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Print Friendly MapThe Pleasantville to Somers Point Bike Path connects four cities along 8.2 miles of trail: Pleasantville, Northfield, Linwood, and Somers Point. The path travels through city centers, neighborhoods, and tree-lined parks, ending in Somers Point a few blocks away from the Atlantic Ocean. Here, it connects to the Route 52 Bridge Trail, offering an important link to Cape May County.
Trailside memorials and ice cream shops provide ideal spaces to take a break along the way. Much of the route travels through residential neighborhoods and past schools. Often, you can see students using the path as a safe walking route between home and school, as well as other residents out enjoying the trail for both exercise and leisure—for a quick ride or a stroll into town.
The north end of the trail begins in Pleasantville, the most urban of the communities. Beginning off Devins Lane, the path travels behind various retailers until it makes an abrupt right turn just before Chestnut Avenue. The path utilizes an inactive railroad bridge to cross over busy US 40/Black Horse Pike. After crossing the highway, the trail continues alongside Fuae Avenue in Northfield.
Once in Northfield, the path travels through residential neighborhoods. At Zion Road, it leaves Fuae Avenue and begins to parallel Wabash Avenue.
Extending into Linwood along Wabash Avenue, the bike path (occasionally called the Linwood Bike Path) evokes a pleasant community feel. The bike path takes the center of a wide median that divides Wabash Avenue; the eastern side is one-way northbound, and the western side is one-way southbound. Linwood offers a variety of attractions, including All Wars Memorial Park and the Linwood Arboretum.
As the path approaches Somers Point, the surroundings shift from residential to urban. The trail ends outside of the Somers Point city clerk’s office but can be taken all the way into the historic district of Somers Point via on-road facilities.
To reach the north end of the trail in Pleasantville, take the Atlantic City Expy. to Exit 5. Head southwest on US 9/S. New Road, and go 0.8 mile. Turn left onto Decatur Ave. There is limited curbside parking.
To reach the southern end of the trail in Somers Point, take the Atlantic City Expy. to Exit 5. Head southwest on US 9/S. New Road, and go 3 miles. Turn left onto W. Mill Road. In 0.5 mile turn right onto Shore Road, and continue 4.3 miles. Turn right onto W. New Jersey Ave. Turn right onto First St. Parking is on the right.
We did this backwards, starting from Somers Point and going to Pleasantville. Very well taken care of in many of the communities with plenty of benches along the way. Some of the communities also have put planters out to decorate. It gets rougher as you hit Pleasantville, both the community and the trail itself, which isn't well taken care of. Going this way, you end up in a heavy industrial area. which wasn't all that fun. I wouldn't recommend ending up on that side of the trail at dusk or night. Just my two cents. The rest of the trail was well worth doing. We actually started in Ocean City, coming over the 9th street bridge which I recommend highly!
I’m an inline-skater.... I go from Northfield, pass Linwood to SomersPoint!! The scenery is nice, relaxed, people are nice, passes a few schools along the way. A few intersection stops, PAY CLOSE ATTENTION!!! The Northfield pavement is a bit rough, you know you hit Linwood when it gets really smooth, and SomersPoint finally got a RENOVATION on their path ¿! Omg, it’s beautiful and smooth and ohhh did I mention smooth?!? I took few pics... enjoy! I did!!!
My wife and I took advantage of the recent rare sunny days a tried this trail out today. We started from the Somers Point end, parking by the police station on New York and 1st. We did about 5.5 miles out and turned around due to time constraints. The trail is very well maintained and goes through various residential neighborhoods. There was mixed use with walkers, runners, dog walkers and bikes. The only reason I didn’t rate it a 5 star is because of the frequent traffic crossings. They are well marked and autos were generally cautious at the crossings. If you’re looking for higher, more consistent speeds, this might not be the best trail for you. If your down the shore and want to do a family ride off the streets, this is a great choice. Somers Point also has many nice, low key restaurants, bars and micro breweries, that make it a nice destination for recovery after the ride.
I started off at the VFW parking lot in Somers Point and rode down to the former rail bridge over the Black Horse Pike. This is a great trail for cruising and relaxing as well as meeting people. The main downside of this trail is the many cross streets. Local knowledge is useful here to know which streets you can simply stop and then roll on through and which streets you need to keep a very wary eye out for drivers (Central, Tilton, Mill, etc.) . Also, there are a few places where roots have made the path bumpy and places where the trail turns slightly while crossing major roads. Pleasantville can be not so pleasant at times, but it's fine in the daytime. The other neat thing about this trail is that it connects to the 9th street bridge that takes you into Ocean City. There are a couple routes besides the one marked on the map that'll get you to the bridge without having to cross at the major intersection before the bridge.
Parked in Northfield, inline skated to Somers Point. The pavement in Nfld is a bit rough, but once you get to Linwood is a lot smoother. Bit rough again between Linwood & SP. Of course I say this as a skater I'm sure as a cyclist &/or runner the trail is smooth regardless. Great scenery, refreshing, enjoyed e' minute of it! Few streets to cross... just be extra careful while crossing...
