This realistic Ringwood State Park Guide helps you plan your next visit to the historic manor and botanical gardens.

Ringwood State Park in New Jersey is home to Ringwood Manor and the State Botanical Garden. An 18th century mansion with a spooky reputation attracts visitors from across the country.

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Sights & Places of Interest

Most visitors come to Ringwood State Park to tour Ringwood Manor and admire the New Jersey Botanical Garden. This is a great combination that rivals most house museums and state parks.

It is better to start your visit with Ringwood Manor. This way, you could get your spot on a guided tour of the mansion. You could explore its grounds before or after the tour.

Guided tours of the New Jersey Botanical Garden and nearby Skylands Manor are also available. But they run far less frequently. You could visit the Botanical Garden at your own pace after Ringwood Manor.

This Ringwood State Park Guide starts by describing a visit to Ringwood Manor. It then proceeds to discuss a self guided tour of the New Jersey Botanical Garden.

1. Ringwood Manor

Ringwood Manor is the main attraction of Ringwood State Park. This mansion dates back to 1807. As a result, it is older than most house museums in the United States.

Only the Longfellow House in Cambridge, Massachusetts and the Nichols House in Boston, Massachusetts are older than Ringwood Manor.

This 51-room mansion attracts visitors thanks to its captivating design, rich history, and stories about encounters with ghosts.

Ringwood Manor is similar to other famous houses. Its size is a fraction of 250-room Biltmore. But the paranormal claims make it quite similar to Winchester Mystery House in San Jose.

Still, you will not see a door to nowhere or a staircase to the ceiling at Ringwood Manor. In fact, excessive use of dark wood panels in wall decor is the only strange design choice in this mansion.

You could only visit Ringwood Manor as part of a guided tour. Each tour takes at least 75 minutes. But they often run longer.

In fact, a tour could last well over 1.5 hours. This happens if the number of people is close to the tour capacity of 20 visitors. You could extend your tour by asking a lot of questions.

You cannot take any pictures or video inside Ringwood Manor. It does not matter if you use flash or no flash, a digital camera or a smartphone. The museum issues a permit in very rare cases.

This is a very restrictive policy. It is likely the most stringent of all house museums in the world. You need to disconnect from your devices. Enjoy 75+ minutes of the house tour in a gadget free way.

2. Ringwood Manor Grounds

You are free to walk and take pictures of the grounds that surround the house. Use common sense. Do not lean or climb on any outdoor structures.

There is a lot to see around Ringwood Manor. Mortars, sculptures, pillars, and flower beds await you in this park.

In a way, these grounds are most similar to Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, New York. Its surrounding park is just as lavish as the one around Ringwood Manor.

2.1. Mortar

A civil war mortar is near the main entrance to the mansion. It is a monument to the long-standing history of ironmaking that took place at Ringwood Manor grounds.

The history of this house was intertwined with ironmaking from the times before it was built. Iron mining and making has taken place in this area since 1742.

2.2. Ornamental Well

There are plenty of other, more peaceful, displays of ironworks at the grounds. If you walk from the main entrance towards Sally’s Pond, you will enter the garden. There are a handful of displays to explore.

You will see a large well. Two forged arms provide support to the water buckets. You could enjoy the craftsmanship of this ironwork. It is on full display at this well.

2.3. Flower Beds

You will also see flowers and plants in this garden. But who said that a garden cannot have design elements in it?

An ornamental stone finial is a centerpiece of a flower bed. The house museum staff plants flowers there every year. You might see them bloom if you visit the park in the spring.

2.4. Pillars

You are certain to see large stone pillars around the garden. If you look closer, you will notice that they form a symmetrical pattern.

You might forget for a moment that you are in New Jersey. These pillars will make you think that you are taking a walk among the ruins in Italy, Greece, or Turkey.

2.5. Blacksmith’s Shop

You could walk around the Blacksmith’s Shop in Ringwood Manor State Park. This show is a small building that looks like it is falling apart.

It is a great addition to vibrant park landscape if you visit Ringwood in the fall or spring. You might get lucky if you come near the shop when the manor tour passes by.

In this case, you could go inside this small building. Take this opportunity to see a place where the ironworks were made a few hundred years ago.

2.6. Carriage Barn

You could take the Manor Trail to the Ringwood Manor Cemetery. It is a burial place for the Ringwood early ironworkers and 150 American Revolutionary War soldiers.

