Water Company Trail info Request

M

Molasses

Active Member
happen to see information on the Water Company Trails off Rt 518. This is is on my home from work and I am interested in checking it out. Is it an "after work" kind of ride? At a moderate pace how much time can one expect to be riding? An hour? 90 minutes? Finally is it SS'able for the mortal man?

Thanks all!
 
This is probably an ideal after work ride since there is about 8 miles or so of singletrack. The terrain varies quite a bit. Some of it it fast rolling with few rocks; other parts have large boulders almost like a mini-Sourlands. As far as being SS friendly, there aren't many difficult climbs but you'll need to power your bike up and over the boulders that are part of the trail. I would say you should plan for about 90 minutes to ride everything at a reasonable pace. It's easy to cut the ride short if time is an issue.

This place is fun. I just wish it had a few more miles of trail.
 
Perfect after work ride.
Here's a map I made of the place.
High res vector pdf here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8c5j78piyom4o28/Lambertville Multi-Use Trail Map.pdf?dl=0

You won't be disappointed. It's a fun place to ride.



watercomap.jpeg
 
Thanks for the info!

I downloaded a map developed by an mtbnj'er last week.

Looks like parking lot is off Rt 518 between old Rt 518 and rock road and the blue trailhead is along a fence line next to red farmhouse.

Sound right?
 
Molasses said:
Looks like parking lot is off Rt 518 between old Rt 518 and rock road and the blue trailhead is along a fence line next to red farmhouse.
Click to expand...

Correct. If you've never been there it almost seems like you are trespassing. Follow that fence on the grass side and you'll see where the trail picks up.

The blue trail from that entrance will take you down a series of rock steps and drop you off at a junction at the bottom. Go right and it will take you to the red trail. Left will take you to the yellow trail.

The yellow trail has more rocks, boulders, is more technical and has a few very short but steep climbs.
 
i've only been there once (pretty recent) and i was on SS and only had issues in a couple spots where it got stupid steep and rocky. i really liked the trails here and had plenty of fun with one gear and i am very very mortal.
 
stb222 said:
To extend the ride a little bit, you can hit the greenway trail out and back, there is a connector trail
Click to expand...

Greenway trail is fun as hell. it's a 2 mile long, super fast downhill. Just keep in mind that technically bikes aren't allowed on that side, so proceed with caution. I don't run in to hikers often but if I do, I stop and exchange pleasantries. Don't go bombing down the trail nearly running over any locals walking their dogs. And it goes without saying to keep off when wet.
 
capedoc said:
Greenway trail is fun as hell. it's a 2 mile long, super fast downhill. Just keep in mind that technically bikes aren't allowed on that side, so proceed with caution. I don't run in to hikers often but if I do, I stop and exchange pleasantries. Don't go bombing down the trail nearly running over any locals walking their dogs. And it goes without saying to keep off when wet.
Click to expand...
Are their any signs?
 
It's in the fine print on one of the kiosks. There hasn't been any problems that I'm aware of and wouldn't want to make one.
 
I was talking to another rider when I was there last week, and he said he was warned twice by the property owner where the greenway trail ends that it's off limits to bikes. Seems kind of silly considering how little traffic there is back there - hikers or riders.
 
We should also mention that the drainage at the Water Co trails is pretty awful, so ideally hit it up when things are very dry (like now!) or when it's frozen during the winter.
 
mstyer said:
Here's my ride from Saturday morning at the Water Company. Hopefully I didn't sound any warning bells by exiting across the dam and around the gate. I live across the road from the trails on Old 518 West.

https://www.strava.com/activities/309967404
Click to expand...

We used to ride over the dam a few years ago and were tolerated because It was only a small group of us once a week. But eventually we wore out our welcome when more folks started riding there. We were kindly asked to refrain from riding over the dam and to stay within the park boundaries.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom