Ken Roberts

I'm working on a list of 10 interesting or pretty places to ride in New Jersey.

Below is what I've come up with so far -- what should get added? or corrected?

* River road between High Bridge and Califon, right alongside South branch Raritan River -- also a rail trail thru that gorge. [ map ]

* farmland roads around Stewartsville in Warren county. [ map ]

* the "river drive" in Palisades Park north of the George Washington Bridge -- together with riding across the GWB south sidewalk. [ map ]

* Fiddlers Elbow climb -- together with the "Montana" farmland at its top and rt 519 farmland at its bottom. [ map ]

* views of New York skyline + harbor from Liberty State Park - (? together with views of Newark Bay from the sidewalk of the Bayonne Bridge). [ map ]

* Sussex county farmland, like rt 519 south from rt 23 to Beemerville - (but I hope somebody who knows that area better will top that one). [ map ]

* Branch Brook park in Newark -- especially in springtime with cherry blossoms. [ map ]

* the covered bridge -- really more the quiet roads to north of it and the wonderful run south down toward Stockton [ map ]

? someplace on the shore -- but I can't pick out the special road or area.

? someplace in south Jersey -- but I don't know riding around there hardly at all.

Glad to hear more ideas.

Ken

**brian**

Nice idea for a list.

Boulevard East - which runs through Weehawken, West New York, Guttenberg and North Bergen - offers spectacular views of NYC. Sunrises are lovely:



Liberty State Park & Bayonne Bridge are also good choices, in a similar vein.

Off topic: I did Breakneck on Saturday. Yikes. Thanks for spreading the word on that one...

old and new

anywhere up near Sparta, the entire area. RT202 around Bloomingdale and a dozen other towns should provide some interesting riding, though parts of 202 get hairy.
A road runs east to west below the Atlantic City Highway (forget the name) is desolate, not very "scenic" but wide-open with farms and flatland and very little traffic during the day, wide shoulders, good eyeshot. It's become less traveled since that A.C. highway was built a number of years ago. Only place near the P. Barrens.

rog

I just did the Tour de Lake Hopatcong ride this past weekend, some pretty spectacular scenery there.

There's way more to NJ scenery than NYC, IMO.

Papa Tom

The new (still partially under construction) Waterfront Walkway between Newport and Liberty State Park. When this is completed, it may rival Manhattan's Hudson River Greenway.

JoAnnL

I rode the Pumpkin Patch Pedal hosted by the Staten Island Bike club a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed the roads and countrified looking route. I felt like it was the Hamptons only in NJ and with rolling hills.


The ride itself was wonderful but unlike in past years I was a bit disappointed on #1 getting a 2005 tee shirt #2 the volunteers on the beginning/ending grounds of the ride were a bit rude.

I would do the ride again because of the wonderful routes.

Papa Tom

>>>I rode the Pumpkin Patch Pedal hosted by the Staten Island Bike club a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed the roads and countrified looking route.<<<<

What part of NJ does this ride cover?

ckelly49

Here is the 50 mile route: https://tinyurl.com/pumpkinpatchpedal

I have done this the past three years. It's a nice ride, but I definitely wouldn't put it on a list of special places in NJ. Mostly farms, horse farms, golf courses and mcmansions.

Papa Tom

I couldn't figure out how to zoom in to the route. All I got was a map of the world.

ckelly49

It should zoom in to the route, but on the left there is a slider to control the level of zoom. You asked to see the area the ride covers, so there it is.

Papa Tom

Ah, now I see. As a Long Islander, that's a little farther than I'd want to travel, especially since you said it was not that "special."

(FYI: In case you read my last post before I edited it, I was initially puzzled as to why you had posted this ride on a list of "Special Places In NJ" and then gone on to say that you wouldn't post it on a list of "Special Places In NJ." Subsequently, I realized that you weren't the one who posted it in the first place!)

cyclezealot

Once passing en route to Newark we were lucky enough to pass thru the Delaware Water gap New Jersey shares with Pennsylvania.. Impressive.

ckelly49

That's what I figured when I saw the edit.

professorbob

Pine Barrens. Generally flat, but can be quite beautiful. Stay on the smaller roads.

Nanaimo

The Round Valley Roundabout is a nice ride:
https://www.state.nj.us/transportatio...df/rvalley.pdf

HC203

I haven't ridden in NJ in quite a while since moving to Baltimore County, MD. where we have some pretty spectacular rides, though we have our share of motorists to deal with.

When I lived in Metuchen I used to loop out to Scotch Plains, Westfield, nothing really special about it.

Riding along the Delaware up near the Water Gap should be on there as should some Monmouth County rides. I did some riding around Cape May in July, some decent roads but difficult to avoid crazy shore traffic.

baj32161

Hi there,

As a soon to be ex-NJ resident I can tell you that if you are heading towards the central/south New Jersey areas then Hunterdon County heading into Northern Mercer County is a fine area for riding. There is lots of pretty farmland, rolling hills and even some rather monster ones. There are even a couple of covered bridges to be found. The Flemington/West Amwell/Hopewell and Lambertville areas are pretty historic as well. From Lambertville or Stockton you can cross over the Delaware River over to Bucks County PA for some gorgeous riding. From Northern NJ you can take Rtes 202 or 31 south to Flemington, Clinton and the surrounding areas. You can also ride to the Delaware Water Gap along Rte 46 (passing Hot Dog Johnny's...yummm!).

I hope this helps you some.

Cheers,

Brian J.

thegunner

AHHH another hunterdon resident... the stanton road/river road that runs along the north branch? estuaries is desolate in the mornings, and one of the nicest views of farmland you can find. also a killer climb

baj32161

Actually I live in Ewing in Mercer County and envy Hunterdon residents.

rjdennis

vincentown is a nice old town at the edge of the pine barrens...good to go on many of roads in that area for pretty farms and pines

Ken Roberts

I got to check out some roads along the river near a place called Stanton (sorta between Flemington and Clinton) and Yes there were some rather pretty sections. Map said it was the South branch of the Raritan River -- so thanks for suggesting it.Gave me some ideas about linking it into a much longer ride which covered lots of the Raritan River.
Which road is the climb you were thinking of? I guess that would take me away from the river.

Ken

thegunner

@ken... i was talking about stanton indeed (since i'm in the clinton area when not in school, i know it pretty well, so if you see another cyclist... and there's not many, be sure to wave!). it is the south branch of the raritan river, and it runs from route 31 to god knows where. also not a bad idea to follow route 31 (huge shoulder) all the way to flemington.

the climb is actually on river road itself. it's about a 10% grade for 1/2 a mile, but it's just in such a terrible spot that it feels way worse than it is. or maybe because last time i tried, my lowest gearing was a 42-26.

@baj32161 i'm sorry

baj32161

No worries, I get some pretty good riding in down here just the same.

Cheers,

Brian J.

noonito

Route 29 between Frenchtown and Stockton. 13 miles of dead flat road with wide shoulders that is very popular with cyclists. The Delaware River is on one side; cliffs with waterfalls are on the other side. Highlights include Bull's Island recreational area and the historic Prallsville Mills. The entire stretch is paralleled by the D&R Canal.

Throughout the summer time trial races are held on this road. Group rides often do pacelines here.

geo8rge

? someplace on the shore -- but I can't pick out the special road or area.
Henry Hudson Bike path(Matawan) to Highlands to Sandy Hook and then points south might work.