# special places in New Jersey



## Ken Roberts (Oct 3, 2007)

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


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## Nielly (Sep 21, 2009)

For Shore routes I always liked starting in Atlantic Highlands take the scenic route over to Sandy Hook. I then usualy then head south on 36 and various local roads all the way down to Manasquan. It's actually a good time of the year to do that route as the summer crowd in gone. Just pick a day when it's not too windy.


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

*some thoughts*

I have not done much riding in north Jersey but I've done a couple of things on your list. I always like to make the last covered bridge in Seargeantsville part of a ride. That area around Hunterdon county is nice. I need to ride Fiddler's Elbow but I keep chickening out due to its reputation. Although I am from south Jersey (Burlington Co.) its hard to come up with anything really notable there. The pine barrens are nice... for about 10 minutes. There are only so many pitch pines you can look at before they are all the same


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## manmachine (Jul 3, 2009)

The Sourlands are a nice area/place to ride as well.
Lake Hopatcong - around the lake obviously
Round Valley area - there is road/bridge that curves and it looks out across the reservoir
that is an amazing view/scene.

For all the sh*t NJ takes (rightly so for the taxes/corruption/ect) when you are talking about
terrain, scenery in rural-suburban areas outside of the typical Newark-Camden blight and murder/crime urban areas, NJ is an amazing state. 

There are many other great places to see and ride, just can't think of them all right now.


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## goldsbar (Apr 24, 2002)

The whole area around Pottersville is tough to beat.


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## Franz (Oct 14, 2005)

*Canal Road*

Canal Road in Franklin/Somerset/Rocky Hill

The Towpath along the D&R canal


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## AlanE (Jan 22, 2002)

Any dirt road, just to let you forget you're in the most densly populated state.

I especially like all the dirt roads in and around Bedminster - Larger Cross, Long Rd, Fowler, Spook Hollow, Holland, Cedar Ridge, East River, Cowperthwaite, Cold Brook, Tree Top, McCann Mill, Pickle, Pottesville, Palatine, Bunn, Kline's Mill.

Plenty of nice dirt roads throughout Hunterdon County as well.


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## fiddlers25 (Aug 15, 2009)

for pretty i'd add Lake Rd. going past Ravine Lake near Peapack.

Sunrise Mtn. Rd. would be on my list, for the scenery and lack of traffic


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## Ken Roberts (Oct 3, 2007)

manmachine said:


> Round Valley area - there is road/bridge that curves and it looks out across the reservoir that is an amazing view/scene.


Yes I'm thinking of pretty nice view on the west side. 
My disappointment with riding at the Round Valley Reservoir it that along much of the road beside it there's an ugly fence that gets in the way of a clear view of the lake. If there were a pleasant way to ride by the viewpoint without riding by that fence, then I'm interested.

(There's some other NJ roads like that with fences alongside lakes -- contrast the Ashokan Reservoir in New York state).

Ken


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## Ken Roberts (Oct 3, 2007)

fiddlers25 said:


> for pretty i'd add Lake Rd. going past Ravine Lake near Peapack.
> 
> Sunrise Mtn. Rd. would be on my list, for the scenery and lack of traffic


I'm getting interested in trying Lake Rd -- and also Sunrise Mt. 
Does Sunrise Mt have any significant viewpoints other than at the top?

Does the Sunrise Mt road connect north in some reasonable way toward Route 23?

(Interesting that Crigger Rd climbs up toward Sunrise Mt from near Beemerville, and it's a kind of interesting as a climb -- but it could have been great if they had finished the road and connected it with Sunrise Mt -- instead it just stops.)

Ken


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## fiddlers25 (Aug 15, 2009)

there's one spot halfway up Sunrise with a view to the west but most of the rest of the way is hidden in the trees. kind of nice though to be secluded in the forest w/ no cars on a NJ road. re connect to high pt. see this route i did a couple months ago http://ridewithgps.com/routes/11492#

i went back down sunrise at the end even though it is the wrong way on a one way. i wouldn't really recommend that but i wanted to save a few miles and it was the middle of a weekday so no cars

crigger just dead ends? on google they make it look like it connects

re the Lake Rd area there are a few climbs you can loop thru like campbell/peachcroft, mt harmony, the steps up pennbrook...just different ways up the same ridge. and from there you can hit some of the climbs around mendham/randolph as well. or check out bailey hollow off 202, short but steep.


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## manmachine (Jul 3, 2009)

Yea, I hear ya ken. It is a shame that the fence obstructs the great view.

Lake Rd is just down street from me and while it is a short and very scenic ride along the private lake, like fiddlers said, there are plenty of climbs/loops in and around Peapack/Far Hills/Mendham to make a really great ride.


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## Ken Roberts (Oct 3, 2007)

fiddlers25 said:


> ... connect to high pt. see this route i did a couple months ago http://ridewithgps.com/routes/11492#


Thanks -- that's just the sort of thing I was looking for -- gives me some new ideas.



