Explore the best rated trails in Fords, NJ. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Palmer Township Recreation Trail (Towpath Bike Trail) and John Kieran Nature Trail. With more than 110 trails covering 833 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Tatamy Trail begins in West Easton and heads north to Tatamy Borough, primarily along a former railroad corridor. On its southern end, it meets the Palmer Township Recreation Trail, which connects the...
The Sandy Hook Multi-Use Pathway travels 8.7 miles alongside the picturesque beaches and historical monuments of the Sandy Hook peninsula. The pathway begins in the Gateway National Recreation Area...
Tyler State Park, located in Newtown, Pennsylvania, covers over 1,700 acres on the grounds of an old farm in a charming woodland setting. The park features a network of interconnected trails,...
The Warrington Township Multi-Use Trail spans nearly 3 miles on the west end of town. The trail is part of an effort to make the community more pedestrian-friendly, connecting major points of...
The Perth Amboy Harbor Walk offers scenic views of the Raritan Bay and Raritan River as it hugs the shoreline of the City of Perth Amboy, founded in 1683 and home to one of the nation's oldest ports....
The Laurelton Greenway is a short but well-maintained multiuse path connecting the neighborhoods of Jamaica and Rosedale in southern Queens, NY. The two-lane paved trail starts in Jamaica, and travels...
The mile-long Lindenfield Parkway Trail is part of Chalfont's burgeoning trail network. It extends down the grassy median of the street for which it is named from Main Street to Micheal Lane, then...
The Randolph Trail system covers 16 miles of pathways through five parks, the Clyde Potts Reservoir watershed and 2,000 acres of pristine open space. The trails link schools and neighborhoods and also...
While not a "rail-trail," the Hook Mountain/Nyack Beach Bikeway is a very scenic trail along the Hudson River in Rockland County. The southern half of this trail is flat and runs right along the...
With the 32-acre Poquessing Valley Park and the 500 acres of parkland of the Benjamin Rush State Park, it’s easy to feel like far Northeast Philly is fortunate when it comes to green space. But the...
The Saddle River County Park Bike Path is a beautiful suburban trail that winds alongside the Saddle River. Most of the trail runs through moderately dense suburban development, with residential and...
The South County Trailway rolls 14.4 miles through one of the most densely populated parts of New York, but its route through pocket woodlots, parks, and golf courses and along riverbanks makes it...
The paved pathway running through West Hudson Park offers a scenic, tree-lined escape between Harrison and Kearny, NJ. The trail provides access to the park’s stocked lake, water park, athletic...
The Columbia Trail has the distinction of being named for a natural gas pipeline that runs beneath it for 15 miles in rural northern New Jersey. The crushed-stone trail rolls along the South Branch of...
It’s hard to believe that a noisy locomotive once ran through here, given that stillness is a defining characteristic of the Middlesex Greenway. Even when people pour onto the trail from the adjacent...
The Eastern Parkway Trail is a 2-mile route along a tree-lined boulevard in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood. The path begins at Prospect Park, which houses some of Brooklyn's most popular...
The Calhoun Street Bridge spans 1,274 feet across the Delaware River, connecting Trenton, New Jersey, on its east bank with Morrisville, Pennsylvania, on its west bank. Built in 1884, the intricate...
Although just a mile long, the Beach Channel Drive Greenway in Queens offers expansive views of Jamaica Bay and the beautiful Marine Parkway Bridge as it traces the border of Jacob Riis Park. On the...
The Hudson River Waterfront Walkway is a 1.5 mile walkway along the bank of the Hudson River in Jersey City. The walkway offers stunning views of Manhattan as well as access to a number of ferries and...
The West Essex Trail follows a short distance (just under 3 miles) of the former rail bed of the Caldwell Branch on the old Erie-Lackawanna Railroad. The trail runs between the EssexPassiac county...
The paved Power Line Trail carries users between residential neighborhoods, parks, schools, and other destinations in Horsham Township. The 5.5-mile utility--easement trail also heads north to green...
The Fort Washington Park Greenway brings residents and visitors to Washington Heights right up to the edge of the Hudson. The mile-long trail begins near the pier at the end of Dyckman Street and...
The New Springville Greenway stretches just over 3 miles, primarily paralleling Richmond Avenue on New York's Staten Island. A highlight of the paved pathway is its proximity to Freshkills Park, a...
Brooklyn's Flatbush Avenue Greenway parallels its namesake roadway for just over a mile from Marine Parkway Bridge to a connection with the Shore Parkway Greenway Trail. The two trails are part of the...
Like many other municipalities in the densely populated suburbs surrounding Philadelphia, the borough of Chalfont, located in Bucks County, has constructed its own network of multi-use trails to...
Like Wantagh State Parkway, Ocean Parkway was built in the postwar 1930s to provide access to the crown jewel of the state park system, Jones Beach State Park. Unlike the former road, however, this...
