Northeast - Northern NJ bike paths

I live in Nutley, not far from Newark. I was wondering if there were any bike paths around here. I am looking to get into biking and I would rather start somewhere without all the cars if possible.

http://www.njbikemap.com/

FYI, the Major Taylor bike club operates in that general area. I haven't done a ride with them, but have bumped into them and they seem like pleasant chaps. http://majortaylornynj.com/

Ditto - njbikemap best info you can get.

Your best bet is Branchbrook Park. Head south on Franklin Ave towards Newark. Next light after Belleville Ave is Mill St. Make a left there and take the next right. Keep going until you enter the park. There are 2 loops there. Short is a 2 mile loop around the pond and a 6 mile route going further south past the Cathedral where you will have to make a U-Turn near the south entrance. Park is not closed to vehicular traffic but a lot less cars than on regular roads. Between 6-8pm on weekdays you will see a bunch of roadies doing loops there.

Another would be Brookdale Park in Montclair. Ride up on Center St to E Passaic. Make a right on E Passaic and head north to Watchung. Left on Watchung and the entrance to the park will be on your right side about 2 miles down. There are a lot of cars getting here as you will cross the entrance/exit ramp from GSP. This park has almost no cars and would be safer for beginners.

I spent my teenage years in Brookdale park drinking and running from the cops :thumb::p

Branchbrook Park is a little closer, but I remember it being on the dangerous side as far as the criminal element. Better these days?

Oddly enough, njbikemap.com doesn't list ANY bike path for Essex county. Not Branchbrook or Brookdale or anywhere else.

I'm right over in Kearny, but my boyfriend lives in Nutley so I'm there often. Your only real options in the area are Branchbrook (which is fine during the day) and Brookdale in Montclair/Bloomfield. I see tons of roadies at Brookdale. If you ever wanna do a ride together, drop me a line, I'm always looking for someone to ride with!

Hey neighbor! Kearny actually has some nice long streets right off of the Belleville Turnpike that don't have much traffic, I used to live in NA near there. It's too bad there isn't a bike route along the river going from Kearny all the way down thru NA and Lyndhurst to Route 3.

Hey, 3 days a week I ride along River Rd from Kearny to Wallington and back. I'm new(er) to cycling so I was a little iffy on riding along River, but at 6:30am it wasn't bad at all.