Has anyone done the ride on the Sussex branch to the Paulinskill all the way out to the gap? I can get to the mooch lot off waterloo/start of Sussex pretty easily on bike from my house and was considering doing that ride all the way out to the river. Is it worth it? I know most of it will be mellow rail trail stuff, just wondering if the scenery is worth the time investment. I wish there was some primitive camping in Worthington because I’d love to ride out, camp and ride back the next day.
To The Gap
- Thread starter Rock48nj
- Start date
those are what we locals called the upper tracks that is not the Paulinskill, which was the lower tracks. Paulinskill dumps you off by the Columbia/Portland bridge which can be crossed by the adjacent walk bridge. If I were to plan I would pick up the McDade trail on the Pa side which runs along the river to primitive sites up river. Getting to NJ side requires a long walk across the rt 80 bridge which just ruins the scenic value.
By the way it would be worth every mile, extremely scenic for 90% and a reason I need to build a gravel grinder...
^This. This ride was my very first mountain bike ride back in 91 or so. I did it on a rigid bike, wearing swim trunks, a t-shirt and wasn't carrying any tools or tubes. Started at the Lacakawanna Cutoff in Lake Hopatcong (gravel all the way, too much pounding for a chamois-less newbie on a rigid bike 😀), so picked up up the Paulinskill in Blairstown, then hopped on the upper tracks (the tail end of the Cutoff) where you stated, and rode mid-way across the bridge to PA. Then turned around and headed back.
I've been actually planning out a "4 by 40" ride for this fall. I was going to post up when I'm ready. It would string together 4 rail-trails in a big loop (probably about 40 miles or more). Starting somewhere west of Andover with the Cutoff (head west through the Roseville Tunnel, then catch the Paulinksill in Blairstown, and head northeast towards Swartswood, then hop on the Lehigh/New England towards Branchville, and then catch the Sussex Branch and head south through Newton, KVSP and Andover to end back on the Cutoff. Cutoff to my knowledge still has some ballast on it, but the others are all cinder/dirt. However, NJ transit is slowly bringing the Cutoff back into active service, so it's only a matter of time before the Cutoff is no longer rideable.
if anyone's interested in this ride through history (old stations, bridges, tunnels), let me know and I'll post it up. May be best in the fall when the leaves turn.
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In...
DanBrodeen
Well-Known Member
An awesome ride!
Perfect.. thanks for the feedback. I figured it would be worth it just wanted to confirm. Now I just need to work out the when.
The McDade trail looks like it could be a cool way to extend the trip and check out the falls which I haven't done since I was a kid. MattyB are you saying to use the river campgrounds vs the fee areas (dingmans)... that seems like it could work.
I was thinking my other approach vs camping would be to get moving early and try to make it back to newton around dinner time where I could make the wife pick me up after rewarding myself with some good beers at trinity.
The McDade trail looks like it could be a cool way to extend the trip and check out the falls which I haven't done since I was a kid. MattyB are you saying to use the river campgrounds vs the fee areas (dingmans)... that seems like it could work.
I was thinking my other approach vs camping would be to get moving early and try to make it back to newton around dinner time where I could make the wife pick me up after rewarding myself with some good beers at trinity.
Actually there are primitive sites at the rivers bend or aka devils bend, McDade shoots up while the dirt road goes to the point. There are also islands near by that have sites too for canoeist...