The way points of this bicycle route:
starts by climbing a long hill with steep sections, first east on Valley Brook Rd, then south on Beaver Rd. I think the hill is worth it for the more intesting + pretty riding, but . . . Two ways to avoid the hill: (a) start by instead going west on Valley Brook Rd, then quick Left onto Vernoy Rd going south; or (b) do not start on the roads here -- instead join this route further southwest on Main St in Califon.
Columbia Trail crosses Main St here. For a shorter 11-mile loop which also avoids the big hill, start the road section here, and ride the off-road Columbia Trail only between High Bridge and Califon.
surface becomes packed dirt/gravel south from around here.
could connect with Columbia Trail by going south a short way up Hoffmans Crossing Rd
could connect with Columbia Trail by going a short way west up Cokesbury Rd, then turn left onto dirt-gravel driveway just after going (narrow) underneath railroad bridge. Road surface becomes asphalt around here -- but there is significant motor traffic - (which could be avoided by instead connecting to Columbia Trail)
pretty views riding alongside Lake Solitude
food options on Main St + Center St. NJ Transit railroad station by Main St -- but I'm not sure about train service on weekends.
Columbia Trail crosses Main St here, parking on west side of Main St
Welcome to Bikely, take a step by step tour of this path:
Press Start Tour - then use the navigation buttons below to move along the path.
Half of a 16-mile loop on mostly quiet roads around High Bridge + Califon in Hunterdon county - (also an 11-mile version). The other half is on the Columbia Trail (a dirt/gravel rail trail, very gentle). Much is near the South Branch of the Raritan River, including riding thru Ken Lockwood Gorge, perhaps the prettiest river section in New Jersey. For more details see www.roberts-1.com/b/x/nj - routeID [njwcrtr]. For the Columbia Trail, search on Bikely for [njwcolt]. One hill climb at northeast end of roads, which is avoidable. Map points were not tested for GPS navigation, but they seem to basically track the points I captured on my GPS that day. Not checked by me since 2009.
Tagged with: Recreational, Onroad, Rural, Scenic
