The Henry Hudson Trail is a

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on 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 right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

in western and northern

Monmouth County, New Jersey Monmouth County () is a county located on the coast of central New Jersey. The county is part of the New York metropolitan area and is situated along the northern half of the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population w ...

. The trail is named for

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. In 1607 and 160 ...

, who explored the harbor at

Atlantic Highlands Atlantic Highlands is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, in the Bayshore Region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,385,Raritan Bay Raritan Bay is a bay located at the southern portion of Lower New York Bay between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey and is part of the New York Bight. The bay is bounded on the northwest by New York's Staten Island, on the west by P ...

shore coastline in the early 1600s. The trail is not near the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

. The , paved multi-use trail is part of the Monmouth County Park System. The

traverses the Raritan Bayshore region from

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

and connects inland to Freehold Borough using the former rights-of-way of several rail lines. Although trees line much of the trail, it affords some views of surrounding wetlands, streams, woodlands and fields. It traverses through the municipalities of

Freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple *Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England *Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice p ...

Marlboro Marlboro (, ) is an American brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Philip Morris USA (a branch of Altria) within the United States and by Philip Morris International (now separate from Altria) outside the US. The largest Marl ...

, Matawan,

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, Keyport, Union Beach, Hazlet, Keansburg, Middletown, and

Atlantic Highlands Atlantic Highlands is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, in the Bayshore Region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,385,Garden State Parkway The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May to the New York state line at Montvale. Its name refers to New Jersey ...

is the dividing line between the northern and southern sections of the trail. The northern section runs 12 miles east from the Aberdeen-Keyport border to Highlands, north of and roughly parallel to NJ Route 36. A missing link in Atlantic Highlands requires on-road travel between Avenue D and the Atlantic Highlands marina. The southern (inland) section runs south from Matawan to Freehold Borough. A long missing link in Marlboro divides this inland section into its own north and south segments. The property for the inland sections is currently

railbanked A rail trail is a shared-use path on 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 right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

New Jersey Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...

(NJT), which leases the line for trail usage to the Monmouth County Park System. The trail is administered by the Monmouth County Park System and is leased through 2020 for use as a trail. If future economic conditions warrant resuming operation, NJT reserves the right to restore rail service at any time. The railroad line was never officially abandoned, unlike most rail trails. The Henry Hudson Trail was the first rail-trail developed in Monmouth County, and was joined by the Union Transportation rail-trail in 2010.

Trail sections

Inland South

The southern segment of the inland section runs from County Route 537 in Freehold north to Allen Road in Marlboro (near

Marlboro High School Marlboro High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Marlboro Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as one of the six secondary schools of the Fre ...

and Route 79). This section was opened in 2006. In 2013 a connecting trail was built from a point near the Allen Road terminus to the trails of the county's Big Brook Park.

Inland North

The northern segment of the inland section runs from Wyncrest Road in Marlboro north to Stillwell Street in Matawan, generally paralleling Route 79 for much of the way. This section was opened in 2006, with a short additional stretch completed in 2011. This segment has an old train station which has fallen into disrepair due to no longer being used. However it has now been restored as of 2021.

Atlantic

The Atlantic section running east-west was the first to be developed, opening in 1992. The route roughly parallels Route 36 from the

Garden State Parkway The Garden State Parkway (GSP) is a controlled-access toll road that stretches the north–south length of eastern New Jersey from the state's southernmost tip near Cape May to the New York state line at Montvale. Its name refers to New Jersey ...

to Atlantic Highlands, with trail heads at Lloyd Road and Clark Street in Aberdeen/Keyport and Avenue D in Atlantic Highlands. This section suffers from many busy road crossings. East of Avenue D, a on-road detour is required to connect to the Bayshore extension to

Bayshore

The Bayshore extension (formerly Bayshore Trail) opened in April 2009 and extends the Henry Hudson Trail eastward from the Atlantic Highlands marina below the bluffs of

Atlantic Highlands Atlantic Highlands is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, in the Bayshore Region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,385,Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

History

The Marlboro Township section of the rail line began in the 1860s as the Monmouth County Agricultural Railroad. The initial discussion concerning the construction of the railroad began in the 1840s, as an improved means of hauling produce to Keyport docks. The initial effort failed and began again in 1867 with work being completed about 1880. The railroad carried produce, manufactured goods and

marl Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate minerals, clays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae. Marl makes up the lower part o ...

fertilizer to the rail pier in Keyport. The marl was dug from the large pits owned by many local farmers such as O.C. Herbert or Uriah Smock in Marlboro. The railroad can be seen on a map from 1873. All service ceased in the 1950s. The original "Atlantic" section is built on the former right-of-way of the

Freehold and Atlantic Highlands Railroad Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple *Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England *Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...

, which was later absorbed by the

Central Railroad of New Jersey The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central or Jersey Central Lines , was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. It was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of ...

. In September 2009, a portion of the southern section of the trail from Texas Road (Matawan) to Greenwood Road (Marlboro) was closed for an 18-month project for a

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

cleanup at the site of the former Imperial oil company.

Future considerations

The final two "missing links" are on hold as NJT has resurrected the idea of utilizing the rail corridor for its MOM commuter rail line. According to the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

, should the transit agency opt to restore commuter service along the line, it would be the first instance in U.S history where a rail trail reverted to railway usage. In 2020, land was acquired, and engineering studies are in progress, to extend the southern end of the trail into downtown Freehold.

References

External links

Monmouth County Parks page on trail

* ttp://www.boblucky.com/Biking/NewJersey/Henryhudson/HHintro.htm Descriptive Henry Hudson Trail site with many photosbr>Monmouth County Park System Map

NJ Transit MOM Project Report
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