The most popular trails are Harold Parker Road, Yellow Diamond Trail and Common Road. It develops a sense of balance, strengthens muscles, fosters an appreciation of the outdoors, and makes for wonderful family bonding time. Brookdale Park is … Morris County. In 2000, Treffinger made headlines himself by telling the cable channel HBO it could not use county property while filming its hit drama about Mafiosi living in Essex County, The Sopranos. August 15, 2017 / Central NJ / Essex, Historical, Moderate Hikes, Viewpoint, Waterfall. Natural Lands Trust: Information for their New Jersey nature preserves: Peek Preserve and Glades Wildlife Refuge. Due to neglect, even the deeply rutted and rocky fire roads required the finesse for which east coast riders are known. Patriots’ Path has hiking, … Hiking and mountain biking trail in High Bridge. Ringwood State Park in Bergen County has 25 miles of paved and unpaved bike trails. Only one walkway on the bridge is open but is easily accessible. The paved 1-mile trail provides a pleasant route dotted with tall pines and leafy shade trees... Cape May’s 8.9-mile Middle Township Bike Path and 2.7-mile Cold Spring Bike Path were fully connected in summer 2017. Looking for the best Bike trails around New Jersey? Among the report's goals were to "rehabilitate each county park for the full use and enjoyment of all county residents" and to "capitalize on unique features" of the park system. West Essex Trail is a 3 mile moderately popular white rail trail family friendly trail located near Cedar Grove New Jersey. Today, ten years after the ban went into effect, signs at the trailheads read: "Mountain Bicycles and Motor Bikes are forbidden on woodland trails because of soil erosion" - one has been helpfully emended here with the word "bullshit" - "Violators are subject to a $100 fine and vehicles are subject to confiscation.". We may receive a commission for purchases made through these at no cost to you. Even when some acknowledged that only one or two percent fit that description, they were able to hint that this percentage was on the rise. Most of the reservation's trails, bridges and shelters were not built until the Civilian Conservation Corps came on the scene in the 1930s. Before this plan even went into effect, it was overturned in a Freeholder meeting mobbed by over 300 angry citizens, more than had ever attended such a meeting. The Hudson River Waterfront Walkway is a 1.5 mile walkway along the bank of the Hudson River in Jersey City. The trail can be accessed at three points. It rained four days ago. Boulevard Trolley Line Path. Asphalt, Ballast, Crushed Stone, Dirt, Grass, Gravel. Enjoy. Ocean City Bike Path offers a short, paved route through the center of Ocean City and allows visitors a glimpse into the history of this interesting seaside town. Treffinger had inherited a county on the verge of bankruptcy after his predecessor was sent to prison on charges of corruption. In 1979, the Essex County Park Commission was disbanded and replaced by the Parks Department. Read on for 15 of our favorite spots for a Riders can begin their journey at US 9/Sandman Boulevard in Lower Township across... It’s hard to believe that a noisy locomotive once ran through here, given that stillness is a defining characteristic of the Middlesex Greenway. This bike path begins along Southwest Boulevard at Harding Highway (US 40). Until the rediscovery of this ban, South Mountain Reservation had been the premier dirt destination in northern New Jersey. ~ 30 miles round trip. Above you’ll also see links to pages with maps of all the different features in Essex County. In the newspapers, quote after quote from the hikers described bikers as outlaws. At the same time Essex County's ban took effect, a similar one was adopted in neighboring Union County, home to the area's other top mountain biking destination, Watchung Reservation. Looking for a diverse trip? Whether you are on foot or wheels, pack plenty of water and a light snack. Lots of them! Some parts require mask wearing, please comply. Location: North Park Drive, Pennsauken. The Kinkora Rail Trail will one day span 13 miles between Mansfield and Springfield Township. This multi-use trail can be used both directions and has a easy overall physical rating with a 252 ft green climb. Smooth trails all around. Water prevented completion. I saw the best riders of my generation destroyed by madness: college, jobs and trail closures. Difficult to access. Additionally, Essex has a County Executive who is not answerable to the Freeholders - rather, he has the power to approve or squash the ordinances they recommend - and who gets budgetary line-item veto power. Wrench-Up Classes are Back! Eventually, the Barnegat Branch Trail will travel nearly 16 miles from Barnegat Township north to Toms River along a branch of the former Central Railroad of New Jersey. The system of trails in Loantaka Brook Reservation are open to hikers, cyclists and equestrians, although the trails are marked as to which uses are permitted on each segment. South Mountain Reservation – Hemlock Falls. With more than 96 trails covering 792 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. This includes a difficult 7.5-mile mountain bike trail that begins near Shepard Lake. While only a few hikers were likely responsible for