The Mosholu-Pelham Greenway connects several parks and recreational opportunities in New York City's north and central Bronx neighborhoods. A portion of the trail is also part of the growing East...
The John Kieran Nature Trail is a short loop that borders Van Cortlandt Lake and its associated wetlands. It is a wonderful site for bird-watching. The trail also passes several sites of significance...
This trail is much better suited to walking than to biking. It provides excellent access to the Pequest River which is stocked with trout. Not all of the bridges across the river have been decked and...
This trail goes through the Black River Wildlife Management area along streambeds and forest. Equestrians must have a NJ Wildlife Permit, which is available from NJ DEP for a fee. The trail follows...
It’s hard to believe that a noisy locomotive once ran through here, given that stillness is a defining characteristic of the Middlesex Greenway. Even when people pour onto the trail from the adjacent...
The trail winds along the Bushkill Creek connects the old Simon Silk Mill on 13th Street to Third Street at the base of the stone stairs leading up to Lafayette College. The trail is paved and though...
This trail is located in the Mahlon Dickerson Reservation which is a unit of the Morris County Park Commission. The trail follows an abandoned railroad bed through hardwood forests, past ponds, swamps...
The Forks Township Recreation Trail follows the an old right-of-way of the former Lehigh & New England Railroad. Starting at the trail's midpoint behind the Riverview Country Club in Easton, you'll...
The Kingston Branch Loop Trail is a trip up one side and down the other of the scenic tree-lined Delaware and Raritan Canal. The eastern half of the loop follows the bed of the Rocky Hill Railroad and...
DESCRIPTION: The Created by Union Forge Heritage Association in 2007,Taylor SteelWorkers Historical Greenway is a 7 mile trail that winds its way through High Bridge criss-crossing a number of...
When Jones Beach State Park opened on Long Island’s South Shore in the late 1920s, a series of scenic parkways was built on infill dredged from nearby towns to connect New Yorkers to the new public...
The Oxford Bikeway is a .9 mile long pave trail constructed on an abandoned railroad right-of-way. The trail can be accessed at three points. To the north the trail ends at Pequest Road, however there...
Spanning more than 70 miles, the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park Trail is the longest completed multiuse trail in the state and is described by many as the crown jewel of New Jersey trails. A...
The Bronx River travels from the mouth of the East River north to the Kensico Dam, providing views of the natural history of the area. Because the trail is under development, there are several gaps...
The Sandy Hook Multi-Use Pathway travels 8.7 miles alongside the picturesque beaches and historical monuments of the Sandy Hook peninsula. The pathway begins in the Gateway National Recreation Area...
The Newtown Rail Trail will one day stretch from the Fox Chase neighborhood of northeast Philadelphia to Newtown Borough, connecting Bucks and Montgomery Counties by trail. Along the way, the...
The Saddle River County Park Bike Path is a beautiful suburban trail that winds alongside the Saddle River. Most of the trail runs through moderately dense suburban development, with residential and...
The Ocean Parkway Trail closely follows its eponymous thoroughfare nearly 5 miles through several Brooklyn neighborhoods, ending only a block from the popular Coney Island boardwalk. Those traveling...
The Mosholu-Pelham Greenway connects several parks and recreational opportunities in New York City's north and central Bronx neighborhoods. A portion of the trail is also part of the growing East...
This bike-ped path in Roselle Park, Union County. The bike path is nestled at the bottom of the railroad embankment carrying New Jersey Transit's Raritan Valley Line. Stretching between Galloping Hill...
You might expect a 4-mile rail-trail that passes through three downtowns to be excessively urban, but the quaint town centers on the Joseph B. Clarke Rail Trail are compact and surrounded by...
The Calhoun Street Bridge spans 1,274 feet across the Delaware River, connecting Trenton, New Jersey, on its east bank with Morrisville, Pennsylvania, on its west bank. Built in 1884, the intricate...
The Jack Harrington White Plains Greenway was recently renamed to honor a long-time member of the city's conservation board. The trail's corridor follows the former New York, Westchester & Boston...
The nicely paved Bethpage Bikeway runs alongside suburban roads for long segments of the route, but it’s much more than a suburban trail. Each on-road suburban stretch is broken up by one of three...
The Quarry Trail is currently a 600-foot long unimproved strip of land along what is known as Quarry Road in the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. The trail links Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic...
Like Wantagh State Parkway, Ocean Parkway was built in the postwar 1930s to provide access to the crown jewel of the state park system, Jones Beach State Park. Unlike the former road, however, this...
It’s hard to believe that a noisy locomotive once ran through here, given that stillness is a defining characteristic of the Middlesex Greenway. Even when people pour onto the trail from the adjacent...
The idea of a greenway along the Elizabeth River was actually put forward in 1912 by the famous Olmsted Architectural Firm. However, continous flooding made building a trail on the riverbank all but...
The Hutchinson River Greenway offers a convenient alternative to the Hutchinson River Parkway, which it closely follows. Although adjacent to the busy thoroughfare, trees have been planted along the...
While not a "rail-trail," the Hook Mountain/Nyack Beach Bikeway is a very scenic trail along the Hudson River in Rockland County. The southern half of this trail is flat and runs right along the...
The Randolph Trail system covers 16 miles of pathways through five parks, the Clyde Potts Reservoir watershed and 2,000 acres of pristine open space. The trails link schools and neighborhoods and also...
Brooklyn's Flatbush Avenue Greenway parallels its namesake roadway for just over a mile from Marine Parkway Bridge to a connection with the Shore Parkway Greenway Trail. The two trails are part of the...
The Columbia Trail has the distinction of being named for a natural gas pipeline that runs beneath it for 15 miles in rural northern New Jersey. The crushed-stone trail rolls along the South Branch of...
The corridor now home to the Sussex Branch Trail was originally the narrow-gauge, mule-drawn Sussex Mine Railroad, which opened in 1851 to haul iron ore from mines in Andover to the Morris Canal....
The bridge over high falls creek north of ringing rocks Park is out. The creek gorge is 20-25 feet deep. It’s extremely difficult and dangerous to carry bikes up and down the sides of the gorge.
Part of a series of trails - Horseshoe Lake in Succasunna, Black River Wildlife and Patriots Path - we started at Horseshoe Lake and went to the end at Chatham, an in and back trail, and it was a bit over 13 miles. Trail is ok, a bit bumpy in places, but not dangerous. Very flat, shaded and flanked by wetlands. We didn’t have a problem with insects, but can see where it may be a problem in wetter weather. Although beautiful through the woods, it got a bit boring by the end. We finished by doing the trail around Horseshoe Lake and it was wonderful. The lake path is well used, and it was nice to see families about enjoying the outarea. Parking is plentiful if you begin at the lake.
Yesterday I rode the section of trail from the trail head at the west end of the 21st street bridge in Northampton to the Gap above Slatington. The round trip was a little under 24 miles. The terrain to the gap is mostly up hill with a gain of 475 feet. Most of the trail is in deep shade which made the heat tolerable. The entire atmosphere is really great. This section of the D&L trail is in very good condition. The fine stone base is well compacted yielding a nice hard surface. It may have rained recently because there was almost no dust. There is a nice little park area in Slatington with rest rooms and a food trailer only a short distance from the trail. I didn't stop this time, but plan to stop for food on my next ride. I only have one complaint about this section of trail. There are a couple of gates where the trail crosses country roads. The gates are closed and have poles on both sides to block motorized vehicles. The polls are too close together and pose a hazard to people on bicycles. Other than that, this and the Lehigh Gorge section are my favorite sections of the D&L trail.
This route is easy and mostly flat. However, due serveral avenues and routes closed, I had to get back to Princeton Pike via the main road and to the parking. I anticipate the construction will go through this year.
The short distance I did following the trail route is beautiful (in the evening) with folks walking, playing and having picnics while the deer graze about few hundred feet from them.
I went myself on a damp weekday morning and had a fantastic ride. The trail is wide (a car could easily fit on it) and flat, and mostly dirt and small gravel with no tree roots or potholes. It is maintained beautifully. It's mostly flat, with a few sections that require work to climb and then are fun to descend.
Enter the main reservoir recreation area and park at either the right-front or left-front end of the parking area where you'll find entrances to the trail (in opposite directions around the reservoir). The biking trail is just under 6 miles and crosses a few small bridges over inlets off of the reservoir itself. There are benches along the way and you can stop to eat or relax. I saw a few geese, ducks, and swans along my ride. The whole thing took about 60-70 minutes and was wonderful.
Happy riding -
D
It's a shame this path is not well maintained. There's also a lot of speeding ebikes, so be careful!
Nice paved path that runs all the way around the lake - like the app says though it is NOT a rail trail so it is narrow. On weekends at peak times it’s going to be crowded with walkers, bikers, joggers and little ones as it’s a shared trail. Best times to go are early morning, later evening and weekdays. Many nice spots to stop and have a little picnic lunch/snacks.
I live in the area and this is my Sunday "go to" route. (Rockledge/Byberry portion) 5.25 miles long, well maintained (unless very heavy rains have occurred), plenty of shade and relatively level. It can get a bit crowded on a beautiful day, but not too bad. Plenty of trails in area, but I use this one more often than the others. Nice 10 mile roundtrip with good parking at both ends in Rockledge or at Byberry park entrance.
Beautiful ride from north of Van Cortlandt part to Mahopac.Well paved and maintained.Connected to the North County trail And the Putnam trailway
I had fun taking this trail, however like other reviewers have commented people walking are all over the place. The ones who are exercising get it and they stay on the correct side. However some people stay in the middle or crowd the entire lane. Be prepared to say excuse me often ¿
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!