This is a wonderful bike path that connects four cities along Shore Road in Atlantic County. The path is well maintained and heavily used. Improvements are planned on both end of the path. In Pleasantville, a State grant will fund the installation of LED lighting in areas that are currently not lit. In Somers Point, grant funds will be used to complete the "missing link" a new section of the bike path that will connect it to the Route 52 Causeway into Ocean City. A grant will also the widening of the bike path in Somers Point to ten feet and the installation of new LED decorative lighting.
Great Trail.. Nice scenic bike ride!
This is a well used trail from stat to finish. If cross streets bother you this trail is not for you. I did this on an older Mt Bike with a cross tire and had a nice ride. I went from north to south and on my return in the after noon there were crossing guards at each street crossing as school kids use this trail to get back and forth from school. The high light of the ride is the old train station I think it is a rebuild but not sure. It was not the best day weather wise but the people of Pleasantville and Somers Point have one nice trail. At the South point you can ride down the hill and get over to Ocean City. The crossing is very busy but it has a great cross walk with a long light.
This bike trail is right around the corner from where I live. I walk both ends several times a week. Great exercise! I love the Linwood Arboretum especially when the flowers are in full bloom and the park. Some of the intersections at both ends can be dangerous to cross especially because drivers don't know the rules stopping at the crosswalk with no pedestrians in the intersection. If I had a suggestion, it would be putting water fountains along the route and some portable toilets. Right now, the only water fountain is at the Linwood Arboretum and the only restroom is at Our Lady of Sorrows Church. Other than that, I love it. It's very well-maintained and clean.
Did this trail as an out and back from on a Sunday afternoon. Parked in a public lot in Pleasantville - kind of a shady neighborhood but the public lot at corner of Green and Main had abundant parking. We found the trail and traveled south gingerly, not knowing what to expect after encountering some broken glass on the first couple hundred yards of the path. Neighborhoods and trail maintenance improved as we rode through Northfield and Linwood.
As others have noted, there are many street crossings. We didn't see too many cars out and about on Sunday afternoon - everyone was at the beach! Not much shade cover on this route, but there are benches and parks nearly the entire length of trail. The trail generally passes through residential neighborhoods with limited food, we went a few blocks west to New Road (Rte 9) which has some quick food options.
One more thing - we saw a trail leading due west from the start of the trail in Pleasantville. Does anyone know if this connects with the Atlantic City Bikeway? We didn't have time to explore - wanted to get out of Pleasantville before dusk!
like other reviewers have commented, it's a rather dubious beginning @the pleasantville end. things quickly improve as you transition into northfield. next, linwood is downright nice. somers point resembled pleasantville, so it was time to turn around. it was near the end by then anyway.
the surface is mostly smooth and there are plenty of park benches pathside if you need to take a break. far too many street crossings for my taste, however. you have to really stay alert and look both ways, just like mommy told ya when you were little.
This is a beautiful trail that runs through Egg Harbor Township, NJ, and it reminded me of the New Jersey that I remember when my family would go "down the shore".
Guys playing catch in the field... Little League games at the field in the distance... the smell of barbeques wafting everywhere (I rode on a Saturday afternoon)... This area is Bruce Springsteen's (or Bon Jovi's) New Jersey - not Snooki's.
I started in Pleasantville, and I was dubious to park my car there. While everything was fine when I returned, I would have definitely parked my car further south (Northfield or Linwood). While I can't tell you what parking would be like in the height of summer, there was plenty of parking along the trail in mid-April.
The trail is paved the entire way - and it's in pretty good shape. There were some bumps due to roots tunnelling under the asphalt, but the trail is fine for all sorts of bicycles. The trail runs through several well maintained parks and runs down to Somers Point. After taking a little run (~1/2 mile) on several lightly used roads, you can cross the Somers Point Bridge and head to the beach in Ocean City. As I started late in the day, I passed on that - maybe next time.
The trail crosses a bunch of small residential streets, along with some heavily trafficked larger streets. Pay attention at the crossings - because: 1) occasionally the trail crosses at strange angle, leaving a blind corner either for you or a crossing car, and 2) the cars definitely aren't paying attention. Because of this, I would not recommend this trail for smaller children. Additionally, I would not recommend this if you looking for a serious workout.
But if you're looking for a flat, leisurely ride through a residential beach community - this is your trail.
We biked from Ocean City to Linwood. We stopped for a rest and a cold drink at the Linwood Market and headed back. The trail was smooth, well maintained, and not crowded at all for a Saturday in the summer. There's several intersections that you must use caution, although most of the traffic was local and slowed down and waved us through. Very enjoyable!
"The trail is a very enjoyable one, overall. The northern end goes through some marginal neighborhoods in Pleasantville, though. It's too bad the northern end of the trail has been closed off at the U.S. Route 40/322 former railway bridge. Navigating to the north side of the bridge through the neighborhoods, you can see the disused ""off ramp"" leading down from the bridge. The trail's name should be changed to honor the former trolley line that ran on the right of way, The Shore Fast Line. It connected Atlantic City and Ocean City until it ceased operation in the late 1940's. "
I just completed this trail and can say that it's getting better and better (although there are many road crossings where caution is necessary). The trail has a good asphalt surface that is well maintained. The flat trail makes for a good family ride. There are also two good deli stops halfway.
I was impressed!!
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