these acts, they were a physical manifestation of the selfishness and unwillingness to compromise which characterized the hikers' cause. The Ramsey Bike Path is a recreational path built on the former Paterson to Suffern trolley line right-of-way. The Olmsteds thought South Mountain, in particular, should contain vistas overlooking the untamed natural terrain of forests, streams and rocks rather than nearby urban developments. The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference builds, maintains, and protects hiking trails in the NY-NJ Metro region and educates the public about their responsible use. The first was "off-trail use of bicycles," the second "off-trail use of vehicles," the third "trampling." Find the top rated bike trails in New Jersey, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Traveling north-south through Wall Township is the Route 18 Bike Path. Two young mountain bikers sporting black stretch shorts and neon-colored jerseys had appeared around a bend." Even though the county's official website extols the park system's virtues, the reality is that the parks have less budgetary priority than urban social services and policing, not to mention the infrastructure necessary to keep Newark Airport and Port Newark humming with commerce (and tax revenue rolling in). In the decade of Essex's ban, Morris County officials and volunteers have built new trails and even selectively closed some others that were poorly designed and erosion-prone. ... As the largest park in the Essex County Park System, the Reservation is a unique 2,110-acre public land. From the bikers' perspective, these tactics indicated that the arguments about damage to the trails and bikers' recklessness were a smokescreen. Unlike most Olmsted parks, the two reservations in Essex were designed to be left essentially wild. Like most of the Freeholders, he wanted an expedient solution that would appease the most voters. The Woodbine Railroad Trail occupies the right-of-way of a former Pennsylvania and Reading Railroad line. There were, however, some parts of the 2,047-acre park which resemble west coast riding - patches of conifer forest, with widely spaced trees and rolling trails cut between them on a bed of pine needles. Some stairs do get pretty steep to carry bikes up, but you’ll be able to cover most of the ground on a bike no problem. ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The rules about off-road biking in Essex County’s parks aren’t new. If there were just one new gouge in a favorite fallen log from someone else's chainring, I'd notice. Never was biking considered a solitary experience through which one communes with nature, explores, exercises or relaxes. These trails range from 0.1 to 3.9 miles in length. The Landsdown Trail runs 1.8 miles between Lower Landsdown Road and W. Main in Clinton. Reservations like South Mountain, which borders four of these rich suburbs, were part of the area's appeal: hilly, forested idylls where one could find repose as well as recreation. Nevertheless, a small group of vocal hikers ably shaped public perceptions of the bikers and framed the debate in such a way that the bikers were basically outsmarted. The paved trail is having tree root problems other than that it was a very good ride. With ruts, loose stones, exposed roots and fallen trees, the trails are in far worse shape than they were in 1995, when mountain bikes were supposedly rapidly ruining the trails. **Hilltop Reservation will be closed to the public for the Essex County Deer Management Program on January 16th, 23rd, 30th and February 6th, 13th and 20th. The ordinance predated the explosion of mountain biking. In the spring of 1995, a vituperative hiker reminded officials in Essex County, New Jersey of a nearly forgotten ordinance forbidding cyclists from venturing off paved paths in county parks. Essex County is the setting for Philip Roth's postwar tales of suburbia, and its towns became the new homes of the vanguard of middle-class Jews and Italians who, beginning in the 1950s, fled the cities aided by the opportunities afforded by the GI Bill and low-interest mortgages. Length: 35 miles. Bike Windsor Essex is a member-based advocacy group representing all bike lovers in Windsor and Essex County, to help make our region safer and more bike friendly. Flat and beautiful ride. He was worried that the program was giving people the wrong idea, that Essex County might seem awash with crooks and thieves. Essential to note is that even within South Mountain, there is quite varied terrain, meaning that it's useless to generalize about bikes' effects. The best part is between Atlantic Highlands and Highlands. One IMBA official who visited South Mountain in 1995 told locals that the trails themselves were built in the wrong places and poorly at that. South Mountain's hikers commissioned a report on the damage mountain biking does to trails, but it was, as an article on the IMBA website reports, "a shady, biased environmental study performed by a USDA county extension agent who was clearly predisposed against bikes on trails." Otherwise very scenic. South Mountain Reservation, in addition to being known for its trails, is famous for its drug dealers, its pick-up spots for the closeted rich of the county, its headless/handless/footless corpses dumped in garbage