Explore the best rated trails in Hawthorne, NJ. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the D & H Canal Linear Park and Norwalk River Valley Trail. With more than 95 trails covering 664 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.
Freedom Trail Bikeway will eventually be a 10-mile route linking parks and open spaces throughout South Brunswick Township in northern New Jersey. The trail follows a former rail line through...
At 2.6 miles, the Staten Island Greenbelt Multi-Purpose Trail offers a nice jaunt for joggers, walkers, and cyclists alike. The crushed-stone path is 6-feet wide and runs from Rockland Avenue to...
When completed, the Norwalk River Valley Trail will run from Danbury to Long Island Sound in southwestern Connecticut, for a total of about 27 miles. Currently, several disconnected sections totaling...
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The Trolley Line Trail is a 2.5 mile paved pathway between Rabbit Hill Road and Penn Lyle Road in West Windsor. The trail is on the right of way of the former Fast Line electric trolley that connected...
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 Jones Point Path occupies an abandoned motor vehicle route (old US Route 9W). The path provides bicyclists with a relatively safe bypass to a dangerous section of busy US Route 9W near Bear...
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 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 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 former “Old Put” commuter rail corridor that ran from the Bronx to northern bedroom communities in Westchester and Putnam Counties is popular once again, only this time it’s for people riding...
The D & H Canal towpath is nestled within the 300-acre D & H Canal Park in the New York hamlet of Cuddebackville. The crushed-stone trail, stretching just over a half mile, is one section of a larger...
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...
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 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 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...
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 Joseph M. McDade Recreational Trail runs nearly the length of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River across from New Jersey. The protected...
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk follows Staten Island's eastern shore from Miller Field -- a recreational area for sports, picnicking and bird watching -- to Fort Wadsworth. Highlights of the...
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...
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...
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 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 Delaware & Hudson Canal Linear Park is 45 acres with a trail situated along the historic D&H Canal. Remains of the original locks, dry dock and waste weirs are visible from the towpath trail....
Fahnestock State Park is a relatively undiscovered gems in the New York State Park System. Located a few miles east of Cold Spring Village on Rt. 301 (Main Street), the park jurisdiction was recently...
In the mid 1800s Chester, New Jersey, was the home of the iron ore industry; railroads shipped the ore all over the county. With the end of the industry, however, the rail lines were abandoned, turned...
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...
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...
Randall's Island Park Trails offer a series of interconnected paved loops on an island in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The park offers a quiet setting, especially enjoyed by runners, with...
When complete the Green Brook Multi-Use Trail will meander for 7 miles through the communities of Plainfield and North Plainfield, New Jersey. The trail will connect major regional trails and parks as...
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk follows Staten Island's eastern shore from Miller Field -- a recreational area for sports, picnicking and bird watching -- to Fort Wadsworth. Highlights of the...
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...
This 2.1-mile long paved path runs directly adjacent to (about 30-40 feet off of) the Boulevard in Mountain Lakes, NJ, and follows the exact route of a former trolley line operated by the Morris...
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 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...
This pleasant, flat rail-trail parallels Capoolong Creek through the Capoolong Creek Wildlife Management Area for nearly 4 miles. The surface is varied, so the trail is best suited for hiking or...
The two diverse sections of the Shore Parkway Greenway Trail blend urban and scenic, offering views of sights ranging from the Statue of Liberty to wildlife refuges. Following the Belt/Shore Parkway,...
The D & H Canal towpath is nestled within the 300-acre D & H Canal Park in the New York hamlet of Cuddebackville. The crushed-stone trail, stretching just over a half mile, is one section of a larger...
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 High Line trail runs 30 feet above the bustling Manhattan streets and sidewalks below, which for trail lovers makes it an attraction in the same league as the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State...
The old New York Central rail line that ran from the Bronx to northern bedroom communities in Westchester and Putnam Counties carried commuters during the workweek, but on the weekends tourists...
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 Raymond G. Esposito Memorial Trail travels from one end of the village of South Nyack to the other in 1 mile but greatly expands its reach by connecting with the Old Erie Path and a new shared-use...
The tree-lined 22.5-mile Henry Hudson Trail is the definition of scenic variety. Traversing both urban and natural environments, the route passes wetlands, streams, fields, and the Garden State...
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...
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 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 Berkshire Valley Management Area Trail passes through hardwood forests and affords views of the valley below to the right. Equestrians must have a NJ Wildlife Permit, which is available from NJ...
<p>This trail is the legacy of the first elevated roadway in the United States, constructed by William K. Vanderbilt in 1904. Vanderbilt created the parkway to get to his family’s estate in Long...
The City of Port Jervis is the latest community to save a portion of the former D&H Canal and turn it into a greenway for use by residents and visitors. A section of the canal, which is approximately...
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The Patriots' Path covers roughly 35 miles of terrain and is open to mountain biking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing and hiking. The multi-use trails links parks, open space, recreational...
When complete the Green Brook Multi-Use Trail will meander for 7 miles through the communities of Plainfield and North Plainfield, New Jersey. The trail will connect major regional trails and parks as...
