guard
Best months: April–October. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
38° / 20°
10 wet
Feb
40° / 20°
8 wet
Mar
48° / 29°
10 wet
Apr
59° / 39°
11 wet
May
71° / 50°
12 wet
Jun
79° / 58°
11 wet
Jul
84° / 64°
10 wet
Aug
83° / 63°
10 wet
Sep
76° / 56°
8 wet
Oct
64° / 43°
9 wet
Nov
53° / 35°
8 wet
Dec
43° / 27°
9 wet
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Wanaque Raymond Dam, NJ, 3.1 mi away at 245 ft. The station sits about 800 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