bags, its grandfatherly public masturbators, its springs which fill jug after jug for local immigrant families despite the "non-potable" sign, its goats sacrificed to Satan in deep fire pits, as well as its awesome views of New York City and the surrounding suburbs, its scout camps, picture-perfect waterfalls (as long as you don't mind a little graffiti in your pictures), equestrian paths, barbecues, reservoirs, diverse trees, egrets, deer, chipmunks and wild turkeys. West Essex Trail, Essex County Department of Parks (973) 268-3500 : Access: Farview Avenue, Verona and Cedar Grove Community Park off Little Falls Road : Surface: Cinder and gravel : Distance: 2.8 miles: Other facilities : None: Type of facility : Multi-use trail, family friendly, biking But the threat of violence and the cyclists' young age were crucial to the hikers' invidious depiction of the bikers. The effect was wide-ranging neglect of the parks. This path is completely paved and runs 2.1 miles along the exact route … In the end, it's not the loss of the trails that is the most irksome. With Unlimited, get added access and customize your trips more easily! The trails, already neglected by the Parks Department, fell into greater disrepair. The Jersey shore was a major vacation destination for residents of the Delaware Valley region throughout the early 20th century. The reasoning for this shift is somewhat opaque, but surely budgetary concerns were at the fore. One large article in The Star-Ledger of Newark used subtly manipulative and biased language: "Suddenly angry voices rang out. The Karamac Trail is a short walking trail that starts under the Interstate 80 bridge on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River. Patriots’ Path. It connects Port Norris with Bivalve. Still, off road cycling as an activity for its own sake was then unthinkable, except, perhaps, as sheer daredevilry. The patriarch, Frederick, who designed Newark's Branch Brook Park, in addition to Brooklyn's Prospect Park and Manhattan's Central Park, thought the terrain that would become South Mountain Reservation was beautiful and promising as a public space. This is the first phase of the proposed Lehigh & Hudson River Rail Trail. There were hundreds of mountain bikers, both from within Essex County and from beyond, who loved South Mountain, who cared about its welfare, and who lovingly memorized its contours. The way the weeds, ruts and rocks defined the trail just so, it was my self-appointed task to explore and memorize. The historical Ben Franklin Bridge, opened in 1926, offers expansive city skyline views and is itself a stunning structure. Still, one is more likely to spot a drug dealer skulking through the woods than a renegade mountain biker. New Jersey Biking. The Pleasantville to Somers Point Bike Path connects four cities along 8.2 miles of trail: Pleasantville, Northfield, Linwood, and Somers Point. The second phase will connect Hillside Park to Kittatinny Valley State Park. Perhaps most dangerously, the department ceased programs for removal of non-native, invasive plant species and diseased trees. It showed me that the Reservation was dynamic, that I could not take for granted that the next time my tires hit the dirt it would be unchanged, that it would be the same old trails I knew so well. Find the top rated bike trails in New Jersey, whether you're looking for an easy short bike trail or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. The paved pathway running through West Hudson Park offers a scenic, tree-lined escape between Harrison and Kearny, NJ. The paved trail follows a short-line railroad corridor from the coastal city of Manasquan to a village at Allaire... Freedom Trail Bikeway will eventually be a 10-mile route linking parks and open spaces throughout South Brunswick Township in northern New Jersey. That the fire did not spread and rage out of control proved that a small human intervention can be greatly beneficial to the Reservation. Laurel Lake, NJ Intermediate. In some cases, this portrayal was accurate, but no one seemed to care, for example, that one of the leaders of the hikers' cause was a Manhattan resident. Took my bike for 30 miles on this trail. It also showed me the resilience of this oasis of untamed forest in a wasteland of suburban sprawl. 523 Miles 842 Kilometers of Trail 10 Recommended Routes ... 4.8 mi 7.8 km #1 Camden County College Trails. Today, so few people dare ride in South Mountain that generating the momentum to overturn the ban seems far more difficult than stealing past the trails-closed signs. It maintained that there should be no effort made to "gardenize" the reservations, but rather, they should remain in their traditional, wild state. In South Mountain, for example, the effects of bikes during a drought are completely different from those during a rainstorm. The original plan for solving the impasse between bikers and hikers, floated by two Freeholders, was to allow hiking seven days a week, but allow biking only Thursday through Sunday. Eco Tours, Train Rides, Whale Watching, etc. Located about 25 miles east of Philadelphia, the Pemberton Rail-Trail is an excellent example of grassroots activism resulting in the creation of a community-based rail-trail. The problem was that we had organized and educated each other, but the movement collapsed