P
Purple_Monster
Guest
I ride here a couple of times a week, and this is where I started riding in New Jersey. I highly recommend it. It has enough stuff to keep you occupied for a couple hours without riding everything there.
I dont know of a trail map, nor do I know who maintains the trails, but someone does a decent job, could be better though.
My favorite way to ride here is to enter the trail system from an entrace across from the basketball arena (the RAC aka rutgers athletic center) on davidson road. Ride out of the parking lot on the road towards davidson rd and make a left on davidson. Follow it until you see the RAC on your left (huge grey building) or a small red building (student health center) at this point go left (towards the woods) and if you go up the small embankment next to the road and paved bike path you'll see a sort of fire road leading into the woods (sort of like a clearing for power lines). Just get on it and take the first trail on your left that leads into the woods. I wouldnt go any further on the "pseudo fireroad", nothing that way.
Once you've taken the trail on your left. It takes you on a slight downhill section parallel to davidson rd. You'll see 2-3 small trails fork off and go right, but dont take them because they only lead to the subdivisions that back up to the preserve. Once you've gone probably about 1/2 mile you'll get to a fork in the trail at a small clearing with tall grass.
If you go left it will shortly take you to a gravel clearing and you'll see a ridge infront of you with a creek below it. There's a bunch of trail starts that will get you onto the main trail system. Just explore, its not too hard to find your way around. If you go straight ahead and cross the creek, go straight and a little left and you'll see where people have made some jumps. Its a pretty cool terrain park, nothing too big but still fun. Jumps, tree rides, skinny planked bridges, etc. If you find a trail that takes you directly away from the creek it will lead you to the parking lot. Taking trails that go left will spit you out on davidson rd.
If you go right at the fork, theres a pretty cool grooved out downhill section that curves around to the right and almost sends you back the way you were coming (paralled to davidson rd). If you take the first trail that goes to the left it takes you over to the creek bed and ridgeline section of the preserve. continuing on the trail eventually spits you out behind a place off of river rd called the castle (you'll see the paved driveway that leads to river rd).
I hope that helps you get your bearings a little bit. This place is really cool, a little known gem. It has some pretty challenging technical sections, some of them I have to try a couple of times to make it without falling or stopping, and I still can't do all of them. Trails willl take you along the ridge lines of creeks and drop you straight down into them and right back up, sometimes having a hairpin turn at the same time. You will be challenged, but you can also find some pretty easy trails too. I have been here many, many, many times and about everyother time I go there I find a trail or small section I havent ridden yet. So like I said, explore and don't worry about getting lost, the park isnt that big. The trails have several other exits/entrances behind apartments, warehouses on the livingston campus, and on river rd.
Enjoy
I dont know of a trail map, nor do I know who maintains the trails, but someone does a decent job, could be better though.
My favorite way to ride here is to enter the trail system from an entrace across from the basketball arena (the RAC aka rutgers athletic center) on davidson road. Ride out of the parking lot on the road towards davidson rd and make a left on davidson. Follow it until you see the RAC on your left (huge grey building) or a small red building (student health center) at this point go left (towards the woods) and if you go up the small embankment next to the road and paved bike path you'll see a sort of fire road leading into the woods (sort of like a clearing for power lines). Just get on it and take the first trail on your left that leads into the woods. I wouldnt go any further on the "pseudo fireroad", nothing that way.
Once you've taken the trail on your left. It takes you on a slight downhill section parallel to davidson rd. You'll see 2-3 small trails fork off and go right, but dont take them because they only lead to the subdivisions that back up to the preserve. Once you've gone probably about 1/2 mile you'll get to a fork in the trail at a small clearing with tall grass.
If you go left it will shortly take you to a gravel clearing and you'll see a ridge infront of you with a creek below it. There's a bunch of trail starts that will get you onto the main trail system. Just explore, its not too hard to find your way around. If you go straight ahead and cross the creek, go straight and a little left and you'll see where people have made some jumps. Its a pretty cool terrain park, nothing too big but still fun. Jumps, tree rides, skinny planked bridges, etc. If you find a trail that takes you directly away from the creek it will lead you to the parking lot. Taking trails that go left will spit you out on davidson rd.
If you go right at the fork, theres a pretty cool grooved out downhill section that curves around to the right and almost sends you back the way you were coming (paralled to davidson rd). If you take the first trail that goes to the left it takes you over to the creek bed and ridgeline section of the preserve. continuing on the trail eventually spits you out behind a place off of river rd called the castle (you'll see the paved driveway that leads to river rd).
I hope that helps you get your bearings a little bit. This place is really cool, a little known gem. It has some pretty challenging technical sections, some of them I have to try a couple of times to make it without falling or stopping, and I still can't do all of them. Trails willl take you along the ridge lines of creeks and drop you straight down into them and right back up, sometimes having a hairpin turn at the same time. You will be challenged, but you can also find some pretty easy trails too. I have been here many, many, many times and about everyother time I go there I find a trail or small section I havent ridden yet. So like I said, explore and don't worry about getting lost, the park isnt that big. The trails have several other exits/entrances behind apartments, warehouses on the livingston campus, and on river rd.
Enjoy
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