> crigger just dead ends? on google they make it look like it connects


That's what makes road-bicycling interesting -- reality on the ground is different from maps. And it keeps changing. 

I find that mapmakers everywhere are hesitant to remove roads that used to be on old maps. It can be pretty frustrating especially when you're tired after lots of miles, to find out that a key connecting road doesn't exist -- and probably hasn't existed there for over 30 years.

Ken


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## freethinker (Sep 10, 2009)

I haven't lived in NJ in a while, but the Great Swamp (Morris County) is interesting and pretty.


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## Terex (Jan 3, 2005)

freethinker said:


> I haven't lived in NJ in a while, but the Great Swamp (Morris County) is interesting and pretty.


I was there today with AlanE and others. It was on the low end of "scenic" parts of the ride. Alan knows his roads. :thumbsup:


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## AlanE (Jan 22, 2002)

Rode thru Ken Lockwood Gorge with a few folks yesterday. That's River Road between Califon & High Bridge (first one on Ken's original list). Definitely deserves the top spot, especially on a beautiful autumn day. Worth getting the bikes a little bit dirty.


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## Ken Roberts (Oct 3, 2007)

We first rode the Ken Lockwook gorge a lotta years ago. We thought it was very special, but didn't know what to connect it to for a larger route that would also be special. So we never rode it again until this last month.
You can make a loop of the road with the Columbia Trail (dirt-gravel) -- and I've put up GPS-capable maps for the both the rail trail and road sections of a loop I've ridden.

Now with the idea of more river road riding by Stanton, and seeing that I can connect from High Bridge and Clinton on rt 513 and rt 31, I find I've got "critical mass" of nice roads to make me want to go back there lots more times.

There's a loop at least 60 miles with a substantial hill climb where I get a _sustained_ feeling of being "in a different country" -- with the farms, the creeks, the dirt roads, the quieter paved roads by more-pleasant-than-usual suburban houses. Not just a few special places, but a sustained "illusion" of being in a different region of the world.(Bucks county Pennsylvania can only _wish_ it had sustained riding as good as that. Bucks PA may have better-marketed antique shops, and more covered bridges, but Hunterdon county NJ clearly has better rural road riding.)​I also get that feeling the in the steep hilly routes I do around Stewartsville out west, but now knowing a long-ish moderate route is great.

Ken


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## AlanE (Jan 22, 2002)

*River Road Stanton*

River Road (which becomes Old Clinton Road) out near Stanton is OK, a few nice horse farms, but I wouldn't rate it as especially special. If you want to connect to it from Clinton, you can avoid busy Rts 31 & 513 by taking Leigh Street to Hamden, and go through the gate at the end of Hamden and over the foot bridge to connect to River Rd. (Actually, you have to go around the gate, take the right side). You can also get there by taking the Landsdown trail, which starts in Clinton behind Fox Lumber.


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## Ken Roberts (Oct 3, 2007)

Well when I'm putting together a 70-mile route, I'm willling to allow a few some "un-especially" special sections. (I'd be glad to hear other ideas for what to link the Ken Lockwood Gorge with for a larger route.)I guess some bike-riders might feel that horse-farms in a route are a turn-off -- like because they live near lots of them and they're bored, or they're repulsed that some people go for the personal indulgence of horses instead of keeping "productive" animals like cows or sheep or alpacas. So I'd need to warn that this route is not "horse-view free".​Sharon and I did take Leigh St south from Clinton instead of rt 513. But I did not know about getting around the gate or foot bridge for the river road. Instead we used Sidney School Rd -- like here's a map of our South Branch route.
Good to have something to new to check out next time.

Ken


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## AlanE (Jan 22, 2002)

How did you get from
"a few nice horse farms"
to 
"I guess some bike-riders might feel that horse-farms in a route are a turn-off "
???


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## Ken Roberts (Oct 3, 2007)

I guess my mind just flipped into a philosophical mode -- sorry it was confusing.


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## NJcycler (Jun 18, 2009)

*north of 23*

I would say all the roads north of Rt 23 around colesville out towards mt salem.
mudtown rd, unionville road, wolfpit etc. lots of choices.

Video slideshow of that area from last weekend. judge for yourself.
http://njkayaker.com/Cycling/Wantage_2009_10_25.mov

mattison reservoir ave, neilson road, brink rd south of rt 23.

Steve


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## Ken Roberts (Oct 3, 2007)

Yes the video shows it's a real pretty area -- and thanks for giving the names of specific roads. (If only I lived closer to there)

Ken


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## AlanE (Jan 22, 2002)

*Speaking of Ken Lockwood*

Here's a video I made today riding through the gorge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHWM6luNs8g

and one going the other way

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8jOZEZ8fjQ


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