# Road route at Loantaka Park



## tonyride (Mar 23, 2009)

Does anyone know of a road bike route in or around Loantaka Park in Morristown? My wife and I both got new road bikes and we're looking for places to ride that are relatively safe for bikers. Directions or Garmin GPS trail via Motionbased would be great. Thanks.


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## Mad_Hun (Jul 3, 2007)

Hi,

I'm not sure how to give you a motionbasd trail, but I know that there are parking lots off of Loantaka Way and Kitchell Rd. That being said, the path that runs through the park isn't that useful for cyclists. You'll find that you'll have to go very slowly and it's rather short. The roads to the wesk of Loantaka are pleasant places to ride and traffic can be reasonable. Let me know if you'd like me to recommend some specific routes.


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## tonyride (Mar 23, 2009)

Hi. I know there are groups that meet up there for rides. I guess I'm looking for a route using Loantaka Park as the starting and ending point. So if you know a route that is around 20 miles I would appreciate it. Street names would be fine. I ride with a little GPS unit so I'll be able to map out the route and get me back in case I get lost. Thanks in advance.


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## merckxman (Jan 23, 2002)

*Morris Area Free Wheelers*

http://www.mafw.org/ This Morris county club has rides that start from there (and around Morris, Somerset, Warren counties).


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## jsedlak (Jun 17, 2008)

20 miles, single loop?

Your best bet is to start in the parking lot on South St., work your way to Chatham (Hickory Square) onto Southern Boulevard, up to Fairmont (take a right here), out until it bends left and take a right on Meyersville Road, then take a right at New Vernon Rd (at the circle), then straight if you like climbing but I like right onto Pleasantville Rd, then left onto Millbrook Rd (this climbs a bit) and take down to Blue Mill Rd (at the end of Millbrook). Take a right and now you are pointed back at Loantaka. You have a few choices from here all of which are similar in difficulty.

I will try to map it out on a site or something...

See if you can see these..

This would be a basic route to look at. It has some steep (relative to what I have seen) but short climbs, some flats and some rollers.
http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=41023

If you want something tougher, this is my climbing oriented ride. It is 50+ miles and covers a lot of elevation change with some good long climbs (15 minutes or longer for me).
http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=21020

Hopefully those links work. Be sure to drive the courses as there are some roads of questionable quality. Green Village Rd is a mess on the Eastern side, a lot of pebbles and rough patches. I have yet to blow a tube there, but you never know. This road would be easy to avoid if Woodland Rd (if you go right out of the South St. parking lot and then another right) weren't just as bad. I skip Woodland because it has a ton of potholes between South St and Kitchell Rd.

New Vernon Rd and the Great Swamp in general has some nice flat roads the you will have to descend in and climb out to get there because it is a low point on the map. The easiest way in and out is through Pleasantville Rd which rolls but isn't too bad.

Hope this helps! (I love these roads)


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## tonyride (Mar 23, 2009)

merckxman said:


> http://www.mafw.org/ This Morris county club has rides that start from there (and around Morris, Somerset, Warren counties).


I will check them out. Thanks.


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## tonyride (Mar 23, 2009)

jsedlak said:


> 20 miles, single loop?
> 
> Your best bet is to start in the parking lot on South St., work your way to Chatham (Hickory Square) onto Southern Boulevard, up to Fairmont (take a right here), out until it bends left and take a right on Meyersville Road, then take a right at New Vernon Rd (at the circle), then straight if you like climbing but I like right onto Pleasantville Rd, then left onto Millbrook Rd (this climbs a bit) and take down to Blue Mill Rd (at the end of Millbrook). Take a right and now you are pointed back at Loantaka. You have a few choices from here all of which are similar in difficulty.
> 
> ...


 I'll check this out too. Thanks.


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