Ringwood, NJ

Ringwood is a small borough tucked into the northernmost corner of Passaic County, New Jersey, in the wooded highlands just south of the New York state line. With a population of roughly 12,000 residents, it carries a quiet, semi-rural character that feels a world away from the dense suburbs of the New York metropolitan area, even though Midtown Manhattan lies only about 45 miles to the southeast, an easy drive of just over an hour in normal traffic. The borough is best known as the home of Ringwood State Park and as a gateway to the broader Highlands region, drawing visitors with its lakes, forest trails, and remarkably intact iron-mining history.

The anchor attraction is the state park itself, a sprawling expanse of more than 4,000 acres that surrounds the borough and forms the backbone of any visit to the area. Within minutes of the town center, guests can find hiking trails, the cool waters of Shepherd Lake for swimming and paddling in summer, and stretches of the Appalachian Trail that pass directly through the property. The park is also the setting for the borough's two most recognizable historic estates.

Ringwood Manor, designated a National Historic Landmark, is a Victorian-era country house that grew out of an 18th-century ironmaster's estate and was later home to several generations of the Hewitt and Erskine families. Today it operates as a house museum with original furnishings, period gardens, and interpretive rooms that trace the story of the area's iron-mining past. Just down the road, Skylands Manor, a stately English-Tudor mansion completed in the 1920s, sits within manicured formal gardens that are open to the public year-round and offer one of the most photographed seasonal displays in the region, from spring rhododendrons to brilliant autumn foliage.

A short drive inside the same park brings visitors to the Long Pond Ironworks district, where the stone foundations, furnace remains, and workers' village ruins of an 18th-century iron-producing community have been preserved as part of the broader historic landscape. Together, the manor, the gardens, and the ironworks give Ringwood a depth of history that pairs naturally with its outdoor offerings.

For a short-term rental investor, Ringwood's appeal lies in this blend of features. It offers an easy weekend escape from New York City, four-season scenery that draws leaf-peepers, hikers, and cyclists, and a concentration of historic and recreational landmarks that fill several days of itineraries. The combination of small-town character, proximity to a major metropolitan source market, and a genuinely distinctive set of attractions makes it a natural fit for guests who want nature and history without venturing far from the tri-state region.