| Edgar Felix Bikeway | |
|---|---|
| Sign at trail head in Manasquan | |
| Length | 5.4 miles (8.7 km) |
| Location | Monmouth county, New Jersey |
| Trailheads | Manasquan Allaire State Park Capital to Coast Trail |
| Use | Hiking, Cycling |
| Trail difficulty | Easy |
| Season | Year round |
| Sights | Allaire Pine Creek Railroad Allenwood General Store Atlantic Ocean |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| ROW | Farmingdale and Squan Village Railroad Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad |
The Edgar Felix Bikeway is a multi-use trail in New Jersey running from the beach town of Manasquan to the visitors center of Allaire State Park, for a total length of 5.4 miles (8.7 km).
It is a rail trail that occupies trackage of the former Farmingdale and Squan Village Railroad and Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad. The bikeway opened with 2.0 miles (3.2 km) of trail in 1971, and has been expanded several times since. The Edgar Felix was the first cycling trail created in the state of New Jersey [1].
The Edgar Felix Trail benefited from three structures preserved from the railroads past, two overpasses for Route 35, & Route 34, and bridges over the Garden State Parkway (the rail bridges were replaced with pedestrian/cycle bridges during a road widening project).
Contents |
There are many access points along the Edgar Felix bikeway, but there are three terminating trailheads.
This is the Edgar Felix's western trail head, and contains the restored Allaire bog iron village and the Pine Creek Railroad. Bicycles are required to be walked within the state park, as specified on signage. Note that the Allaire mountain biking trails are not located here; the mountain biking trails can be accessed from the Edgar Felix Bikeway where it crosses Hospital Road about a mile from the park.[1]
Route 18 Bikeway Spur
This is the trail's northern trail head, and is the latest addition to the Edgar Felix Trail. Completed in 2005, the Route 18 spur extends about 1.75 miles (2.82 km) from the Edgar Felix Trail to the Wall Township municipal recreational complex along the abandoned Route 18 right-of-way [2]. The municipal complex and adjacent soccer fields provide ample parking, as well as another mile or so of paved multi-use trail within the complex.
Unlike the original section of the Edgar Felix trail the Route 18 spur is not a former rail bed but rather an undeveloped limited access highway right-of-way, because of this the trail is subject to rapid changes in itsgrade and pathway.
The route 18 spur is unique in that it has electronic crosswalk warning signals at most of its road crossings, these crossing lights augment the standard Zebra crossing and signage found on typical trail crossings. Unlike a HAWK beacon, these lights are only amber caution flashers that do not require a motorist to stop.
Manasquan (North Main Street)
This is the eastern trail head for the Edgar Felix Trail and the site of the original 2 miles (3.2 km) of the trail built in 1971. This is also the beginning of the open road section of the Capital to Coast Trail, a future state wide trail that will link Trenton, NJ on the Delaware River with Manasquan, NJ on the Atlantic Ocean. Free Parking is available across the street from the trail head in a municipal lot.
Intermediate Access Points
Additional access points to the Edgar Felix bikeway include;
The trail is named after Edgar Felix, a cycling enthusiast and retired radio researcher. His lobbying led the town of Manasquan to obtain the eastern property rights[3] to the abandoned Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad in 1966. The following year the path was extended through the Allenwood section of Wall Township, terminating at Hospital Road in Wall Township[1].
In 2004/2005, the trail was extended west from Hospital Road across state park land to the public access area of Allaire State Park and north along the abandoned Route 18 right-of-way to the Wall Township Municipal Complex.
As of September 2011, Wall Township was seeking a $180,000 matching grant from Monmouth County to add a spur trail that would extend the Edgar Felix trail 8/10ths of a mile along Hospital road to meet with the Allaire mountain biking trails. This new spur would begin where the current trail crosses Hospital road on its way to the main entrance of Allaire State Park. There is also a proposal to continue this new spur to the Howell Township border at a future date.[4].
The unimproved right-of-way for the Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad continues west through Allaire State Park until it is severed by interstate 195.
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