The Carriage Barn is another place to visit at the grounds. There are a few exhibits inside. It is open to self guided tours on the weekends from May to October.

It feels just like the Stables at Casa Loma in Toronto, Ontario and Garage at Moody Mansion in Galveston, Texas. The Barn is also similar to the Seeley Stable in Old Town San Diego State Park.

3. Skylands Manor

Once you finish exploring Ringwood Manor and its grounds you should not bid farewell to Ringwood State Park. Instead, you could stop by Skylands Manor and the Botanical Garden.

Your expectations might be through the roof after a visit to Ringwood Manor. In fact, you have reasons to be excited: it rare that the same park has two historical houses. But curb your enthusiasm.

Skylands Manor is still an architectural masterpiece. While the mansion dates back to the 1920s, it is well preserved. There is only one problem. Skylands Manor is now a hotel and a wedding venue.

It means that you could only admire it from the outside during most of the year. At least, the surrounding State Botanical Garden makes it an easy task.

But seeing the inside of this house is a bigger challenge unless you book a hotel stay. There are guided tours of the mansion. Each tour takes 45 to 60 minutes. But it is not easy to get a spot.

The guided tours are offered on select Sundays. It gets worse. They might run just one Sunday a month. Some months have no tours.

4. New Jersey Botanical Garden

As a result, a visit to Skylands Manor will be out of question during most of the time. It means that you should focus on visiting the New Jersey Botanical Garden. There is a lot to see in this Garden.

You should start your visit at the Parking Lot A. There is a short walk to the Visitor Center in the former Carriage House. Armed with a self guided tour map, you should go to the Annual Garden.

4.1. Annual & Perennial Gardens

The Annual Garden is one thing that constantly changes in the New Jersey Botanical Garden. The Garden staff and volunteers display new plants every season of every year.

Unless you visit the State Botanical Garden every month, you are unlikely to see the same exhibit twice. This is quite a dedication!

The Perennial Garden is next to the Annual Garden. You will find a more consistent set of plants there. The flowers in this garden bloom during different seasons.

4.2. Crabapple Vista

You should take a stroll in the Crabapple Vista next. This is an alley with countless apple trees. Without a doubt, the spring is the best time to visit the Crabapple Vista.

The entire alley blooms during the spring blossom season. The endless pink flowers on the apple trees are quite a sight to see.

4.3. Hosta, Moraine, & Wildflower Gardens

You should cross the Dry Meadow on the way to the next gardens. It is a natural boundary between the Crabapple Vista and the gardens. You will enter a group of gardens right next to one another.

A fence protects a Rhododendron and Hosta Garden. It is the first garden in this group. Moraine and Wildflower Gardens are next. They house a number of native flowers and plants.

You should try to visit all of these gardens in late spring. This is the time when hosta and wildflowers are in full bloom.

4.4. Lilac & Peony Gardens

You would need to go to the other side of the Botanical Garden to see the next attractions. It could be a good idea to take a path around the Swan Pond to the Memory Bench.

You will find yourself in the Lilac Garden first. It is home to over a hundred of lilac types. This scrub has beautiful purple flowers in the spring. The whole garden becomes a purple sea during that time.

The Peony Garden is a short walk from the Lilac Garden. It is another nice garden thanks to the tree peonies. These China native plants bloom in the spring. You will see green bushes during other seasons.

4.5. Azalea Garden, Magnolia Walk, & Octagonal Garden

The next gardens are close to Skylands Manor. These gardens have more than plants and flowers. There is also a reflecting pool. As a result, these gardens are scenic year round even if no flowers are blooming.

As you go from Azalea Garden to Magnolia Walk, you will see the West Terrace. By the time you reach the Octagonal Garden, the manor will be on full display.

You could also choose to go around Skylands Manor. The Winter Garden is the place to enjoy if you come to the State Garden in the fall or winter. Larger trees and bushes are the main plants there.

Continue with this Ringwood State Park Guide. You will learn more about ways to get to the sights, entrance requirements, and places to stay.

Getting to Ringwood State Park

Ringwood State Park is in the Borough of Ringwood in Passaic County of Northern New Jersey. The park borders New York in the north and Ramapo Mountain State Forest in the south.

The park is in the Ramapo Mountains next to Wanaque Reservoir. This location ensures a scenic landscape with lots of great views.

