The newest piece of the state’s expanding greenway is officially open to the public.
Passaic County Commissioner John Bartlett cut the ribbon on the Highlands Rail Trail, a 2-mile stretch of old train track that has been converted to a path for walkers, runners and cyclists.
Built for $3.4 million with a grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation, the Highlands Rail Trail is carved out of the New York & Greenwood Lake Railway tracks that have been dormant since the early 1980s.
“This trail will offer an alternative to the busy Ringwood Avenue corridor, providing a safe and scenic route that links people to local businesses, schools and parks,” Bartlett said. “It will also bring history alive, with interpretive elements that showcase the story of Wanaque and highlight the community’s unique past.”
The trail, which begins on Union Avenue and runs to the entrance of the North Jersey Water Supply Commission on F.A. Orechio Drive, is not lighted and will be open from dawn until dusk. It will be maintained by the Passaic County Department of Parks and Recreation.
The ribbon cutting on Tuesday marked the end of Phase I of the project. Phase II, which is scheduled to begin in 2026, will extend the trail another 1.4 miles to Conklintown Road.
Wanaque Mayor Dan Mahler recalled flying over the borough in a small plane with his stepfather, a pilot, more than 30 years ago.
“We got into a small plane at Lincoln Park Airport and we flew up and down Wanaque,” he remembered. “And the one thing I remember most was the old railroad bed. You can see it from the air, 200 feet up, all the up to the area by Conklintown Road. And now that’s going to be a nice hiking path.”
Bartlett is the Passaic County representative to the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority which allocates state and federal funding to select projects.
“Not one dollar of county tax revenue is being used,” to build the Highlands Rail Trail, he said, “which is a testament to how we’re bringing state and federal resources back home to Passaic County to improve the quality of life for all our residents.”
The authority’s executive director, David Behrend, said the trail provides a safer alternative to using heavily-trafficked Ringwood Avenue.
“Our board recognized the importance of creating safe, accessible walking and biking facilities in Passaic County and committing the funding to make this space happen,” he said.
The Highlands Rail Trail is one of several projects that aim to transform abandoned train track into useful recreation space. In July, construction began on the Essex-Hudson Greenway, an 8.6-mile stretch between Montclair and Jersey City that cuts through the Meadowlands and is estimated to cost $200 million.
Wanaque, a borough of roughly 11,000 people in upper Passaic County, is best known as the host community for the North Jersey Water Supply Commission, which maintains the Wanaque Reservoir,
With a capacity of 30 billion gallons, Wanaque is the second-largest reservoir in the state, behind Round Valley in Hunterdon County.
Before there was a reservoir, there was the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway, which beginning in the 1870s, carried iron ore from the mines around Ringwood and, during the winter, ice from Greenwood Lake.
As Greenwood Lake evolved into a summer retreat, the train served as a commuter line for vacationers. The Greenwood Lake branch was once part of what is now the Montclair-Boonton line that NJ Transit operates to Hoboken.