upon defeat. TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support! The report acknowledged that South Mountain's trails needed substantial work, but the report was mostly silent on the topic of mountain bikes (outside of a bike-specific path nowhere near South Mountain). Luckily for NJ families, there are tons of family-friendly bike trails throughout the state, from the Kittatinny Mountains to the Jersey Shore. I grew up in South Mountain Reservation, on my mountain bike, always fleet yet always in awe of its challenges. The Lawrence Hopewell Trail (LHT) offers more than 19 miles of pathway on a developing loop through public and private land in Lawrence and Hopewell Townships, about 5 miles north of Trenton. Otherwise a very nice straight path, flat terrain hike. The trail forms a perimeter loop around the 770 acre reservoir... The Maurice River Bikeway Trail provides access to shops, recreational parks, and riverside riding all in one. While you’re there, don’t forget to check out the Fairy Trail NJ, where the tiny fairy houses will enchant your littles along the trail and in the trees. The original purpose of the railroad was to allow local farms and dairies... United States Avenue Trail, which is also know locally as the "Green Trail" travels through a primarily wooded landscape between Foster Avenue and Egg Harbor Road in Gibbsboro, New Jersey. I don’t recommend road bikes as there are a lot of street crossings on this end of the trail. This community trail begins at the intersection of Main and Pearl streets in the town of Port Norris, near the mouth of the Maurice River. I got to ride with Jamaicans and Colombians, as well as people twice my age or older - friendships the average white suburban kid never has the opportunity to make. Like all other New Jersey counties, Essex is governed by a Board of Chosen Freeholders. If the argument is that bikes endanger the trails, it's because the soil over the rocks is thin in many places due to erosion. Riding a bike is more than a childhood milestone. Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway, Monmouth County. Highly recommend any skaters to trail skate here. Find More Places in Essex County: Cliff (1) Summits (4) Essex County, New Jersey is home to 5 summits, ridges, ranges, trails and other mountain features. In fact, Essex's was the first county park commission in the United States, organized in 1895 to safeguard open space in the midst of growth and a booming local economy. The Gloucester Township Health and Fitness Trail, formerly known as the Blackwood Railroad Trail, is a paved bicycle/pedestrian path in Blackwood, Gloucester Township. His History of the South Mountain Reservation will be published later this year. The Oxford Bikeway is a .9 mile long pave trail constructed on an abandoned railroad right-of-way. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Norwalk River Valley Trail and Timp-Torne Trail. Spring and Summer Book Talks to be Rescheduled. Turnersville, NJ Intermediate. High school mountain biking clubs cropped up and rode there weekly. Less than two years later, Treffinger was under a twenty-count indictment for fraud, extortion and obstruction. Today, Lewis Morris Park, which borders Jockey Hollow National Historic Park, contains some of the most well maintained mountain biking trails in any New Jersey county park. The Randolph Trail system covers 16 miles of pathways through five parks, the Clyde Potts Reservoir watershed and 2,000 acres of pristine open space. The Trolley Line Trail is a 2.5 mile paved pathway between Rabbit Hill Road and Penn Lyle Road in West Windsor. Prepare to be whisked into the past when you take the Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway. Instead, he made it seem like the bikers' spokespeople were wingnuts. Login to your account. Instead, articles quoted hikers who called bikers "kamikaze people." It is doubtful, anyway, that the Freeholders' compromise would've withstood judicial scrutiny; it reeked of "separate but equal.". Hikers' opinions of mountain bikers ran the gamut from approval to outright hatred; those of the latter persuasion were most vocal. No one mentioned that the county might have a responsibility for clearing such detritus from the trails, even if that's not what mountain bikers would desire. The Route 52 Bridge Trail is an important connector between Cape May County and Atlantic County in New Jersey's growing trail network. The tree-lined 22.5-mile Henry Hudson Trail is the definition of scenic variety. The South Mountain Recreation Complex is nestled along Northfield Avenue and Cherry Lane in West Orange. The bike path is nestled at the bottom of the railroad embankment carrying New Jersey Transit's Raritan Valley Line. In a New York Times article, one hiker said of the bikers, "Better they go to quarries, with their rocky bases." The Parkside Trail is one segment of the larger Camden Greenways network, a proposed system of trails currently under construction. To end rules about off-road biking in Essex County’s parks aren’t New and a link to information! Through Merchantville Borough, paralleling Chestnut Avenue walkway along the bank of the outdoors, and lot... Tenor of the Freeholders, he wanted an expedient solution that would appease most... 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