coney46

I am looking for everyone's favorite 10 mile section of the New Jersey D & R Canal toe path

Coney

cranky velocist

The bottom of Rocky Hill going toward Princeton is nice because you have canal path on either side of the river, cross the 3 bridges section, its nice all the way past the Rt 1 bridge & 95 underpass. Gets a little crowded by between the Nassau, Washington & Alexander Rd intersections & then seems to empty out again.

coney46

That is a nice section. Last fall I did fron Harrison St. down to Trenton and back, but some of the toe path was destroyed and there were some tree's that I had to carry by bike over or under. I really did enjoy that section. Yesterday I did Harrison St. to Griggstown and back.
I enjoyed the locks in that section.

Fredster

I like to ride the loop from Washington's Crossing to Stockton (passing through Lambertville) then crossing over to PA for the return (passing through New Hope) on the D&L trail.

coney46

That sounds like a fun loop. How many miles do you think that loop is ?

It looks to be just over 20 miles round trip,a bit much for this new rider

mtbikerinpa

I always liked the PA side from Bethlehem/easton to Frenchtown. Someday it would be nice to go the whole way but thats pretty far to have to come home

Fredster

Yes, that loop is about 20 miles. You can ride a shorter loop by crossing the river at Lambertville into New Hope for the return to Washington Crossing. That loop is about 14-15 miles. Lunching at one of the fine restaurants in the area makes the ride double good.

rhm

I'm not sure I have a favorite part of the D&R. The part just north of Princeton is a standout, I suppose, but it's all nice. I haven't been much north of Griggstown. Anyway, even if you have a favorite part one day, it's always changing. A different part will be nice next time.

The PA canal goes way up farther north than the NJ one. A couple weeks ago we rode the PA canal from Riegelsville to Lumberton, and large parts of that stretch are really really nice. There are also some sections that are not rideable at all, but the road next to it is okay.

Fredster

Do you mean Lumberville? Last I tried riding through that area the trail was ripped up pretty badly. I hopped back over to the NJ side at Bulls Island and rode up to Frenchtown. I haven't ridden north of there yet.

cranky velocist

I did the Princeton - Trenton ride in the colder months a few times, and probably will again this year.

I like how, on really really cold January days, you'll see more cyclists than walkers or bikers.

raymst13

I start from Alexander st in Kingston then head north for about 20 miles. i pass carnegie lake [which has great views] and the trails are on great condition.

julesray

I ride from Lambertsville to Frenchtown, over the bridge to Pa. and down into New Hope. It's about 33 miles. I did it twice one day....The ride is scenic, serene.

coney46

Scenic, serene....that kinda describes everybit of the toepath I have ridden on so far (which is from Trenton to Griggstown)

groth

Recently??? The PA side was pretty much destroyed by the floods of 2004 and 2005 and hasn't been repaired. Based on your post, I thought I'd give it another try (I do that every couple of years). For about 5 miles south of Uhlerstown (where you cross the Delaware from Frenchtown), the path was fine red gravel and reasonably smooth. Then it became coarse gray stone (railroad ballast?) and very bumpy- a real boneshaker! After a couple of miles I found a bridge that let me cross the canal and get on 32. I continued to Lumberville and crossed over to NJ at Bulls Island. The path near Lumberville is 6 inch or so stones - totally unrideable in my opinion. So far as I can tell no repair work has been done on this section of the path in the last seven years. I believe the path from Stockton to New Hope is OK from a ride a couple of years ago, but I didn't check it out today.

- Ed

indyfabz

There was some repair a while back but it got messed up yet again. It really does stink. Now I hear the NJ section north of Frenchtown heading to Milford closed at some point this summer due to a wall collapse.

Frankly, I find most of it up that way boring. We used to do long weekend tours from Philly up to Bull's Island. The entire campground was closed this year due to tree instability caused by years of flooding. A portion of the campground may re-open for '13, but a portion will remain closed permanently. One thing we liked was being able to ride into Lambertville at night to go to dinner at Belle's, which is a lesser known Italian place in the north end of town. Riding back on the trail in the dark was fun. Lot's of critters out. The trail up there is also useful for avoiding the shoulderless part of SR 29 between Stockton and L'Ville.

leob1

Jus rode from Manville to New Bruswick on sunday, for the Riverfest . in NB. It's a nice smooth ride between NB and Griggstown. IT's nice to ride at night because it is so smooth. But use caution, others ride at night and may or may not be using lights. My wife and I will often travel to Frenchtown, and ride to Lambertville\New Hope, have lunch, and go back. About 30ish miles. It's really nice if you want a car free ride. If you see a guy on a bright orange single speed, say hi.

jerseyJim

My gf and I recently road from Blackwells Mills past Lake Carnegie to Washington street and then up into Princeton for lunch. We headed further south, had to wait out a storm under the 295 bridge and headed back to Blackwells Mills from there.

A beautiful ride about 40 miles.

We also like the 45 mile loop from Washington's Crossing to Frenchtown for lunch, then back to Washington's Crossing on the PA side.

MSignore

I am new to the area and do my general training at Mercer Park. what is the surface of this trail? I have tried to research it, but can't find definitive answers by each segment. can i ride my 700x23's on here or will i need to take the mountain bike out? looking for any trails where i can take my road bike

indyfabz

The arm between Trenton and Frenchtown is mostly fine limestone. I have done the portion between Frenchtown and Bull's Island on 700x23. It's not the optimal situation, especially if there is fallen debris after a storm, but it's doable. You do have excercise caution in some places where there are rougher areas. Get a set of 25s or 28s for a better ride.

Certainly not the place to train. For that, ride the parallel SR 29 between just north of Stockton to Frenchtown. There is a wide shoulder, although it gets bumpy in places north of Bull's Island. In general, Hunterdon County is a great place to ride. Lots of low traffic roads, nice scenery and plenty of hills. I ride there and in Warren County at least 5 times/year. I can give you some cue sheets out of Lambertville, Bull's Island and Frenchtown if you would like.

flan48

Hello folks,
I am riding the Washington Crossing to Lambertville (and back) section tomorrow. Can I assume that my Trek 7.4FX and its 700 x 32 tires will be OK?
Thanks and best regards

groth

Barry - you should be fine - I have 28s and they are fine. A hint: if you park in the lot by the river, you will notice a road running along the river, River Drive. (Rt. 29 is called River Rd.) You can take this road for about a mile, to Church street, then turn right to find the tow path. There is a damaged bridge just north of the park where you will have to walk your bike around the barricades. The road takes you through Titusville; it's very low traffic and runs right along the river, very scenic and peaceful! - Ed

flan48

Thanks Ed, much appreciated.
Best regards

flan48

Hello all,
Well yesterday a group of us rode from Washington Crossing to Stockton, then back to Lambertville where we had lunch, and then back to Washington Crossing. It was 22 miles and quite nice.

As Ed (Groth) predicted, my bike did just fine - Thanks again Ed!
Best regards