Patriots' Path Conditions

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
We don't have one for PP so I figured I'd start it.

The single section I rode yesterday in Chester between Furnace and Tanners Brook was a mess. Cleared a bunch of larger stuff off the first section then spend about 20 minutes dismantling a tree that had fallen across the old rail road tracks...just enough to get past it.

The pine forest at the end is pretty much gone. Trees are down everywhere. That little section of trail will have to be rerouted and/or recut.

After that (and the condition of the Black River Trail) I just decided to take the road home.

:(
 

Liberace

Active Member
Patriot's from Sunrise to Whitehead is okay, just stay out of Gilligan's. It's sticky disgusting soup.
 

gmb3

JORBA: Sourlands
JORBA.ORG
So I see there's not a lot of activity here but I just moved to Madison so Patriot's Path is now in my backyard so just a couple questions. I can ride the 8 miles to the entrance off Morristown Green from my house mostly on the Loantaka Brook Reservation path which is paved. Before I go exploring, I want to know which bike to use, hardtail mtb or roadie.
- Is it paved, rail-trail type gravel or singletrack?
- Is it worth riding?
- If not paved, how wet does it get? I'm not a mudfest kinda guy.
- I see there are branches that go east or west from Morristown, which is better?

I also see it can take me into LewMo which i have never ridden and would also like to explore.
 

stilluf

Well-Known Member
I'm only familiar with PP by Lew Mo. LM is a lot of fun; mostly good climbs and fun descents, not technical . Definitely need a mountain bike for LM, and for most of PP adjacent to it. Though a hybrid or CX bike would probably do the trick too on PP.
Have Fun!!
 

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
You definitely want more than a road bike once you get into LM and PP near LM.
 

MadisonDan

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Hey @gmb3 ... Welcome to Madison... You can get to PP thru Loantaka or you can take the Traction Line that runs parallel to the train tracks. Patriots Path has a few paves sections, but mostly not. Road bike won't work. Bare minimum is a CX bike IMO. There's a section of PP that gets a little tough on the CX bike, Boat Loop Climb. It's doable. As for drainage, the flat sections have parts that don't drain well. You'll be fine on the HT bike.
As for a mudfest guy, as I'm sure you're aware, if the trails are wet, stay away.
The better part of Patriots Path is West of Morristown. The east side has the really flat stuff with some paved.
LewMo and PP (west), plus the boat loop makes for a good ride.

LMK if you want to see some Strava loops...

Where'd you move from? Where do you usually ride (prior)?
 

gmb3

JORBA: Sourlands
JORBA.ORG
Hey @gmb3 ... Welcome to Madison... You can get to PP thru Loantaka or you can take the Traction Line that runs parallel to the train tracks. Patriots Path has a few paves sections, but mostly not. Road bike won't work. Bare minimum is a CX bike IMO. There's a section of PP that gets a little tough on the CX bike, Boat Loop Climb. It's doable. As for drainage, the flat sections have parts that don't drain well. You'll be fine on the HT bike.
As for a mudfest guy, as I'm sure you're aware, if the trails are wet, stay away.
The better part of Patriots Path is West of Morristown. The east side has the really flat stuff with some paved.
LewMo and PP (west), plus the boat loop makes for a good ride.

LMK if you want to see some Strava loops...

Where'd you move from? Where do you usually ride (prior)?

Moved from Hoboken and have ridden all over central and northern NJ. Jungle, Sourlands, Chimney Rock and 6MR are my usual. I'm gonna give PP and LM a go soon. I don't use Strava so is PP hard to follow? From the map it looks pretty strightforwad but I'm wondering if there are cool offshoot routes not on the map. Thanks for the info.
 

MadisonDan

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
@gmb3 Cool... Yeah, PP is pretty straight forward.. There's not much to it at all.
Check this out... It's a loop of mixed road, paved path, gravel, & dirt using the Traction Line, Patriots Path, Loantaka, and some roads. About 29 miles total. ~7 miles paved path, ~5 miles dirt/gravel (one short climb), and 17 miles road. I've done this, or similar variations, a few times on the CX bike.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/11872984
 

gmb3

JORBA: Sourlands
JORBA.ORG
@MadisonDan , good deal! I'll try it sometime. It also looks like we live around the corner from each other. I'm on Coursen Way. Howdy neighbor!
 

MadisonDan

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
@MadisonDan , good deal! I'll try it sometime. It also looks like we live around the corner from each other. I'm on Coursen Way. Howdy neighbor!
Cool! Yeah, that's off Shunpike, right?
There's lots of guys in town that do a lot of road riding. Several small groups, plus there are the HillTop rides from Madison, and Marty's rides from Morristown. Most of my time is spent on the road or CX racing in the fall. Trying these Short Track MTB races out this year too.
Again, welcome to town. We should get out sometime. Will PM later on.
 

gmb3

JORBA: Sourlands
JORBA.ORG
Cool! Yeah, that's off Shunpike, right?
.

Yes, off Shunpike. I do have a crappy road bike but barely ride it but i'd like to get out with some locals sometime. Might inspire me to get a real road bike and actually get in shape. Look forward to riding with you soon.
 

RetroGrouch

Active Member
PP through Long Valley

Springtown Rd. to Rock Rd. had some rock gardens that were challenging for me and my 26 inch hardtail.

The trail is overgrown or gone from Haringon Park to Flocktown Rd so I took Partridge Ln. and picked up the trail along the west side of Flocktown School

Between Flocktown School and Hunter Dr., the trail is overgrown but easily recovered with a trimmer and an hour of time.

Does PP really exist where it allegedly heads north along the west side of Schooleys Mountain towards Mission Rd? North of a very slippery Boy Scout built bridge over a stream, the markers disappear or were painted over. I walked around a bit to look for a rerouted trail but could not find it and ended up pushing my bike ahead of me through thorns taller than me until I hit Spring Ln.
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
has anyone tried the Lenape trail towards NYC?
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Zaskar

Well-Known Member
Lenape has sections in SoMo and passes near Hilltop and through Mills. It takes you a bunch of local roads as well. My wife walked the entire trail a few years back with a group called the Freewalkers.
 

qclabrat

Well-Known Member
looking to ride locally around work, see some sections of the Patriot's Path is on what appears to private property
Are they open to the public? I saw a PP sign on the Gill St Bernard property but looked like it went nowhere. Didn't make sense to me, why post it if not accessible to the public.
 

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