Tag: D&R Canal towpath

A new bike crossing over the Delaware River

The bike-ped path on the new Scudders Falls Bridge is finally open.

Bike across … or pay the toll.

There’s now one more way for bicyclists (and walkers and runners) to cross between New Jersey and Pennsylvania — using the new 0.7-mile bike-ped path along the new $534 million (or is it $570 million? After once being projected to cost “just” $310 million?) Scudders Falls Bridge project on I-295.

It opened about a week ago so of course we had to check it out. And it’s great, with long ramps on both ends up to bridge height about 23 feet above the river from the D&R Canal towpath on the Jersey side and the Delaware Canal towpath (part of the D&L Trail) on the PA side as well as a few bump-outs so you can pull over and stare northward (or downward).

Continue reading “A new bike crossing over the Delaware River”

Hurricanes Henri and Ida ripped up the D&R Canal towpath

I dreaded seeing the damage from Henri and Ida. What a mess.

The remnants of Hurricanes Henri and Ida walloped New Jersey in August and September, and the D&R Canal towpath was smack in the path of both. The Millstone River flooded, Canal Road flooded, all kinds of major roads flooded … it was not pretty.

I dreaded seeing the damage to the canal towpath (also part of the East Coast Greenway).

We finally biked the section from Trenton to Princeton after Sunday’s big rally for the Essex-Hudson Greenway. Here’s what we found:

Continue reading “Hurricanes Henri and Ida ripped up the D&R Canal towpath”

Biking Bucks County covered bridges to New Jersey beer

Beautiful scenery, but oh those climbs!

First, the rolling hills of upper Bucks County mean the scenery is gorgeous, even if my iPhone photography skills can’t do them justice. The roads through the woods, with a stony creek alongside. And then the old stone homes.

But getting out of the river valley to the top of those hills? That’s another matter. Hard work! Or perhaps that’s the danger of just taking a random ride off Ride With GPS and there is an easier (and less trafficked) climb than Upper York Road? What should we have done instead?

Continue reading “Biking Bucks County covered bridges to New Jersey beer”

Two ways to bike from Princeton to Philadelphia — which is better?

Both have great sections — and messy parts too.

Philadelphia from the Ben Franklin Bridge

I shocked a few of my neighbors when I said I was biking to Philadelphia this past weekend. It takes an hour to drive using I-95 so it seems crazy far to bike … and besides, how would you go?

Continue reading “Two ways to bike from Princeton to Philadelphia — which is better?”

The best way to bike to Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton

We tested two options to get to Grounds for Sculpture using the D&R Canal towpath. One is much better.

My favorite sculpture on the way to Grounds for Sculpture.

I’ve long thought about biking to Grounds for Sculpture, a sculpture garden in Hamilton, N.J. started by Seward Johnson, a J&J heir and sculptor. But I didn’t like the routes Google Maps suggested, and then there is the industrial area around it…

Continue reading “The best way to bike to Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton”

Expanded: 6 great one-day bike rides on central New Jersey trails

Some kid-friendly bike rides in central New Jersey … also good for adults who prefer biking on trails instead of with traffic.

So you’re looking for a new place to ride your bike but don’t want to deal with traffic? Or you’re encouraging someone to bike who gets nervous around traffic? You need some kid-friendly options?

Central New Jersey has some great choice, and more trails are coming (it’s just not a fast process, unfortunately). I think these five six are fabulous; I hope you’ll love them too. I’ve listed them in no particular order and updated them for 2025.

Of course there are more trails than just these, so keep exploring and add your favorite to the comments section.

Continue reading “Expanded: 6 great one-day bike rides on central New Jersey trails”

An updated list of 7 great bike-trail overnights within easy reach of New Jersey

These bike overnights are all trail or mostly trails. Trips range from one night to closer to a week.

I started this list with 5 favorite DIY bike overnights using trails or mostly trails and (important for me) easily reached from New Jersey. Now it’s 2025, and my list has grown to 7.

More trails are coming, so biking within a day’s drive of New Jersey will only get better.

Continue reading “An updated list of 7 great bike-trail overnights within easy reach of New Jersey”

30 socially distanced miles on the D&L and D&R trails

A gorgeous day, and a trail has reopened. What more could we want?

The D&R Canal towpath has reopened — yay! And it’s finally sunny and warm! Time for a longish but easy bike ride.

So on Saturday we headed to the blue water tower along the Delaware River in Morrisville, Pa., the same place we met friends last year for a “weird beer” ride to Neshaminy Creek. Only this time we were headed north, chatting with a friend as we went (with social distance, of course) along the Delaware & Lehigh Trail.

Our first stop: this odd historical marker at the edge of Morrisville. It’s taller than me and commemorates the nearby spot where William Penn bought the first section of Pennsylvania.

Continue reading “30 socially distanced miles on the D&L and D&R trails”

‘Weird beer,’ part 4: This one tastes like barbecue

The latest search for weird beer took us to one of the fastest-growing craft breweries in the U.S.

Two beers were in contention for the weirdest beer at Flounder Brewing, a fast-growing nanobrewery in Hillsborough, NJ. There was the “off-menu” pumpkin spice latte ale, with a milk chocolate cream to confound the flavor profile even more, as well as a beer called the “Pitmaster” described as an “amber ale brewed with smoked malts and maple syrup.”

Being a non-coffee drinker, the choice was easy: the Pitmaster. Just three bucks for 7 ounces.

The smokiness hit me first, as if I had barbecue in my mouth. That faded as I sipped more, putting the maple syrup more forward, horrifying my beer aficianado friends. I’d rather have the smokiness. (Actually, I’d rather have some real BBQ, but this bikes and BBQ ride isn’t for a few more weeks.)

Continue reading “‘Weird beer,’ part 4: This one tastes like barbecue”

A bike ride to even weirder beer in New Jersey

We found beer made using spontaneous fermentation and the technique of the ancients. And then (modern) ice cream.

Last month’s bike ride to Screamin’ Hill sparked a discussion of other area breweries — places I, as someone who doesn’t love beer, hadn’t heard of. But, hey, they make good bike-ride destinations. And the one four of us cycled to on Sunday definitely is out of the ordinary.

You see, the Referend Bier Blendery in Pennington (or perhaps it’s really Hopewell Township) believes in using the bacteria in the air for spontaneous fermentation. I’m not going to claim I understood everything about this approach, which goes back to the ancients and has at its core “as little interference as possible” in the process. But even I know that using a truck parked outside to house “The Coolship” is out of the ordinary.

Continue reading “A bike ride to even weirder beer in New Jersey”