Walk Across New Jersey on the East Coast Greenway


The Cross-Jersey Walking Challenge has opened for the new year in 2013. The same rules apply as in prior years.  

The long distance walking group called the FreeWalkers (freewalkers.org) is partnering with the East Coast Greenway Alliance (greenway.org) to invite the public to strive for a new personal goal for the new year in a program called the Cross-Jersey Walking Challenge. The program is free and challenges individuals to walk 100 miles across the entire state – from Trenton to New York City by the end of the year – along the East Coast Greenway. 

The Cross-Jersey Walking Challenge will follow the East Coast Greenway’s entire New Jersey trail (plus some extensions, including a Manhattan walk) which represents about 100 miles out of its 3,000 miles length along the Eastern U.S. from Maine to Key West. Walkers who wish to participate enter and track their  progress at the website (crossjerseywalk.org) throughout the year.

While walkers may choose to walk the distance at any time on their own, the FreeWalkers have scheduled three free organized walks that in total cover the entire 100 mile stretch of the ECG:

Mass transportation and carpooling is encouraged for the walks which happen to be mostly in proximity of the Northeast Corridor and other rail lines for easy connections. Busses and light rail can also be used for participants from various areas.

For more information on the program or related events contact Paul Kiczek, FreeWalkers, pkiczek@freewalkers.org.

ECGA Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Lincoln Park in Jersey City

Submitted by pkiczek
on Fri, 06/15/2012 - 00:00

I along with FreeWalkers David Asher and Corey Storch attended a ribbon cutting ceremony with DOT officials and Mayor Healy (shown here) last Friday to celebrate the improvements between Newark and Jersey City - sometimes known as no-man's land or as we like to call it, "Intersection Hell" which included walking along the guardrail and the two steel bridges that follow.

For FreeWalkers, and other adventurous souls, this means that there is new concrete sidewalk to follow from the intersection of Ferry and Raymond Blvd all the way to Lincoln Park.

Tags: 
East Coast Greenway
Jersey City
NJDOT
pedestrian

Greenway Clears Gritty Hurdle

Submitted by pkiczek
on Wed, 05/09/2012 - 21:17

East Coast Grenway Map of trail improvement in Newark and Jersey City
One of the grittiest stretches of the East Coast Greenway between Newark and Jersey City is the latest improvement in a two-decade-old series of roads and paths stretching from Key West, Fla., to Maine's Canadian border. For years planners struggled to find a route across an industrial section running through a spaghetti bowl of highways between Newark to Jersey City. After years of study and $1.3 million in state funding, the two-mile path is set to finally open later this month.

Click here for full Wall Street Journal article 5/9/12

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Freewalkers
East Coast Greenway
Newark
Jersey City
Walking
walk
hike

FreeWalkers Invite Public to Walk “The Big Walk” along the East Coast Greenway

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified)
on Tue, 05/08/2012 - 20:09

In a Press Release from FreeWalkersJoin the 3rd Annual “Big Walk” from Metropark to New York City on Saturday, May 19th, 2012.  Paul Kiczek, founder of FreeWalkers.org, and resident of Morristown, NJ, plans to continue the annual tradition of walking 50 miles in one day through the suburban and urban wilds of New Jersey and into New York City.  With the support of the East Coast Greenway Alliance (ECG), he will be leading 50 or more long distance walkers, on this year’s event (http://NJ2NY50.org).

Walking is a great form of exercise for everyone.

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Freewalkers
East Coast Greenway
long distance walking
Walking
hiking
hike
Metropark
Cranford
Rahway
Kenilworth
Union
Hillside
Newark
Jersey City
New York City

Towing A Message: Walk a Towpath for Health and Fun

Submitted by pkiczek
on Wed, 03/28/2012 - 20:11

PRINCETON, NJ - In the early 1800’s, before there were railroads, a network of 1,000 miles of canals moved people and goods which helped build our vibrant northeast. Canals were built nearby with a towpath to enable horses to slowly draw canal boats and barges carrying coal from Pennsylvania to the booming metropolitan areas in New Jersey and New York. Now, plenty of people move themselves faster over these natural highways as pedestrians, runners, equestrians, and bicyclists.

