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Introduction

In Rail-Trails: New Jersey & New York, we highlight nearly 60 of the region’s top rail-trails and other multiuse pathways. These trails offer a broad range of experiences to suit nearly every taste, from vibrant cities to quiet forests, from vacation hot spots like Niagara Falls to hidden gems in small rural towns, and from challenging mountain-biking adventures to relaxing beach boardwalks.

Four exemplary rail-trails in this book have been inducted into RTC’s Hall of Fame, including New York City’s High Line, a celebrated urban park and aerial greenway towering 30 feet over Manhattan’s West Side. North of the Big Apple, a trio of connected Hall of Fame rail-trails—the Hudson Valley Rail Trail, Walkway Over the Hudson, and William R. Steinhaus Dutchess Rail Trail—form a seamless 20-mile paved pathway capturing the beauty of New York’s Hudson Valley.

New York is also home to the Empire State Trail, a developing 750-mile trail network that will tie together hundreds of communities across 27 counties. Included in the expansive project is the Erie Canalway Trail, which will span 360 miles across the state from Albany to Buffalo. Along the way, travelers will see many tangible connections to history, including original canal locks, lift bridges, a century-old aqueduct, and a Colonial fort.

New Jersey also has an impressive growing trail network: the Circuit Trails, which will encompass 800 miles of trail in the Camden and Greater Philadelphia region. A crown jewel in this network is the incredibly scenic Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park Trail, which spans more than 70 miles in the shape of a V, with the New Jersey capital of Trenton at its center.

Within these pages, you’ll find trails offering views of some of America’s most iconic natural treasures, such as the Great Lakes, the Atlantic Ocean coastline, the Adirondacks, the Finger Lakes, and the Catskill Mountains. But no matter which routes in Rail-Trails: New Jersey & New York you choose, you’ll experience the unique history, culture, and geography of each, as well as the communities that have built and embraced them.

What Is a Rail-Trail?

Rail-trails are multiuse public paths built along former railroad corridors. Most often flat or following a gentle grade, they are suited to walking, running, cycling, mountain biking, in-line skating, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, and wheelchair use. Since the 1960s, Americans have created more than 23,000 miles of rail-trails throughout the country.

These extremely popular recreation and transportation corridors traverse urban, suburban, and rural landscapes. Many preserve historical landmarks, while others serve as wildlife conservation corridors, linking isolated parks and establishing greenways in developed areas. Rail-trails also stimulate local economies by boosting tourism and promoting trailside businesses.

What Is a Rail-with-Trail?

A rail-with-trail is a public path that parallels a still-active rail line. Some run adjacent to high-speed, scheduled trains, often linking public transportation stations, while others follow tourist routes and slow-moving excursion trains. Many share an easement, separated from the rails by extensive fencing. More than 350 rails-with-trails exist in the United States.

What Is the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame?

In 2007 RTC began recognizing exemplary rail-trails around the country through its Rail-Trail Hall of Fame. Inductees are selected based on such merits as scenic value, high use, trail and trailside amenities, historical significance, excellence in management and maintenance of facility, community connections, and geographic distribution. These iconic rail-trails, which have been singled out from more than 2,000 in the United States, have earned RTC’s highest honor and represent tangible realizations of our vision to create a more walkable, bikeable, healthier America. Hall of Fame rail-trails are indicated in this book with a special blue icon; for the full list of Hall of Fame rail-trails, visit railstotrails.org/halloffame.

What Is TrailNation™?

At RTC, we believe that communities are healthier and happier when trails are central to their design. Everything we love about trails gets better when we connect them, creating seamless trail networks that link neighborhoods, towns, cities, and entire regions together. That’s why we’re committed to connecting trails and building comprehensive trail systems that bring people together and get them where they want to go.

We’ve invested in eight TrailNation™ projects across the country—found in places that are diverse in their geography, culture, size, and scope—to prove what is possible when trail networks are central to our lives. One of those TrailNation projects can be found in Pennsylvania and New Jersey—the Circuit Trails, with an ambitious goal to create a vibrant trail system across the region. Look for the TrailNation project logo throughout the book to find trails that are part of this network. Learn more about RTC’s vision to connect the country by trail at trailnation.org.

ABOUT THE CIRCUIT TRAILS

Led by a coalition of dozens of nonprofit organizations, foundations, and agencies, the Circuit Trails are part of a vast trail network that will ultimately include 800 miles of multiuse trails across nine counties in the Greater Philadelphia–Camden, New Jersey, region. More than 350 miles of the network are already complete, and the coalition is working to have 500 miles built by 2025. Learn more at thecircuittrails.org.