ABOUT THE PARKS:
DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 40.15676, -74.07419
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| Parking at Wall Township Community Park |
TRAIL MAP:
This map is outdated. It states the bike path ends at Hospital Road and is unimproved in Allaire State Park. The trail does continue into Allaire State Park and it is paved all the way.
BIKE DISTANCE:
Edgar Felix Bikeway and Route 18 Bike Path - 16.2 miles
Wall Community Park paths and Route 18 Bike Path while waiting for race to end - 5.4 miles
THE BIKE:
In theory it was a good idea to park at the Wall Township Community Park but in reality it was not because I got caught up in a race again. It wasn't that the race overlapped with my bike ride, it was that I could not get out of the park with my car when I was finished because ALL ROADS were blocked due to the race. That is crazy! Blows my mind that they can shut down the roads so you can't get out at all - poor planning! At least put a sign at the entrance stating this is going to happen if you aren't part of the race. At any rate, added a few more miles to kill time waiting for the race to finish so I could get out.
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| There are no signs indicating where the Route 18 Bike Path is, just a network of paved paths. |
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| So you ride around until you end up leaving the park, then you know you are on the Route 18 Bike Path. |
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| Several road crossings with blinky lights but don't trust the cars to stop for them. I would say half of the cars zoomed by so trust me, wait to cross until cars are stopped in both directions. |
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| A parking lot on Bailey's Corner Road where I would have been able to leave when done had I known. |
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| No signs, but this would be the Edgar Felix Bikeway. I turned left. |
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| The end of the bikeway in Manasquan. It's 1.5 miles along roads to the beach and several people on bikes loaded down with beach gear were definitely heading that way. |
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| I turned back to start at mile 0. |
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| Continuing straight past the Route 18 Bike Path. |
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| Over the Garden State Parkway. |
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| Every 1/4 of a mile is noted on the path. |
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| Entering Allaire State Park. |
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| The end of the Edgar Felix Bikeway but continuing on a bit you can tour around the parking lot. |
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| Seems this Capital to The Coast Trail has not moved forward in years so there is really no connection past Allaire State Park. It states Mile 7 because of the additional 1.5 miles to the coast plus 5.5 miles of bikeway. |
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| Touring through the parking lot. |
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| Heading back to the bike path. |
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| Left on the Route 18 Bike Path. |
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| A trail? Why yes, I can do that. Locked up my bike and went in on foot. It's very short but a cute little trail. |
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| Back through the paved park paths to the parking lot. |
Hi Daniela -- excellent bike ride...can never go wrong with a great Monmouth County bike path (or path[s], I suppose!) I had the pleasure of riding these paths a couple times over the years, and it looks like things haven't changed much at all...perhaps the "mile markers" on the Edgar Felix path are new though...sort of like they have them on the Atlantic County bike path. (Another one I haven't been on in a few minutes...but I digress.)
ReplyDeleteI remember the old "Capitol-To-Coast" project as well, but I don't think I ever noticed the "Mile 7" sign in Allaire, but I do remember similar signs on the other end of the trail, and followed them all the way out to "the [Manasquan] coast"; however, while the signs were there in 2010, I don't think they were there when I rode the path again in 2016, but fortunately, I sort of remembered how I got there before. I also think there were purple blazes on the section of the path in Allaire, but I think they stop after leaving the park proper.
Seems you have a way of doing certain hikes/bike rides during an event, but I too am surprised that non-racers didn't have a way out while the race was still going on. You are correct in that there should be some sort of signage (perhaps those big digital ones) explaining it, and offering alternate places to park so as to avoid the blocked off areas (at least for cars.) I think the only thing I may have done differently would have been to ride back down the Route 18 path, turn left on the EGB trail and head to the coast, but I guess riding around Wall Township Complex did the trick just as nicely...again, one really cannot go wrong!
Not sure if I remember the Nature Trail, but that could be relatively new...or I just missed it somehow. Looked like a nice trail as well!
Can't wait to see where you'll hike/bike next!
-- Jim
Hi Jim,
DeleteI found this Facebook page about the Capital to the Coast Trail. Does seem like that project has been abandoned for quite some time. https://www.facebook.com/groups/capitaltocoast/
I had wanted to keep it short yesterday because the young demon granddog is here for the weekend and she torments Brodie. I have Brodie's old XXL crate in the basement (no room for it upstairs it is so big - had tried that to see if it worked with his confinement anxiety when he was destructive due to separation anxiety in the early years but it did not) but there was no way she was going down into the basement so I had to leave them loose together. They were both alive when I returned home but I really did not want to be gone that extra hour. At least it was all good in the end.
So stay tuned because I have a three-day hiking and biking extravaganza coming up! At least that is the plan.