Slowly but surely, the 22-mile Lawrence-Hopewell Trail is being built. My understanding is that the section from Bristol-Myers Squibb on Carter Road to a 90-degree bend on Cleveland Road will be built this year, taking the trail off a main thoroughfare that has no shoulder and can be unpleasant, especially if you don’t like riding with traffic. (SEE UPDATE BELOW) Right now, though, there’s only a small section on BMS property before you hit a “trail ends” sign (and then it becomes a private trail to the BMS entrance).
But what’s on the other side of Carter Road?
We recently had a chance to explore it, building on our exploration last fall of a “secret” section in the Mount Rose Preserve.
Sights on the Lawrence Hopewell Trail
Look for signs and the pedestrian-activated flashing yellow lights on Carter Road; at the crosswalk you’ll find a paved trail and a small parking lot on the side opposite Bristol-Myers Squibb. Take the trail into the woods. It’s a beautiful wooded section that eventually brings you to Pennington-Rocky Hill Road.
Who knew there was this old building?
Then the trail is within sight of the road until you get to a residential area. We encountered several people walking (or walking their dog) on this winter day.
We then crossed the road to reach a D&R Greenway tract.
And there the trail ended.
The latest map shows the trail could eventually go on this side of the road, closing one of the last gaps and connecting to Moores Mill Mount Rose Road. Then you can follow the trail all the back to Lawrenceville. But for now, you take the road for perhaps a quarter of a mile. (If you take the residential neighborhood, you will overshoot Moores Mill Mount Rose Road.)
You can read about another of our rides along the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail here.
UPDATE: I’ve learned that the Carter Road section probably won’t be built this year. One more approval is needed, and who knows how long that will take. And I thought having the money was the final step! Instead it’s just more evidence of how hard it is to build a trail like this.
Exploring by bicycle 
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