East Coast Greenway

mapThe East Coast Greenway is a long-distance, urban, shared-use trail system linking 25 major cities along the eastern seaboard between Calais, Maine and Key West, Florida. The Greenway serves non-motorized users of all abilities and ages, with the 3,000-mile long spine route accompanied by 2,000 miles of alternate routes that link in key cities, towns, and areas of natural beauty. This green travel corridor, which is still evolving,    provides cyclists, walkers, and other muscle-powered modes of transportation with a low-impact way to explore the eastern seaboard.

The New Jersey portion of the Greenway covers 98 miles between Pennsylvania and New York. It passes through bustling urban areas — Trenton, New Brunswick, Newark, and Jersey City — as well as quiet suburban settings and more rural landscapes than one might expect. The route is currently 54% on traffic-free paths, the second highest percent of completed trail in any Greenway state. The route includes the ECG’s longest completed trail segment – the D&R Canal Towpath, which is 35.7 miles long.

In Union County, the ECG courses through Rahway River, Nomahegan, Lenape and Black Brook Parks.  It also follows many of the quiet suburban streets alongside the Rahway River Parkway.   The ECG connects with the County’s greenway system in Lenape, providing additional exploring possibilities through Lenape and Echo Lake parks.

At the southern and northern ends of the New Jersey portion, travelers alternate between park paths and interim on-road sections. Trail users can use the newly completed trail/sidewalk that now creates a bicycle/pedestrian way from Newark to Jersey City and the Hudson River.  To see a map use this link. The other option is to take a NY-NJ PATH train (bikes allowed on weekends and nonpeak hours with two bikes allowed per car) between Newark and Jersey City, but plans are in place to develop a trail between these cities. The New Jersey route is bound on either side by rivers. A ferry is used to cross the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York, and the bike/pedestrian friendly Calhoun Street Bridge crosses the Delaware River between NJ and PA.