Ringwood State Park is a short detour from Interstate Highways I-287 and I-87. As a result, you could reach this park from New Jersey, New York City, and even Connecticut.

Newark Liberty (EWR), New York Stewart (SWF), and Westchester County (HPN) are the closest major airports to Ringwood State Park. You could be touring the manor after a 1-hour drive from these airports.

LaGuardia (LGA) and John F. Kennedy (JFK) airports are not much further away. But you would need almost 2 hours to get to the park due to the infamous NYC traffic.

A car is necessary to visit Ringwood State Park. There are no viable public transport options to or from the park. This is very unfortunate. Ringwood Manor is less than 5 miles from Sloatsburg station.

Trains on Main Line and Port Jervis Suffern Line bring you to Sloatsburg from Hoboken in 77 minutes. But there are no walkways or bus routes to get from Sloatsburg to Ringwood Manor.

Where to Stay near Ringwood State Park

Ringwood State Park does not have a lot of places to stay. But there is a one great place to stay right in the park. Check out The Castle at Skylands Manor to spend a night at a historic hotel.

If this hotel is sold out for your dates, you would have to drive to find a place to stay. Look into Suffern, New York and Mahwah, New Jersey. These towns are a 15-minute drive east of the park.

Holiday Inn Express Ramsey Mahwah, an IHG Hotel is a solid choice. The same is true of Crowne Plaza Suffern-Mahwah, an IHG Hotel.

Nanuet, NY, Orangeburg, NY, Paramus, NJ, and Hackensack, NJ are other towns with a few other options. Take a look at Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Paramus and Sonesta Simply Suites Nanuet.

You could broaden your search If Ringwood State Park is just a stop on your way to other destinations. In this case, Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ and Newburgh, NY could be in the running.

But you should also not overlook Newark, NJ and NYC. Both cities have a remarkable variety in places to stay for nearly every budget.

Entrance Requirements & Passes

Ringwood State Park is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. throughout the year. The park visitor center has shorter hours. It is open till 4:30 p.m. daily.

You could enter Ringwood State Park and explore its grounds and gardens for free during most of the year. But the summer weekends are an exception.

You would need to pay $5 per car to visit the park during that time as a New Jersey resident. Non residents pay $7 per car.

Ringwood Manor is open only to guided tours. You could take a tour Wednesday through Sunday between May and November.

The manor is open on Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, and Labor Day. It observes all other holidays. The tour starts every hour between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on the opening days.

House tours cost $10 per adult, $8 per senior, $5 per child, and free for children under 6 years old. Each tour takes up to 20 people. The museum is more likely to run out of tour spots on the summer weekends.

The New Jersey Botanical Garden are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. from March to October. The winter hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. It is free to visit the Botanical Garden unless there is a special event.

You could take guided a tour of the Garden and Skylands Manor. The Botanical Garden tours are offered in the spring and summer when most plants are blooming.

The Skylands Manor guided tours run on select Sundays. They costs $10 per adult, $7 per senior and child, and free for children under 6 years old.

Takeaways: Ringwood State Park Guide

Ringwood State Park is a scenic destination in New Jersey. You could see historic Ringwood Manor and Skylands Manor and explore Botanical Gardens.

Ringwood Manor is open to guided tours from May to November. You could join a 75 to 90-minute tour through some of 51 rooms of this 19th century mansion.

At $10 per adult, this tour offers an unprecedented value. The value per room or per minute of a Ringwood Manor Tour comes above most house museums in the US.

The tour provides an in-depth overview of the manor history. You will see a handful of original pieces first-hand. All at a fraction of a price of nearly every house museum.

There is only one catch to this affordable tour. You cannot take any pictures or videos inside of Ringwood Manor. The paranormal claims of this mansion probably have something to do with this policy.

The somewhat secluded location of Ringwood State Park ensures a reasonable number of visitors. If you time your visit well, your group might even be the only visitors on the tour.

There is a lot to see in Ringwood State Park even if the manor is closed. The grounds of Ringwood Manor are beautiful and fun to explore.

The same is true of New Jersey Botanical Garden and Skylands Manor. The latter mansion is now a hotel you could stay in.

Spring blossom and fall foliage are the best times to visit Ringwood Manor State Park. You could enjoy vivid colors without paying an extra parking fee.

Take a look at this Ringwood State Park Video Guide. And visit the YouTube channel for the latest videos.

Frequently Asked Questions

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