I biked the full Lawrence Hopewell Trail loop! (And there’s one more improvement)

There’s been another improvement to the Lawrence Hopewell Trail. It’s relatively small compared to other developments this year, but it makes a loop ride even smoother.

The change? The rocky detour by Brearley House (right near the spur to the D&R Canal towpath) is no more. Hurray! The Pike Town neighborhood that’s been under construction for a few years is done, and the developer has built a section of the trail that nicely cuts through between two sections of townhomes.

That little asphalt strip, lined with a split-rail fence, leads to Lenox Drive and offices buildings where parking lots remain pretty empty five years after the pandemic. So there’s now a much more straightforward way to reach Princeton Pike and the Bristol Myers Squibb headquarters on the opposite side.

This, combined with the completion of an amazing boardwalk through almost a half-mile of woods and the reopening of the section through Lawrenceville School (modified from the pre-pandemic route) means that the southern end of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail is now done.

And what an enjoyable ride it is!

You can download this version of the full loop if you want to bike it too. I started it in Lawrence’s Village Park, where parking is plentiful., though of course you can start anywhere, or even arrive via the D&R Canal/East Coast Greenway, as I did. I’ve got the LHT at 21 miles now, though that number could shrink with the construction of the final off-road sections . On the other hand, it doesn’t include the almost obligatory 0.2-mile detour to the Gingered Peach or Melba’s Ice Creamery (and 0.2 miles back).

Of course we did the detour — did you even have to ask? Melba’s, with its promise of black sesame ice cream, wasn’t open yet. So I “settled” for banana pudding at Gingered Peach. Someone else got a heavily glazed but otherwise surprisingly light cinnamon bun. Yum, yum.

You can read about my bike ride to two of New Jersey’s best bakeries near the LHT. Yes, Gingered Peach is one of those two.

A quick note: The Lawrence Hopewell Trail is a mix of surfaces, so skip the skinny tires!

The southern section is no exception. Maidenhead Meadows has some chunkier rocks, packed dirt, stone dust and of course the boardwalk. You still need to ride across a strip of lawn at Brearley House, whether you are aiming for this new section or are headed to the D&R Canal. The lead-in to the new Pike Town section is the reopened older stone dust path.

You want no rocks? Skip the Carson Road Woods section too. I think that’s the longest bit of rough road. But there’s also a brief section behind The Lawrenceville School athletic fields that isn’t marked on the map.

Trust me, it’s worth slowing down to do the loop.

The blue bits on the map are the sections that still need to be built. You’ll need to take the road there to ride the loop. Pennington-Rocky Hill and Carter roads are where you’ll find the most traffic, and the shoulders are narrow to non-existent. On the other hand, both sections are short. Doing the loop clockwise so you go downhill on Carter Road makes that half-mile go by quicker.

Other highlights along the trail

The rest of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail has been open for quite a while, and I bet you’ll love the variety of landscapes you’ll traverse. My tips:

Slow down and read at least a few of the many historical markers along the trail. The story of the Pole Farm is fascinating, so definitely stop by the red metal arches, but there’s so much more to learn along the trail.
Are you also a bird watcher? The open fields of Mercer Meadows are a favorite with that crowd, but you’ll find other spots too. An eagle’s nest is off the trail along Old Mill Road, but it’s easiest to spot when the leaves are down.
Snack break? For those who pack their own, you’ll find picnic tables at Village Park, Rosedale Park and at the Watershed Institute just off the trail. If you want to buy food, consider downtown Lawrenceville (lots of choices beyond the Gingered Peach), detour a half-mile from Village Park to Manors Corner Shopping Center (my beer ride!) or nearly 1.5 miles to Pennington.
Slow down for nature. Still-tart black raspberries are ripening now, these hard-to-photograph mini butterflies fascinated me, and what are theses lilac thistle flowers?