By Mark Bravaco
FREEHOLD – The Henry Hudson Trail (HHT) will be getting some major improvements over the next several years, including a dedicated “hub” in Freehold Borough and two important extensions that will make hiking and biking on this 10-foot-wide paved trail much more enjoyable.
In two public documents recently released by the county, the park system outlines plans to fill in two of the three major gaps in the south section of the HHT. The documents also mention building a “hub” – a new county park – in Freehold Borough dedicated to serving the trail community. According to the documents, the new park will be located in a field next to a residential neighborhood and adjacent to the former Nestlé factory which closed in November 2023.
The park system will most likely hold focus groups involving local residents to decide what they want the park to look like. One possibility is that the park will be train-themed to reflect the history of the HHT, which has been built over old train tracks.
About a mile of forested land lies between the present terminus of the trail near East Main Street in Freehold and the planned hub. The first extension will go through this forested stretch, running parallel to 1st Street. It will weave its way along residential backyards before finally crossing Center Street via a new metal pedestrian bridge. Construction is already underway on this extension.
The second planned extension will go between Big Brook Park in Marlboro and Wyncrest Road, connecting two previously separate segments of the trail and making the southern section a far more enjoyable stretch to traverse. Importantly, this extension will also include a pedestrian footbridge over Newman Springs Road, ensuring the safety of cyclists and pedestrians from automobile traffic. The anticipated completion date for this extension is 2025.
After these two extensions are finished, walkers and bikers will be able to go from Aberdeen to Freehold Borough – roughly 12 miles – without any major breaks. A third and final gap, located in Aberdeen would need to be closed to complete the trail, which begins in Pompamora Park in Highlands.
The Henry Hudson Trail travels west from Atlantic Highlands to Matawan and then turns south toward Freehold. An ambitious project of the park system, it has been traversed by hundreds of thousands of Monmouth County residents and visitors alike and passes through a panoply of natural environments, including marshes, forests, beaches and hills. The HHT’s northern section was built first, followed by the southern section after the turn of the 21st century.
The article originally appeared in the April 11 – April 18, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
