When South Brunswick, NJ, in 2024 proudly announced that it had built the final section of its Freedom Trail, I knew I needed to check it out.
I finally got there, and here’s what I found.
First, the trail is really two parts, separated by U.S. 1. I once was told that when South Brunswick came up with the idea of a trail along the old railroad line from Kingston to Monmouth Junction, officials decided not to try to cross the highway. Yes, that would have been a big challenge (and it might have never happened), but by not dreaming bigger it cost the township any hope for an amazing connection to the D&R Canal towpath. Yes, the one that goes from New Brunswick to Trenton.
I stuck to the section of the Freedom Trail that’s east of U.S. 1, so in the Monmouth Junction section of the township. It’s about 2.5 miles each way, and unlike the section on the other side of U.S. 1, it’s all paved.
The newest section, from Stouts Road until it dead-ends just before U.S. 1, has lots of dappled shade, which was much appreciated on a hot July morning. Planners marked separate sections for walkers and bicyclists. Let’s just say it wasn’t busy enough for it to matter that the runner wasn’t staying to her side. I didn’t always either.
And then this sign! Did anyone think it through?
See the difference on the signs going the other way?
The new section is a mile long, so 2 miles round trip. After we backtracked to Stouts Road, we headed east on the older section, which follows some power lines. (Do those belong to PSE&G? Just curious since the company is so reluctant to keep extending the trail under the power lines in nearby West Windsor.)
This section is nearly 1.5 miles long, curving right/southeast after crossing New Road and ending at Ridge Road and a parking lot with room for perhaps 18 cars.
All told, this is a quiet trail, a great place to take a child on a bike ride or to go for a run. There are just three road crossings over 2.5 miles, including the one from the parking lot. But unfortunately the trail lacks the connectivity to make it truly useful, even just to its closest neighbors.
We saw one spur connection to a neighborhood but sadly there isn’t one to some other neighborhoods also so close to the trail. Plus the multi-use path along one side of Stouts Lane that begins by the high school ends before a large neighborhood and a sidewalk to the trail. It’s not my town, so I can’t speak to the politics and the land ownership. But you can’t help but think an opportunity was lost.
Don’t ever expect the trail to be extended further east — after the parking lot are the train tracks for Amtrak and New Jersey Transit. If the trail had kept going straight at New Road, it would end at crazy busy Route 522, a road even I don’t want to bike on.
As for me and my two fellow riders, we turned right at toward the heart of Monmouth Junction, picking up the road for the rest of our 20-mile loop ride from West Windsor.
Exploring by bicycle 