[Journal entry for February 25, 2012; Ramapo Lake]. The day is sunny with puffy clouds and is rather windy. I park at the Ramapo Mountain State Forest lot along Skyline Drive, Just west of Oakland, NJ. I take the MacEvoy Trail (blazed in blue) west towards Ramapo Lake. I encounter some stonework near the trailhead, possibly the footings of a now vanished aquifer or bridge. The trail follows the outflow stream, which is very lively with cascades and small waterfalls. It leads to a long concrete dam on the east side of the lake that is about fifteen feet high. I cross the one lane road atop the dam and then climb down to the outlet stream. The flooded area beneath the dam has the remains of last year’s marsh grass. I then walk around the lake, taking a woods road that follows its shore. Several times, I climb down to the lake shore to find spots where I can see through the trees and laurel bushes and view the lake. The southern section has several small wooded islands. I find a long rock ledge at the southwestern corner where I can the bushes and grasses growing in the shallows. Many of the trees and bushes along the lake shore are budding. I then continue onward, crossing a causeway with a small arched bridge that cuts across a narrow arm of the lake. From this vantage, I can see a ruined mansion on a prominent hill to the north. It’s the Van Slyke “castle”, which dates from the early 1900’s. I connect with the Castle Point Trail (blazed in white) and take it steeply uphill to the ruins. They consist of two separate structures: dilapidated stone and brick walls of the mansion itself, and further up the hill, a better-preserved stone structure that I suppose was the mansion’s water tower. Rock ledges in the area show signs of hand-quarrying, perhaps for the stone in the tower. The hill has several nice overlooks, one looking south back towards Ramapo Lake, and another looking west towards Wanaque Reservoir. I continue eastward on the trail, to where it intersects with Skyline Drive and then switch to the Memorial Trail (blazed in yellow), which takes me back to the dam. This trail descends through some interesting rocky valleys. I then rejoin the MacEvoy Trail and take it back to the car. I stop at Junior’s Pizza and Subs in Oakland NJ for a sandwich. About 3:30.