Find the top rated walking trails in Springfield, whether you're looking for an easy short walking trail or a long walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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 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....
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 Palmer Township Recreation Trail (a.k.a. the Towpath Bike Trail) is a terrific community asset for Palmer and Bethlehem township residents and a great destination for visitors as well. Three modes...
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...
The Union Transportation Trail follows the path of the former Pemberton & Hightstown Railroad, which began operating in 1868. The original purpose of the railroad was to allow local farms and dairies...
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 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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
The Landsdown Trail runs 1.8 miles between Lower Landsdown Road and W. Main in Clinton. The trail passes among open fields, woodlands and wetlands and provides access to the South Branch 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 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...
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 Hudson River Greenway (HRG) is one of the most popular places to ride, walk, and jog in New York City. It makes up part of the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway loop, the cross-state Empire State...
A short rail trail with two covered bridges occupying a portion of the former Mount Hope Mineral Railroad right-of-way in Wharton, NJ. In the future this trail will be linked with the Rockaway...
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 Johnson Trolley Line has two sections, north and south, which are split by Interstate 95; there is talk of building an overpass to link the two segments. The Trenton-Princeton Traction Company ran...
The Manasquan Reservoir Trail is located in the Howell Township and provides a great natural destination in the heart of the town. The trail forms a perimeter loop around the 770 acre reservoir...
In the early 1830s the Morris Canal opened across northern New Jersey, from Phillipsburg on the Delaware River to Newark, and later to Jersey City on the Hudson River. It provided a thoroughfare for...
The Great Valley Trail, built on the former Lehigh & New England Railroad, offers an unpaved, natural experience through quiet woodlands between the townships of Hampton and Frankford. Although...
The Wood Duck Nature Trail, appropriately named for the secretive duck, was made possible through the hard work and dedication of refuge volunteers. This beautiful trail now extends about 1.5 miles on...
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 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 Paulinskill Valley Trail follows a creek by the same name through a section of rural New Jersey with a strong German influence. In fact, the word kill is Dutch for “riverbed or stream channel.”...
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...
The Battery Bikeway is a only a half a mile long but it is an important link in the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway system, connecting the East River Greenway with the Hudson River Greenway to form a...
Note: This developing route is not yet fully contiguous; please refer to the interactive maps on the websites in the Related Content section. The D&L Trail runs for more than 140 miles through...
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...
<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...
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...
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...
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...
You’ve heard of the Steel Belt and the Sun Belt. The 6.7-mile Plainfield Township Recreation Trail passes through an area known as the Slate Belt. The quantity and quality of local slate made this...
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...
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...
New York City's East River Greenway offers views of the East River, Queens, Brooklyn, and the iconic bridges that connect these boroughs to Manhattan. The paved pathway traces the waterfront on one...
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...
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...
This trail is in an area rich in geological history. Zinc and Iron Ores were transported along this branch from mines in the area that operated for over 200 years. The trail is scenic with a slight...
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...
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 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...
Tallman Mountain State Park Bike Path is partially paved and bisects the Tallman Mountain State Park. The route provides a motor-vehicle-free way for bicyclists using US Route 9W to connect with...
The Lenape Trail is an paved multiuse pathway stretching two miles end-to-end. The winding trail sits on the tree-covered bank of Plainsboro pond, home to geese, swans and other waterfowl. Residents...
The Landsdown Trail runs 1.8 miles between Lower Landsdown Road and W. Main in Clinton. The trail passes among open fields, woodlands and wetlands and provides access to the South Branch of the...
The system of trails in Loantaka Brook Reservation are open to hikers, cyclists and equestrians, although the trails are marked as to which uses are permitted on each segment. Loantaka Brook...
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 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 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...
This is the first phase of the proposed Lehigh & Hudson River Rail Trail. The second phase will connect Hillside Park to Kittatinny Valley State Park. It is hoped that there will be an eventual...
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 Kinkora Rail Trail will one day span 13 miles between Mansfield and Springfield Township. In 2014, Springfield Township completed a small segment of the rail-trail that connects with the...
At first glance, there’s no evidence that an aqueduct ever existed along the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail. The trail is often a singletrack dirt pathway that winds through communities and trees and...
The Manasquan Reservoir Trail is located in the Howell Township and provides a great natural destination in the heart of the town. The trail forms a perimeter loop around the 770 acre reservoir...
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...
We did the entire trail as an out and back on 1/18/21. This trail is a great smooth ride with some nice scenery. The western end is being extended and about 2.5 miles is now open, making the out and back 34+ miles. Another 2.5 miles or so in underway and looks to be close to opening.
This newly paved trail and great for a walk or ride. Enter either side. Great views and some nice rolling hills. Hopefully the trees along the sides will stay upright and not fall and ruin the new fences and pavement.
I have yet to find a similar trail since I moved to NJ. I am always trying to get back there!
A hidden gem in Queens. The actual Vanderbilt section might only be 3 miles but you can bike from Alley Pond Park near the tennis bubble all the way to Citifield in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. That’s more than 8 miles of biking only crossing 4 or 5 streets. All of it is through or alongside parks where cars cannot run you over. Great, underutilized trail!!!
Smooth trails all around. Mostly shaded area. Highly recommend any skaters to trail skate here.
We have been riding this trail for about the past 10 years. Our first time out, we started out at the Hialeah trailhead. Will not do that again. Only for the younger, more adventurous mountain biker, not older geezers like my buddy and myself. Now, we start at the trailhead near Bushkill. We bike out 12 to 15 miles and come back. Nice views of the Delaware. Trail is pretty well-maintained. No skinny tires recommended for this trail. Also not recommended for riders looking for a "smooth" ride.
This is not really a one long trail but a series of segmented trails. While the beginning of each segment is marked with an "OCA" post, at the end of most segments there is no indication about where to find the next thread of the trail. Often you have to go through busy suburban streets to make the connection, some of which are quite dangerous. Other reviews recommended using GPS on your phone, but Google maps only indicates where the various trail segments are and it is difficult to find out how they connect. My friend & I attempted to do the northern half of the trail from Tarrytown up to the Old Croton reservoir. When you get to the Clearview School in Scarborough, you have to ride on a very busy Rt. 9, which has no shoulder, until you can take up the trail on Scarborough Rd. When we got to Ossining, the trail ended with no indication how to continue, so we again had to ride on Rt. 9. Then my friend hit a broken drainage grate on the side of the street, which was covered with leaves so that she could not see the gap in the pavement. It threw her head-first onto the asphalt. She was knocked out for several minutes, had a concussion, was bleeding profusely and nearly broke her neck. I called an EMT which took her to a hospital, where she stayed for two days and had stitches to her face and several tests. She was lucky she was not paralyzed (thanks to wearing a helmet). Exercise GREAT caution if you take the Ossining part of the trail. Some of the other segments are O.K. but some of them are just like riding through peoples' backyards.
Took my bike for 30 miles on this trail. What a relaxing, scenic experience. You want to get out there early if your biking, as the foot traffic increases around 11am. I enjoyed the different surfaces, the natural areas. A lot of deer and chipmunks. Definitely worth the experience. Whether you are on foot or wheels, pack plenty of water and a light snack. You will need it on this trail!
Renovation wrapped in early November. The revamped and now paved Jones Point path is great, used it today. Quiet, scenic, and much gentler than the steep up and downs on the parallel segment of 202/9w. This makes the 9w corridor my favorite way to bike to Bear Mountain overall now. It's that good.
Lots of them! Worst part is the tick advisory is posted 2/3rds of the (1 mile) into the trail. Otherwise a very nice straight path, flat terrain hike. I will be going back in winter after tick season has passed.
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