The Edgar Felix Bikeway is a

rail trail A rail trail or railway walk is a shared-use path on a Right of way#Rail right of way, railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the rail corr ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

between Manasquan and

Allaire State Park Allaire State Park is a park located in Howell and in Wall Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, near the borough of Farmingdale, operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry and is part of the Ne ...

. The trail was constructed on a former roadbed of the Farmingdale and Squan Village Railroad and the

Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad The Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad was a short-line railroad in New Jersey. The railroad traversed through the communities of Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Manalapan Township, Englishtown Borough, Monroe Township, and Ja ...

. The original trail opened in 1971, and has been expanded several times. The Edgar Felix was the first cycling trail created in the state of New Jersey.

Trail heads

- The western trail head contains the restored Allaire

bog iron Bog iron is a form of impure iron deposit that develops in bogs or swamps by the chemical or biochemical oxidation of iron carried in solution. In general, bog ores consist primarily of iron oxyhydroxides, commonly goethite (FeO(OH)). Iron-beari ...

village and the

Pine Creek Railroad The New Jersey Museum of Transportation is a museum dedicated to the collection, preservation, and operation of historic railroad equipment. The organization runs excursion trains on a narrow gauge tourist railroad named the ''Pine Creek Railro ...

. The Allaire

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

trails can be accessed from the Edgar Felix Bikeway where it crosses Hospital Road a mile from the park. FelixXingLight

*Route 18 Bikeway Spur - The northern trail head, completed in 2005, extends to the Wall Township municipal recreational complex along the abandoned Route 18

right-of-way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

. Unlike the original section, the Route 18 spur was not built on a former rail bed but rather an undeveloped

limited access highway A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, partial controlled-access highway, and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a contro ...

right-of-way; as result, the trail is subject to rapid changes in its

grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.) * A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reach ...

and pathway. The Route 18 spur has electronic crosswalk warning signals at most road crossings; these crossing lights augment the standard

Zebra crossing A zebra crossing (British English) or a marked crosswalk (American English) is a pedestrian crossing marked with white stripes (zebra markings). Normally, pedestrians are afforded precedence over vehicular traffic, although the significance o ...

and signage found on typical trail crossings. Unlike a HAWK beacon, these lights are only amber caution flashers that do not require a motorist to stop. *Manasquan (North Main Street) - eastern trail head

History

The Freehold & Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad operated under the auspices of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

(PRR), which abandoned the Manasquan-Farmingdale segment in 1966. Cycling enthusiast and retired radio researcher Edgar Felix lobbied the borough of Manasquan to obtain the abandoned roadbed that same year.Manasquan municipal ordinance No. 786 The following year the path was extended through the Allenwood section of Wall Township, terminating at Hospital Road in Wall Township. In 2005, the trail was extended west from Hospital Road across state park land to the public access area of

and north along the abandoned Route 18 right-of-way to the Wall Township Municipal Complex. FreeholdJamesburgTrail

As of September 2011, Wall Township was seeking a $180,000 matching grant from

Monmouth County Monmouth County () is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is bordered to its west by Mercer and Middlesex Counties, to its south by Ocean County, to its east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to its north by ...

to add a spur trail that would extend the Edgar Felix trail along Hospital Road to meet with the Allaire mountain biking trails. This new spur would begin where the current trail crosses Hospital road on its way to the main entrance of Allaire State Park. There is also a proposal to continue this new spur to the Howell Township border at a future date. The unimproved

for the Freehold & Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad continues west through Allaire State Park until it is severed by Interstate 195.

References

External links

Web page dedicated to the Edgar Felix Trail
- includes many maps, and directions to parking, trail heads, etc.

- many trail photos {{Rail trails in New Jersey Manasquan, New Jersey Wall Township, New Jersey Rail trails in New Jersey Transportation in Monmouth County, New Jersey Bike paths in New Jersey