Hackensack RiverWalk
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Hackensack RiverWalk a is proposed trail along the Newark Bay and Hackensack River on the west side of the Hudson County, New Jersey, peninsula. The eight mile walkway, following the contour of the water's edge, will run between the southern tip at The Bayonne Bridge, where it may connect to the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, and Bellmans Creek in the north. Existing parks and promenades have been incorporated into it, and some new sections have been built, but there are gaps. There is RiverWalk in the city of Hackensack, sometimes called the Hackensack RiverWalk, but they are not part of the same project nor are they connected.
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[edit] Route
The walkway will connect the following municipalities and pass through established residential neighborhoods, industrial areas, commercial districts, and nature preserves, some of which are part of the Hackensack Meadowlands. It will pass under sixteen bridges (some no longer used) and cross over eight natural creeks.
- Bayonne - Rutkowksi Park, a wetlands preservation area in the city's northwestern corner (south of the city line) was the last section to be completed.
- Jersey City - The Hackensack Waterfront neighborhood of Country Village is the city's southern gap on the trail and begins the on Newark Bay at the city line and ends at Society Hill. This segment will likely utilize Route 440's right-of-way on its southbound lanes. Though farther inland, the filled-in bed of the former Morris Canal, may also be considered. The northern gap of the RiverWalk in Jersey City extends from Lincoln Park to the Secaucus border at Penhorn Creek, and will be more difficult to realize as the area contains industrial, maritime, and transportation infrastructure.
- Secaucus - The section between Penhorn Creek and the New Jersey Turnpike, though undeveloped wetlands, is not protected, and its future development is uncertain. Laurel Hill, Hudson's newest county park contains an opened section of the RiverWalk. New Jersey Transit's Bergen County Line and Pascack Valley Line run along the waterfront for a half mile south of Harmon Cove, a private "gated community", where a path was created when the development was originally built with limited public access (at the northern and southern end) There is no contiguous access to the riverfront in northern Secaucus, though the area contains officially protected wetlands.
- North Bergen - The northern terminus of the trail is at the city line at Bellman's Creek in a wetlands preservation area to which there is no public access.
[edit] Attractions
- Bayonne Bridge, the world's third longest steel arch bridge
- Shooters Island, a bird sanctuary in the Kill van Kull which the New York/New Jersey state line runs through
- Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge, to the southwest crossing the Arthur Kill
- Newark Bay
- Central Railroad of New Jersey bridge, no longer in use
- Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal and Newark International Airport, across the bay
- Bayonne City Park
- Veterans Memorial Park
- Hudson County Park
- Rutkowski Park, a wetlands preservation area
- Newark Bay Bridge, part of New Jersey Turnpike Hudson County Extension I-78
- Society Hill
- Droyers Point
- Riverside Terminal, a massive mid-20th century warehouse, across the river's mouth
- Jersey City Public Works facility
- Hudson Mall
- U.S. Route 1/9, originally part of the transcontinental Lincoln Highway
- Conrail Upper Bay Bridge (Lehigh Valley), used for rail freight
- Lincoln Park
- Pulaski Skyway, considered to be America's first super highway
- PATH bridge
- Conrail Harsimus Branch Lift, used for rail freight
- Wittpenn Bridge, for NJ Route 7
- Lower Hack Lift, bridge used by NJ Transit Hoboken and Newark Division trains
- Public Service Railroad Powerhouse
- Penhorn Creek
- Secaucus Transfer Station, main communter hub, further inland
- Portal Bridge, part of the Northeast Corridor used by Amtrak and NJ Transit
- New Jersey Turnpike Eastern Route Bridge
- Snake Hill, also know as Fraternity Rock,former site of insane asylum where the mineral Petersite was first discovered in 1981
- DB Draw, de-commissioned bridge on NJ Transit Boonton Line abandoned in 2002
- Saw Mill Creek Wildlife Preservation Area, across the river
- Laurel Hill Park, Hudson County's newest
- DeKorte Park, across the river in Lyndhurst, home to the Meadowlands Environment Center
- Upper Hack Lift, for NJ Transit's Main Line and Metro-North's Port Jervis Line
- HX Draw for NJ Transit's Bergen County Line and Pascack Valley Line
- Harmon Cove
- Meadowlands Hospital
- Route 3 twin span bridge
- Meadowlands Sports Complex, across the water
- Snipes Park
- Mill Creek
- Paunpeck Creek
- Hackensack Meadowlands Preservation Area
- Bellmans Creek
 PATH bridge over the Hackensack River |
 Meadowlands with Harmon Cove in distance |
 The Wittpenn Bridge |
 Container port facilities at Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal |
[edit] See also
Hudson River Waterfront Walkway
