Route from NJ to DC

rick81721

Lothar
good stories arent made from behind the keyboard, go for it. id be happy to cruise with you on the nj portion pending my work schedule.

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1speed

Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
I can vouch for the GAP (actually C&O & GAP.) I rode it from Dc to Pittsburgh in October 2017 and it was a great experience. Not familiar with EC Greenway route, but seeing all the references to going through Trenton, I just wonder why you'd bother. Why not take roads out of Princeton to drop you down to Lambertville and take the canal trail to Bristol? From the look of the Greenway map, you have to ride on that section between Trenton and Bristol anyway. It's easy (and mostly downhill!) to get from Princeton to Lambertville. Even though it's technically a highway, I've never had any issues with cars along Route 518.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
I can vouch for the GAP (actually C&O & GAP.) I rode it from Dc to Pittsburgh in October 2017 and it was a great experience. Not familiar with EC Greenway route, but seeing all the references to going through Trenton, I just wonder why you'd bother. Why not take roads out of Princeton to drop you down to Lambertville and take the canal trail to Bristol? From the look of the Greenway map, you have to ride on that section between Trenton and Bristol anyway. It's easy (and mostly downhill!) to get from Princeton to Lambertville. Even though it's technically a highway, I've never had any issues with cars along Route 518.

What is the D&L like south of New Hope?
 

1speed

Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
What is the D&L like south of New Hope?
Pretty much the same as it is to the north. There is one point where you have to go over a stairway and down the other side about halfway to Bristol, but that's about the only deviation as I recall.
 

Karate Monkey

Well-Known Member
What is the D&L like south of New Hope?

Assuming you mean the PA side, since you said New Hope. It's fine.

Both sides are fine, actually, until you get past Washington's Crossing. The DR canal through Trenton is quasi problematic. I was never bothered once in 2 years of commuting through there, but I did eventually give the route a miss entirely, since it added 6 miles to the ride.

It's been years, but right around Mulberry, I would jump off, ride Brunswick to Southard, and get back on the path around the War Memorial; the section wasn't "bad", but if you zoom in on Maps, you can see that it flips back+forth between sides, and on top of that, it's not really "scenic". The Canal in Trenton disappears for 3 blocks (you can see that on Maps), and then the stuff that is there is literally a concrete river. Once you get back near Cadwaladar Park, it turns back into 'the canal' again.

IMO, skirt Trenton entirely unless you want to see the War Memorial. Hop off the canal in Lawrenceville, and head out towards the Brearly House. It's a nice little gravel path through the swamp. Follow the path that Bristol Myers put in out to 206, follow that south to Eggert Crossing. Make a right onto Ewingville/Upper Ferry. Follow to Scotch Road, make a left. Follow until you hit Parkway/West upper ferry, and make a right. That road will eventually dump you out onto the canal path, about 0.25 mile from Scudder's Falls.
 

Ian F

Well-Known Member
What is the D&L like south of New Hope?
IMHO, riding on either of those canal trails is torture, although I'm usually riding through that area on weekends when they are clogged with walkers. I feel safer riding on the road with cars. Granted, I have similar feelings about most rail-to-trail "bike" paths.

While I've been riding between Bristol and New Hope for 30 years, I've never actually ridden on the Greenway trail other than the parts of it on the local roads - one section of River Road through Croydon has been part of my regular after-work loop for years.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
100% forgot about the rail trail out of York, I remember they started working on this when I was in HS and rode some of the sections at that time.

Via the Heritage Rail Trail and then the Torrey C Brown Rail Trail, you can get from York to the Outskirts of Baltimore 100% off-road.
 
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