Edgar Felix Bikeway

The Edgar Felix Bikeway is a multi-use trail in New Jersey running from the beach town of Manasquan to the visitors center of Allaire State Park, for a total length of convert|5.4|mi|km.

It is a rail trail that occupies trackage of the former Farmingdale and Squan Village Railroad and Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad. The bikeway opened with two miles (3 km) of trail in 1971, and has been expanded several times since.

The trail boasts three terminating trail heads, each offering ample parking, as well as many intermediate trail access points.

Allaire trail head

Allaire State Park [http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/allaire.html] is the Edgar Felix's western trail head, and contains the restored [http://www.allairevillage.org/restored Allaire] bog iron village and the [http://www.njmt.org/ Pine Creek Railroad] .

Bicycles are not allowed beyond the parking area or in the restored village, neither are they allowed on the nature/hiking trails within the developed section of the park. The Allaire Mountain biking trails are not located here. They can be found on Hospital Road, several miles east. The mountain biking trails can be accessed from the Edgar Felix Trail where it meets Hospital Road.

Route 18 Bikeway “exit”

Parking is available at the Wall Municipal Complex and at the Baileys Corner road crossing.

This is the trail's northern trail head, and the latest addition to the Edgar Felix Trail. Completed in 2005, the Route 18 "exit" extends about convert|1.75|mi|km from the Edgar Felix Trail to the Wall Township Municipal Complex along the abandoned Route 18 right-of-way. The municipal complex and adjacent soccer fields provide ample parking, as well as another mile or so of paved multi use trail.

Manasquan Trail head

Accessible at North Main Street with parking across the street in a municipal lot.

This is the eastern trail head for the Edgar Felix Trail and the site of the original convert|2|mi|km of the trail built in 1971. This is also the beginning of the open road section of the Capital to Coast Trail, a future state wide trail that will link Trenton, NJ on the Delaware River with Manasquan, NJ on the Atlantic Ocean.

History

The trail is named after Edgar Felix, a cycling enthusiast and retired radio researcher. His lobbying led the town of Manasquan to obtain the eastern property rights [Manasquan town ordinance No. 786] to the abandoned Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad in 1966. The following year the path was extended through the Allenwood section of Wall Township, terminating at Hospital Road in Wall Township [Asbury Park Press, Jan 3, 1971] .

In 2004/2005, the trail was extended west from Hospital Road across state parkland to Allaire State Park and north along the abandoned Route 18 right-of-way to the Wall Township Municipal Complex.

References

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/womgene/E_Felix/EdgarFelix.htm Web page dedicated to the Edgar Felix Trail] - includes many maps, and directions to parking, trail heads, etc.
* [http://www.geocities.com/nyrides/felixbikeway.htm A New Yorker's guide]
* [http://www.boblucky.com/Biking/NewJersey/Allaire.htm BobLucky page] - lots of trail photos