Delaware and Raritan State Park Canal Trail

The Delaware and Raritan State Park Canal Trail is a among the favorite places to run in Trenton. This smooth dirt multi-use path runs for more than 70 miles along the Delaware River and historic canal across five counties in Central Jersey. In the Trenton area, we’ve mapped a couple of options. We prefer the section toward New Hope. TRAIL MAP

Trenton to New Hope. This section of the D&R starts at the Battle Monument and follows the the Delaware River for up to 15 miles northwest to New Hope. It’s fairly wooded most of the way, with some sections right alongside the river. A couple of particularly nice sections are miles 6-8 around Washington Crossing, and miles 10-12 around Baldplate Mountain.

• Nice out & back option: It’s 2 miles from Trenton to Cadwalader Park, and then there’s a nice loop around the park. Can also take Parkside Ave. to connect to a short path along the Delaware River.

Trenton to Kingston. This section of the D&R runs northeast for 15 miles to Kingston. Starting a the Battle Monument, the first 6 miles from Trenton aren’t all that pleasant, as the trail runs right alongside Highway 1 (Trenton Freeway). Miles 6-10 are much nicer, alongside a canal and passing through a couple of wildlife refuges. Miles 10-14 are through Princeton and along Carnegie Lake.

See Also: Our running guide for Princeton.