Bike Routes:Lawrenceville to Downtown Princeton

From LTWPwiki

From Lawrenceville to Downtown Princeton

by Ralph Copleman

I travel by bicycle from my home on Titus Avenue in the village (near The Lawrenceville School and the Craven Lane post office) to Princeton, and I'm frequently asked what route I prefer. I've used four and like them all for different purposes.

• Route 206 - the straightest, most direct, and fastest. It's a little less than six miles from the post office to the southern end of Nassau Street by Princeton Borough Hall. There are no turns, and there's a good shoulder most of the way in both directions. Many folks don't like it because of all the routes, it bears the heaviest traffic and the most large trucks. Somehow these things never bother me.

• Princeton Pike – Safer than 206, and longer. For me this means finding my way either through the prep school's campus (it's permitted, but it's their property, so be courteous and go slowly) or via Lewisville Road or heading up on 206 to the Carter Road traffic light and then cutting over on Fackler Road to a left on P. Pike. In all these variations the route is longer by at least a mile, but when you get there, there's an official bike lane on both sides, one of the few in Lawrence, and there's no truck traffic. Once you get near Princeton, there's a problem as you move through that portion of the Pike that goes through the campus of the Princeton Theological Seminary. The road there is in such poor condition, that I find it physically very uncomfortable, so I alter the route at the traffic light that comes up just past Battlefield Park. I go left there and head over to 206 or I cut through Marquand Park on the right. The pathway is paved through the park, but not smooth and not very wide.

• Rosedale Road – Longer still, more bucolic, but not without one significant hazard. I go up Titus to the very short walk-way that ends at Bergen Street, turn right, then left onto Cold Soil Road. This is pretty as you pass between Hendrickson farm and Mercer County Park Northwest, but the road is narrow and has no shoulder. That's the hazard. The road winds around, passes by my favorite donut shop (Terhune Orchards) and ends at Carter Rd. I take Carter for the 1/4 mile until Rosedale, where I go right and take that all the way into Princeton. There's a bike bath for a major part of the way on the southbound side of the road, but it's rough, bumpy and partly covered with overgrowth vegetation, so I stay on the street. There's a pretty good hill to climb in-bound once you pass the Johnson Education Center (at Preservation Place). It lasts about a half-mile or so, and ends just before the traffic light at Elm Road.

• Canal Tow Path - Safest and longest. Watch for heavy pedestrian traffic the closer you get to Princeton. I love this route because I get to ride along the D&R Canal State Park Tow Path. I get to the canal by going out Lewisville Road from the village area, cross Princeton Pike by the Gillespie building and turning right on the dirt road that leads to the Brearley House. I pass the house and cross the lawn to the pathway through the woods, which leads to the tow path after about one-third of a mile. Then it's a left onto the path and flat riding all the way. You can exit at Alexander Street, Washington Road, Harrison Street (or keep going all the way to New Brunswick!) Taking any of the first three offers you a mild climb into town of about a half-mile or so. Normally I ride with road tires on my bike, so when I use the tow path I borrow my neighbors dirt bike, though a hybrid will do just as well.