Submitted by joecamel816 t3_10gwedc in jerseycity
I have been wanting to go explore the heights by bike but have not been able to figure out how to get there. Officially, there is supposed to be a bike route on Palisades avenue, but the street view makes it look like you wouldn’t be able to use it outside of biking the sidewalk. Is there a better route to take?
Hoboken Avenue is a good one. Its quiet and has a bike lane now.
Bike lane with divider makes a big difference
Second this, as a biker that hill is a great challenge and then from there it’s super quick to get onto palisade ave
There is an elevator by the stairs
I see you're coming from downtown. Newark Ave hill has bike lanes on both sides. It's a healthy challenge. You can also go into Hoboken and take New York Ave (I thought it used to be Ravine, so that's confusing) or Mountain Rd. The latter is the steeper of all these options, but it also has a large staircase as well. And if you really want to head through HBK, the 9th Street Lightrail stop has an elevator that goes up the cliff. There is also technically the 14th Street viaduct, but I personally only go down it, not up, for safety concerns.
Safety concerns should not be neglected. Too many terrible drivers on NJ roads. 14th street viaduct has many speeders.
Be extra careful when crossing route 139, a short highway section dividing JC with numerous traffic violations daily that are ignored.
14th Street just doesn't have good bicycle infrastructure, sadly, which is really only a problem during rush hour when the elevator is full.
You can actually go under the 139 ramp to avoid the scary intersections. It's a much better route with growing bike lanes to the new housing developments.
I saw in a comment you're coming from downtown. The most straight forward way is to bike up Newark Ave and then turn right on Palisade. Newark Ave has a protected bike lane, so it's a safer ride, although you have to cycle up the hill. Palisade does not have a protected bike lane. It doesn't even have a separate bike lane. The "bike route" on Palisade is just sharing the one-lane road with cars. There are signs that say "Bike can use entire lane", or something like that, but the law is one thing, and people are something else.
Personally if I cycle from downtown up to heights, I prefer to turn right on Central Ave, not on Palisade. Palisade had too much road work done in the past and the road hasn't been repaved. I find Central Ave to be a smoother and safer ride (if you do choose to turn right on Central, ride on the sidewalk for the one block stretch from Newark to 139). Central doesn't have a separate bike lane, so you'll still have to share the one-lane road with cars. Personally, if there's traffic, I often ride slowly on the sidewalk.
Most roads in the Heights don't have a separate bike lane. None have a protected bike lane, as far as I know. Feel free to explore around the Heights. You can also cross into Union City if you want. If you have any of those cycling apps (Strava, Ride with GPS), I think you can see popular cycling routes that people take, so you can use those as a guide for where to cycle.
If you have difficulty cycling up the hill on Newark Ave, you could always use take the PATH from Grove to Journal Square. Both stations have elevators for your bike. If you do take the PATH, it can be a bit tricky to figure out how to enter/exit the stations with a bike, but once you know where to go, it's an easy option. And from JSQ cycle on Central into the Heights. Feel free to ask all of us if you have more questions. You should also follow BikeJC on instagram/whatever socials they have. I'm not involved with them, but they do great work.
I always take Palisade ave when heading north on a bike. There is no bike lane but its a wide street and traffic is pretty chill. Most importantly Palisade ave is at the very top of the palisade and basically runs completely flat all the way through HC.
Honestly though I wouldnt overthink it
Pedaling usually works for me
The most safe way to get up to the Heights from downtown is to go through Hoboken on their quiet streets to the 9th st light rail stop in Hoboken, take the elevator up to the Heights, ride up one block to Palisade, and go explore. It's the best way for safety, and less hills too.
Where are you coming from?
I’m coming from downtown, but willing to bike anywhere there’s an entry point to the heights.
Go up Hoboken Ave by cast iron lofts
The tough it out way is obviously up Palisade. But if you work it, there's other less traveled N-S streets between Palisade and Central like Oakland and Sherman. There's a patch of discontinuous road mess between Prospect & Ferry that would require some navigation, but past that it's simple.
Palisade Ave is the least terrible among the terrible options. Webster has a striped lane, but getting there via Baldwin can be scary AF.
Someone above mentioned Central. The pavement is good on Central, but the business district is a little hectic for my liking. Unless I'm going to a business on Central, I usually stick to Palisade.
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Palisades is wide and not particularly busy. You can bike on it whether there’s a lane or not (based on your personal comfort level of course).
Edit: yes, yes - my mistake.
I live on palisade up toward Union City and that is 100% not true. It gets pretty busy up past the supremo. People double parked, trucks blocking etc. would be pretty scary for an inexperienced biker.
Newark ave has a protected bike lane up the hill by Dickinson. I think turning on Palisade would be fine up until you cross 139 and then I would try to ride on Baldwin/Webster.
Oh yeah, you’re right. I was kind of cherry picking my memories of the street - I was imagining the part of palisade between the hospital and ravine when I made my comment and forgot about the rest.
Yeah, I don't love riding on Palisade, but it's fine and I do it.
red__what t1_j55231x wrote
Just bike up Newark and turn right on Palisade