View source for Edgar Felix Bikeway

{{Short description|Rail trail in New Jersey}}
{{Infobox hiking trail
 | name = Edgar Felix Bikeway
 | photo = EdgarFelixSign.jpg
 | caption = 
 | location = [[Monmouth County, New Jersey]]
 | length_mi=5.4
 | trailheads = [[Manasquan, New Jersey|Manasquan]]<br>[[Allaire State Park]]<br>[[Capital to Coast Trail]]
 | use = [[Hiking]], [[Cycling]]
 | surface=[[Asphalt concrete|Asphalt]]
 | season = Year round
 | ROW=[[Farmingdale and Squan Village Railroad|Farmingdale & Squan Village Railroad]]<br>[[Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad|Freehold & Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad]]
 | difficulty = Easy
 | sights = [http://www.allairevillage.org/restored Allaire]<br>[http://www.njmt.org/ Pine Creek Railroad]<br> Allenwood General Store<br>Atlantic Ocean
}}

The '''Edgar Felix Bikeway''' is a {{convert|5.4|mi|km}} [[rail trail]] in [[New Jersey]] between [[Manasquan, New Jersey|Manasquan]] and [[Allaire State Park]]. The trail was constructed on a former roadbed of the [[Farmingdale and Squan Village Railroad]] and the [[Freehold and Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad]].

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.<ref name="AsburyPress">{{citation|title= Manasquan-Wall Section of 'Cycle Path Completed|publisher = Asbury Park Press|date = January 3, 1971}}</ref>

==Trail heads==
*'''[[Allaire State Park]]''' - The western trail head contains the restored Allaire [[bog iron]] village and the [[New Jersey Museum of Transportation|Pine Creek Railroad]]. The Allaire [[mountain biking]] trails can be accessed from the Edgar Felix Bikeway where it crosses Hospital Road a mile from the park.<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/allaire.html Allaire State Park], [[New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry]]. Accessed January 13, 2018.</ref>
[[File:FelixXingLight.jpg|thumb|110px|left|Crossing lights along Route 18 spur]]
*'''Route 18 Bikeway Spur''' - The northern trail head, completed in 2005, extends {{convert|1.75|mi|km}} to the [[Wall Township, New Jersey|Wall Township]] municipal recreational complex along the abandoned [[New Jersey Route 18|Route 18]] [[right-of-way (transportation)|right-of-way]].<ref name="WallNewsletter">{{citation|title=Bike Path Extension |url=http://www.wallnj.com/news/2005.fall-winter.pdf |publisher=Wall Township |date=Winter 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727034751/http://www.wallnj.com/news/2005.fall-winter.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-27 }}</ref> Unlike the original section, the Route 18 spur was not built on a former rail bed but rather an undeveloped [[limited access highway]] right-of-way; as result, the trail is subject to rapid changes in its [[Grade (slope)|grade]] and pathway. The Route 18 spur has electronic crosswalk warning signals at most road crossings; these crossing lights augment the standard [[Zebra crossing]] 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]] (PRR), which abandoned the Manasquan-Farmingdale segment in 1966. Cycling enthusiast and retired radio researcher Edgar Felix lobbied the borough of [[Manasquan, New Jersey|Manasquan]] to obtain the abandoned roadbed that same year.<ref>Manasquan municipal ordinance No. 786</ref> The following year the path was extended through the [[Allenwood, New Jersey|Allenwood]] section of [[Wall Township, New Jersey|Wall Township]], terminating at Hospital Road in [[Wall Township, New Jersey|Wall Township]].<ref name="AsburyPress"/> In 2005, the trail was extended west from Hospital Road across state park land to the public access area of [[Allaire State Park]] and north along the abandoned [[New Jersey Route 18|Route 18]] right-of-way to the Wall Township Municipal Complex.
[[File:FreeholdJamesburgTrail.JPG|thumb|Trail crossing Atlantic Avenue]]
As of September 2011, Wall Township was seeking a $180,000 [[Matching funds|matching grant]] from [[Monmouth County, New Jersey|Monmouth County]] to add a spur trail that would extend the Edgar Felix trail {{convert|0.8|mi}} 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, New Jersey|Howell Township]] border at a future date.<ref name="WallPatch9_15_11">{{citation
|title= Town Looking to Extend Bike Path
|url=http://wall.patch.com/articles/town-looking-to-extend-bike-path
|publisher = Wall Patch
|date = September 15, 2011
|author =Keith Brown
|access-date =Nov 22, 2011}}</ref>

The unimproved [[Right-of-way (transportation)|right-of-way]] for the Freehold & Jamesburg Agricultural Railroad continues west through Allaire State Park until it is severed by [[Interstate 195 (New Jersey)|Interstate 195]].

== References ==
<references/>

== External links ==
* [http://womgene.tripod.com/E_Felix/EdgarFelix.htm Web page dedicated to the Edgar Felix Trail] - includes many maps, and directions to parking, trail heads, etc.
* [http://www.boblucky.com/Biking/NewJersey/Allaire.htm BobLucky page] - many trail photos
{{Rail trails in New Jersey}}

[[Category:Manasquan, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Wall Township, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Rail trails in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Transportation in Monmouth County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Bike paths in New Jersey]]