The 2012 Great Canal Walk is History

The 2nd Annual Great Canal Walk took place on April 7, 2012 with an estimate of 50-60 participants . Thanks to all who joined us, and for the wonderful support of the East Coast Greenway, Blue Ridge Mountain Sports, Eastern Mountain Sports and Cabot Creamery. Everyone's efforts and beautiful weather made this a special success for all of us. More detail and video to follow soon. We're still trying to get full roster list.

Towing A Message: Walk a Towpath for Health and Fun

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

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

 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.

FreeWalkers to Walk Across New Jersey Again in 2012 on the East Coast Greenway

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.

Log for TR2NB40 - 4/9/11 - Great Canal Walk

With a shifting weather forecast it was hard to say how this day would turn out when I got up at 4:00 a.m. The day before had been rainy. The trail could be muddy. But for now there was nothing stopping the assault of our feet on the great D&R Canal. When combining distance and number of walkers this would be like no event in this historical and pastoral area of New Jersey.

Car parking in the 24-hour garage across from the New Brunswick station was easy.

Great Walk Along a Great Canal

Wednesday, April 13 by silvia, West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance

Hats off to all 50 or so people who took part in TR2NB40 — a 40-mile walk from Trenton to New Brunswick along the D&R Canal on Saturday. Not all walked the entire route, but it sounds like everyone had a good time. We received two reports, one from WWBPA trustee Michael Ogg and another from WWBPA member Loretta Rice.

 “It was fun talking with others and learning about other walks such as The Great Saunter on May 7, a walk round Manhattan.

Hiking from Trenton to New Brunswick

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...

Organization Hosts Mile-Long Walks

FreeWalkers Organization members will be walking more than 100 miles across the state in the next two months to promote walking as a fitness exercise. The event is open for anyone who wants to participate and is free of charge,..." "FreeWalkers Organization has 250 online members since its start last year", Kiczek said. Kiczek is anticipating about 100 participants for the 100-mile Great Canal Walk, but expects more people to sign up once when it comes closer to the event.

Got Sneakers? We're Walking Across Jersey

As a Jersey girl from way back, who remembers when Parkway tolls were a quarter and still reads the instructions on the pump when I get my own gas in other places, I've seen a lot of my home state. I hit Route 17 the day I received my driver's license in Lodi, and I've been behind the wheel ever since. The next several weekends will be different, as I've traded car keys (and beloved flip-flops) for serious walking shoes.

Walking to a deeper appreciation of NJ open spaces

From THE STATE WE'RE IN by Michele S. Byers, Executive Director, NJ Conservation Foundation, March 4, 2011

Land is its own best advocate. Few indeed are those who can walk through the Garden State's spectacular natural areas and not want to see more land saved. This spring, let the land speak to you: Join the Cross-Jersey Walking Challenge!

The Cross-Jersey Walking Challenge invites people to walk 100 miles across the state - from Trenton to New York City. The idea springs from a partnership between the FreeWalkers (www.freewalkers.org), a long distance walking group, and the East Coast Greenway Alliance (www.greenway.org).

Accept the Challenge and you can join any - or all - of three group walks along different sections of the trail, or complete the 100 miles at your own pace and schedule. Each section of the Cross-Jersey Challenge has its own website, complete with routes, maps, descriptions and frequently asked questions.

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