Owned by the Metro-North Railroad, the Maybrook Trailway starts at the Connecticut state line in Farringtons Park, and spans 5 miles into the town of Brewster. The trail follows what was once part of...
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...
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...
The Jones Point Path occupies an abandoned motor vehicle route (old US Route 9W). The path provides bicyclists with a relatively safe bypass to a dangerous section of busy US Route 9W near Bear...
Running alongside a New Jersey Transit passenger line, the Traction Line Recreation Trail has been around since 1986, when Jersey Central Power & Light donated portions of the land to the Morris...
Roosevelt Island Greenway, a little-known gem in the Big Apple, was named after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1973. To reach this scenic pathway, board New York City’s only aerial tram,...
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 Briarcliff-Peekskill Trailway is a 12-mile linear park that runs from the town of Ossining north to Westchester County's Blue Mountain Reservation in Peekskill. The trail is built on land...
The Ramsey Bike Path is a recreational path built on the former Paterson to Suffern trolley line right-of-way. The path extends along a north-south route from one end of Ramsey to the other....
Fun park for walks. Has fountain and ducks and paved trails for walking biking or running
Great trail for biking and just walking. So nicely maintained!
What a nice ride. If your not use to gravel trails your going to be bounced around a bit but overall it is a great ride. Had a nice snack and glass of wine when we got back to where we started.
I have biked about two-thirds of this trail, and it's great. There are several access points, and many places where you can exit the trail to ride on local roads.
Ive been riding this trail since the 90s. The trail is scenic in certain sections, However, Its pretty rustic & you're gonna need at least a 1.7 tire or higher.
For those of you who have the 700c tire, A 42mm or higher will get you going. After rain fall, You will encounter lots of pockets of puddles & some mud.
Lots of wildlife & on weekends you'll bump into equestrians. If you like fishing, You'll pass a few small lakes & creeks to hang out & wet your line & have lunch.
I parked at the westernmost parking area and rode west. Nothing much to see (other than the Orange County prison) and fairly populated on a Monday.
I then rode East towards Goshen. Just before the town, a resident has put up several "No Trespassing; Private Property" signs and the trail is no more although the map shows it jagging left and coming back into town.
What you have to do is ignore the signs for about 10 yards and make a u-turn onto a road that leads up to West Main Street. Take that through town to North Church and then to St. James. You'll find the rest of the trail headed to Harriman.
The trail is excellent and well-maintained. I only went as far as Chester. That will be my starting point next time. From Goshen to Chester there were a lot of walkers and dog-walkers -- all extremely polite and practicing trail etiquette. It's a little too tame and populated for my taste, but I am guessing as you go further east, it is less so.
I will be returning.
My wife, dog and I ride the trail nearly every day. The Hartley road entrance is a bit tricky but once you figure out how to get to in its a piece of cake. Hint...when you get into Goshen and get to the end of the first part of the trail follow the dirt path to the fence, there is a gate, be courteous and shut it behind you and ride thru the development and you will be in connect with railroad ave and see the connection for the rest of the trail. Enjoy!!!
Beautiful in fall, but a workout going from Brewster. A few major hills.
Having not ridden this trail before we made the mistake of trying to start at the very bottom end of the trail (0.0 mi), and later in the day than normal. Even though the TrailLink map indicates that parking was 2.5mi further north, we figured we'd give it shot. Mistake. Don't do that. There truly isn't any place to park, unless you want to leave your car randomly on the side of the rode on somebody's private property. 😂
We parked up in the Gardiner lot (Main & 2nd, 2.5mi mark on the trail). We rode north from there. What a great ride. Trail is mostly shaded, covered by the tress. The leaves where changing colors. It made for a very tranquil, fall covered tunnel feeling. The was flat and well maintained. We encountered other riders, joggers, and walkers along the way. We passed through farmland, apple orchards, and small communities. The trail takes you over roads and streams.
We stopped in New Paltz for lunch. We found a bike rack near the edge of the trail and locked our bikes there. We sat outside and enjoyed a nice meal at The Parish (New Orleans fare).
We continued our ride north for another 3mi or so before we had to turn back as it was getting late and didn't want to be on the trail when the sun set. (Note - we got a very late start at the beginning of the day). The trail north of New Paltz seemed to grow less traveled, a bit more narrow. As much as we enjoyed the souther portion of our ride, it seemed to me that the norther portion was shaping up to be even prettier.
We definitely plan to ride this trail again. (I've tagged it in my Google Maps) We will plan for a longer day so that we can explore further north of New Paltz. I think I will pack lunch in a backpack so that we can stop somewhere along the trail, stream side as there where some nice pull off areas.
Been on this trail many times! Will return!
Some sections are worse than others with tree roots under the pavement, signs are not located thru Matawan, (train station, etc.) need clean bathrooms along the route.
Recommend!
Beautiful scenery. (some points you can see NY!)
This trail is currently closed for PSEG construction until June 2020! I went there on Friday Sept. 20 for the relatively short ride it affords and was met with heavy construction equipment and signs. I don’t know if they’re making trail improvements as well but they were working on the section of right of way that goes through the park. Hopefully that will now be included as part of the trail.
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