Biking The Henry Hudson Trail

The Henry Hudson Bike Path One of the most pleasant discoveries I've made since the warmer weather has kicked in is the wonderful Henry Hudson bike trail.

The trail was once part of the Jersey Central Railroad, which closed its operations in the area in the mid-1960s.

It was seriously neglected before it was finally taken over by the Monmouth County Parks System, which joined residents from the surrounding communities in bringing the abandoned transportation link back to prominence, this time without the once-mighty Iron Horse. The Henry Hudson trail is a dedicated bike path over the abandoned railroad track, running east-west from the northern end of Atlantic Highlands to Keyport. It parallels Route 36, but passes through woods and marshes over a number of small wooden bridges. The path is approximately ten miles, one way. The surface is asphalt, about ten feet in width. However, since the asphalt was laid in 1997 the growth of tree roots underneath the asphalt has corrugated the surface. The roughness is not bad, but most prominent in the eastern end of the path. Safety is excellent, except for the numerous crossings of roads.

The path itself is the point of interest. There are some nice vistas out to the sea at a distance. The wooden bridges and sections through marshes provide for pleasant biking. A word about the "east-west" direction of the path.

I can never get over the feeling that I should be traveling north-south, as the path does head "up" the Jersey coast. But the coast here is actually oriented east-west.

Moreover, there is a very curious situation at the beach in Keansburg where the sun actually sets over the sea -- which shouldn't happen on the east coast.

There are parking lots both at the beginning and end of the path, and they always seem to be empty.

Furthermore, you can park almost anywhere slightly east of Route 36 at the eastern end of the path. You can always find the path where it crosses the roads intersecting Route 36.

- compiled by Jim Shaffer for Shore11