Has anyone taken a bikepacking trip through NJ?

[rlb]

I read the salsa blog here and there and it always makes me wonder if NJ would be a good place for this sort of riding. I don't have any real experience or know any stories to prove this either way. I know there are various "rail trail" type connectors throughout the state (most notably both D&R branches) that can help this out. Has anyone ever put together a good string of 2-3 days of riding which minimizes pavement time?

 

[map111158]

Here you go

http://www.libertygap.org/

Its 150 miles off road so 2 or 3 days would be good to go end to end. Ill do this one day, maybe Spring.

 

[J-Dro]

Well there was this off-road century last year organized by montclairebobbyb.

http://www.mtbnj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9785

If your really interested in putting something like this together, reach out to Bob. He has scoped out some of the lesser known trails in the state and can give you first hand advice.

 

[Cyclopath]

Here you go

http://www.libertygap.org/

Its 150 miles off road so 2 or 3 days would be good to go end to end. Ill do this one day, maybe Spring.

Yikes! Sounds like a good idea until you zoom in on the hood.

 

[Norm]

I particularly like that "Path" trail. I guess you could camp there if you had to...

 

[Cyclopath]

I particularly like that "Path" trail. I guess you could camp there if you had to...

At least that one's "off road".:rofl:

 

[6thElement]

I'm trying to come up with similar routes on the East side of the Hudson, it's a long way out of Manhattan to any proper campsites!

 

[rlb]

Thanks for this info I will go through the mutant century thread. The nerd in me is probably going to throw all of this onto one map, so stay tuned. But don't hold your breath.

I particularly like that "Path" trail. I guess you could camp there if you had to...

As soon as stb releases his "riding on water" video I'm going to scope out that section.

 

[rlb]

Just adding some "bookmarks" for myself to help with stringing some things along

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Rail_trails_in_New_Jersey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rail_trails_in_New_Jersey
http://www.co.hunterdon.nj.us/depts/parks/guides/ColumbiaTrail.htm


http://www.mtbnj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5022&highlight=mahlon

 

[MST.ESQ]

Here you go

http://www.libertygap.org/

Its 150 miles off road so 2 or 3 days would be good to go end to end. Ill do this one day, maybe Spring.

"Sorry folks, Lenape Trail is closed to bikes, the moose out front should have told you so..."

 

[rlb]

Here is my meager beginning at mapping out NJ's rail trails and other "connector" type trails

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=
118287567036315599750.000492fad058af3f3d8f4

 

[justpas]

we're taking a trip on the canal south this sunday, gonna try to make it to philly on bikes after the winter. i have to research it a bit more but it looks like the canal will take you most of the way

 

[zip]

OK, this answer is a bit off topic but the Greenbriar Trail in West Virginia is tops for that. There is an outfitter there who will do a shuttle for you. It is a nice laid back trip, camp anywhere along the trail. You go through a couple of small towns for resupply. Marlington is one of those towns. Take the kids.

 

[anrothar]

Here are some of the northern trails I mapped out back when I lived there. You could easily make 250 mile +, 95% off road bikepacking trip out of these trails.


connections by anrothardonn, on Flickr

 

[rlb]

That looks awesome thanks. By any chance do you still have that kml?

 

[anrothar]

It's on my old hard drive, which has yet to be ripped out of my old, busted computer. If you click on it, you can get a higher resolution version from my flickr account. The green tangle of trails are all from Mahlon to Berkshire Valley Rd, and the white lines connect that to Minisink Park, Stephens, Deer Park Allamuchy, Kittatiny, Waywayanda, and Farny State Park, with a bunch of WMA's in between. It mostly just crosses roads, but occasionally travels down them for a couple of miles. The red lines are the Paulinskill, Sussex Branch and Lackawana Cutoff, which make a nice @80 mile loop out to PA.

Clicking on the higher res image, and spending some time in google earth looking at terrain features(their photos have changed) should allow you to figure out where most of those trails are, but there about 5,000 wrong turns you could make. Luckily it's New Jersey, and a wrong turn would see you lost in the wilderness or falling into a crevasse or anything.

 

[Norm]

I may actually have some of these on the PC at home. There's no way I'll remember when I get home. But I just wanted you to know that small bit of useless information.

Thanks.