Northeast - Newark, NJ (Area) to Bound Brook, looking for a direct, but safe, route

I'm looking for a one way route to take it from Rutherford to Bound Brook without going too far out of the way. This is going to be a leg of a trip that brings me from River Vale to LBI, but this is the area's that I'm having the most trouble with.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

I'm not sure you can find a safe route, but your best bet is to check out the NJ Bike Map. It's got roads color coded for traffic volume: http://www.njbikemap.com/njmap/mapimage/north_jersey.html

I have a ton of them printed and laying out, but I'm having a rough time navigating my way, I was hoping someone from the area would be able to help. If not we're just going to go and find ourselves a way through.

Thanks though, I found bike maps a few weeks back and they are awesome.

you're right, there really isn't much of a direct way. using njbikemap, i'd probably head west towards montclair or bloomfield, then south towards south orange near seton hall university. (to further lengthen the trip, you could continue west from montclair, through caldwell, and into livingston/west orange, and then head south.) from there, find your way through millburn or summit, and then parallel route 78 west (nicer on the north side of 78). there's route 512 (springfield ave. which turns into valley) or mountain ave. once into warren, you can find any number of roads that will take you south, crossing 78 & 22, and into bound brook.

from summit/springfield, you could also find your way south of route 22 and just take route 28 west (westfield ave./north ave.) the whole way into bound brook. not as scenic, though.

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/nj/rutherford/306127065123264817

this is what i came up with so far, if anyone sees a road i should stay off of please let me know.

I wuold try and stay on the north side of rt 22 for as long as possible, which is basically till you get to Bound Brook. I would not really recommend riding through Plainfield and I would not want to ride on Rt 28 for that long depending on the time of day. When you get to Millburn I would head W and not SW.

I have gone from Newark out to Berkely Heights using Springfield Avenue much of the way. From there it shouldn't be hard to get the rest of the way to Bound Brook.

Maybe from there use 527, or Valley Rd or Mt Ave. to King Georges, but I haven't tried these.

This is based off an nyc to philly route on the nycc ride library. I haven't actually ridden it yet, so I can't report how safe the roads are, but it follows Zowie's advice of following springfield ave for a while.

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ny/new-york/862127070165953587

Well, I can definitely help a little here with this ride, since I live in Montvale, and I'm originally from Bound Brook. Your best bet as another poster said is to stay north of 22 as much as possible. Once you hit Milburn, follow this route: http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Millburn&1s=NJ&1y=US&1l=40.726021&1g=-74.309418&1v=CITY&2c=Watchung&2s=NJ&2y=US&2l=40.637798&2g=-74.451401&2v=CITY&aoh=1 to the watchung circle. At that point follow Mountain Blvd west until you get to the center of warren. You'll know you're there when you come to an intersection with a giant american flag. trust me, its big, and you'll know it when you hit it. Continue straight as the road becomes washington valley road. You have two options now. The first is to turn left onto morning glory road. This is probably the rougher of the two options, as traffic travels faster, and there's a real brake-burning downhill section. There is no traffic light at the bottom, however. The second option is to continue on for about 2-3 miles after morning glory road to chimney rock rd. and turn left there. This road is pretty windy, but it has a smaller downhill section, and is traveled by bikers more often. This is the route I used to take most often. Follow chimney rock rd. down the hill and past the quarry, and then bear left when you get to the quarry, towards bound brook. Before you get to the overpass that crosses Rt. 22, do yourself a favor and stop for lunch at the chimney rock inn. Get the pizza. Its light, thin crust, and legendary around those parts. After that, you just ride over the overpass into bound brook and you're smooth sailing from there on out. This ride is extremely scenic this way, and the way I'd recommend you do it. Any other questions, feel free to ask. Also, give me as much feedback as you can, since I'm looking to ride from Montvale to Bound Brook in the very near future.

Also, to stay in nicer areas, I recommend getting on the western side of the parkway, and using the western half of essex county, namely Livingston and short hills to get you down to Millburn. If you need to stop somewhere up in that area you've got High Gear Cyclery in Millburn for any repairs. They're a top 100 ranked shop nationally, and I'd trust them to do any work I needed on my bike.

Just some background, I am a delivery driver that works in Essex, Union and Somerset counties, so I know most of this area quite well. If you have any other questions as to what roads are safe and which areas to avoid, feel free to PM me.

The route you mapped out so far is fine. Also, I asked google maps, and it gave a decent route for bicycling.