Manasquan Mountain Biking

Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway

It’s been hotter than Hades so the Fat Man and I thought it would be nice to take a bicycle ride to The Shore, which is how we refer to all of our wonderful beaches in the great state of New Jersey.

I use the term mountain biking loosely because technically there are no mountains in Manasquan.  But we do ride mountain bikes.  I might also add that even the smallest of hills are challenging when it’s 90 degrees with 100% humidity and you’re carrying an extra 15 pounds (of fat, not supplies).

We went to the Rails-to-Trails website and found the Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway, which runs from Allaire State Park into downtown Manasquan.  We cut a bit off the trail by parking our car in a little dirt lot on SR524 East.

Have umbrella will travel

We donned bathing suits, Croc clogs, and I even bungee-strapped a beach umbrella to my bike.  It only took us about 45 minutes to get to the beach. If you start at Allaire the entire trail runs 10.4 miles round trip. 

Edgar Felix Memorial Bikeway 

The first part of the trail meanders past farm fields. When you reach the T, we turned left onto the Capital to Coast trail, which was a rugged asphalt path. Fortunately, we were protected by woods through most of the ride, which helped with the heat. On the way back, we saw two bunnies and a woodchuck.

Farms on the trail

When the trail ends it gets a bit tricky because you have to take a left, then a right, and another right, which takes you into the town of Manasquan. Look for bike signs, or ask directions to the beach. While most Jersey Shore riders don’t wear helmets, I’m glad we did because there were a lot of cars on the road. Better safe than sorry, I like to say.

The Shore: Manasquan Beach 

We each paid $8 to get onto the beach and arrived just in time to see a parade of dolphins, which was quite magical. The water was refreshing and the cool breeze coming off the ocean felt like air conditioning.

Alfresco dining

We sunned and swam for a few hours and then had a delightful alfresco dinner at the Bayside (lobster roll for me, fried shrimp for the Fat Man).  I suggested ice cream on the ride back, but changed my mind once we started riding because it was so darn hot and it would make us sluggish. The Fat Man didn’t protest, but I detected slight disappointment. We took a different way through town on the ride back and saw a few houses that are still uninhabitable from Sandy.

We will definitely take this trail again and next time I will pack an inflatable pillow and a larger beach towel.

Heidi’s rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Delightful destination!

The Fat Man’s rating: Six fried shrimp and an order of crispy French fries.