Ringwood, N.J.: A Rural Lifestyle 40 Miles From New York City

With its wooded hills, winding roads and shimmering lakes and reservoirs, Ringwood, N.J., feels more like the Catskills than like a New Jersey suburb. That rural charm was what attracted Linda and James Pentifallo when they decided to leave their longtime home in River Edge, in Bergen County.

“My wife really wanted to be on a lake, but I thought, ‘We’re not going to be able to afford that,’” said Mr. Pentifallo, 64, the owner of the Ridgefield Hobby store in Ridgefield, N.J.

Earlier this year, however, they bought a three-bedroom log cabin on Cupsaw Lake — one of several lakes in Ringwood — for $599,000. Their new home reminds Ms. Pentifallo, 65, a retired office manager, of the lakefront cabin her family owned in the Adirondacks.

“We go out on the deck and have a cocktail and enjoy the view,” Mr. Pentifallo said. “What’s great about Ringwood is its location: You’re in the country, and yet you’re not far from the city.”

Orly Steinberg, an agent with Keller Williams Village Square Realty in Ridgewood, said that many buyers start out searching in pricier northern New Jersey towns, only to realize that “they can afford a nice house and get more bang for their buck” in Ringwood. Others, she said, discover the borough during weekend outdoor adventures.