Locally, thanks goes to conservation efforts and the New Jersey State Park System, the Delaware & Raritan Canal

Tags: 
Great Canal Walk
Trenton
Princeton
New Brunswick
East Coast Greenway
Freewalkers
50-mile
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freewalkers.org

Join a Great Walk Along the Great D&R Canal on April 7, 2012

Submitted by pkiczek
on Wed, 02/29/2012 - 20:58

 

 Starting from the Delaware River, trace the footsteps of this 175 year old waterway and transportation system across Central New Jersey - from Trenton to New Brunswick. The Great Canal Walk is a forty-mile, one-day long distance event that is a superb physical and mental challenge and the first event in a series of walking events aiming to walk across New Jersey following the East Coast Greenway.

Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park is one of central New Jersey's most popular recreational corridors for canoeing, jogging, hiking, bicycling, fishing and horseback riding.

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Trenton
Princeton
D&R
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Kingston
Bound Brook
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FreeWalkers to Walk Across New Jersey Again in 2012 on the East Coast Greenway

Submitted by pkiczek
on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 21:19

The FreeWalkers and the East Coast Greenway invite the Public to Walk the 100-mile Cross-Jersey Walking Challenge in 2012 - Starting with the “Great Canal Walk” on April 7th. Hoping to repeat and expand the Cross-Jersey Walking Challenge in 2012, the FreeWalkers are offering, for the second year in a row, a challenge to the public to walk across New Jersey in 2012. The program consists of walking 100 miles across the entire state – from Trenton to New York City within the next 12 months.

Union County Welcomes East Coast Greenway Walkers on “The Big Walk”

Submitted by pkiczek
on Fri, 06/03/2011 - 20:17

Cranford, NJ - Union County Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski and Cranford Finance Commissioner Ed O’Malley, along with otherofficials, gave over 60 participants in “The Big Walk” event a rousing welcome at the Cranford Train Station on Saturday, May 21, 2011. The walkers, following the East Coast Greenway trail, passed through Cranford en route to the day’s final destination, New York City after starting the day at the Metropark Train Station in Iselin.

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Cranford
Union County
Freewalkers
East Coast Greenway
The Big Walk
Cross-Jersey Walking Challenge

Log for NB2MP10 - 4/16/11 - The Tween Walk

Submitted by pkiczek
on Thu, 05/05/2011 - 19:59

 

It was cold and damp enough at 8:15 a.m. when I joined our large group gathering in the New Brunswick train station. I and maybe 10 other FreeWalkers had come off  the train from Metropark where we had parked. The station provided some indoor shelter with a Dunkin Donuts and bathrooms within. I had my doubts about this station from the previous week when the station was closed at night.

After taking the obligatory group shot of about 35 of our estimated 40, we were soon on our way at about 8:40. The skies were gray and the wind blowing, but at least there was no rain.

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New Brunswick
Highland Park
Piscatawaytown
Middlesex
Edison
Woodbridge
Fords
Menlo Park
Roosevelt Park
Freewalkers
East Coast Greenway

The Tween Walk: The Walk Between Yesterday and Today

Submitted by pkiczek
on Wed, 04/13/2011 - 19:43

The public is invited to walk along the East Coast Greenway Trail from New Brunswick to Metropark, Iselin on April 16th. The event encourages walking as common exercise for fun, fitness and as a means to support public trails. It’s an urban/suburban walk on sidewalk and park paths through the bustling towns and neighborhoods of Middlesex County, with a brief history lesson of this area and how this area has served the nation.

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New Brunswick
Highland Park
Metropark
Iselin
Edison
Roosevelt Park
Fords
Woodbridge
Freewalkers
East Coast Greenway
Piscataway

Hiking from Trenton to New Brunswick

Submitted by pkiczek
on Mon, 04/04/2011 - 02:08

Morristown resident Paul Kiczek will join up with others Saturday in Trenton and begin walking. At the end of the day, they expect they will have walked 40 miles and reached New Brunswick. The Trenton to New Brunswick 40, or TR2NB40, is one of three walks planned this month and in May along the 100-mile, Trenton-to-Jersey City stretch of the East Coast Greenway. The Greenway is a nearly 3,000-mile multi-use path connecting Maine to Key West, Fla. It is known as the urban alternative to the Appalachian Trail...

Tags: 
Trenton
Cross-Jersey Walking Challenge
Princeton
New Brunswick
East Coast Greenway
TR2NB40

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