Overall Route Rating
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4.2 out of 5 Rider Rating 4.2
5 Reviews

Motorcycle Route Author

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By Charles Peterson (115 McR Points) on May 09, 2017

Rider Reviews

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Sean Sanders
2 McR Points
August 17, 2017
Excellent ride, but caution going on a summer…
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BritBike
8 McR Points
April 21, 2020
Nice relaxing ride. There is a little bit of…
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Written Directions

Departure from Rumson- Bingham Ave. (north), cross the Navesink River, turn right onto Locust Point Rd. and right at Locust Ave. Turn right onto Navesink Ave. and continue to NJ-36. Turn right onto Highland Ave. and continue to left turn onto Light House Rd. to Navesink Twin Lights. Return to Highland Ave., turn right and continue to NJ-36 (east). After crossing the Shrewsbury River turn left to Hartshorne Dr. (north) through the Gateway Nat'l. Recreation Area, and continue to Sandy Hook Lighthouse. Head south and continue on Ocean Ave. to Bingham Ave. Turn right onto Bingham Ave., and cross the Shrewsbury River. Continue on Bingham Ave. to return to Rumson.

Scenery

Scenic views from the Navesink River bridge and bridges over the Shrewsbury River, affluent homes, and coastline vistas of the Atlantic Ocean accented with sweet aromas of ocean air. Several beaches, including a suit-less beach at Sandy Hook Gateway Nat'l. Recreation Area.

Drive Enjoyment

Average quality roads and minimum traffic with the exception of NJ-36 and Ocean Ave., which may have heavy traffic during good beach weather. Drive conservatively at Sandy Hook to avoid encounters with pedestrians, wildlife and wind-blown sand on asphalt and turnouts.

Tourism Opportunities

Highlands, located on the northern side of NJ-36 before crossing the Shrewsbury River, has seafood restaurants on the water. Sandy Hook provides Atlantic Ocean swimming at one of the finest parks on the eastern seaboard. Sea Bright has a few restaurants to select from and Barnacle Bill's in Rumson has good seafood in a nautical setting. At Barnacle Bill's, www.barnaclebillsrumson.com, look for the cache of complimentary peanuts in the antique roaster by the bar. Here, an order of steamed soft-shell clams with drawn butter and a ten-ounce burger is a nice combination for two to share. (Have the staff demonstrate the technique for skinning a clam before dining on these succulent morsels.)

Motorcycle Road Additional info

Using the latest nine-foot diameter Fresnel electric-arc bivalve lens, Navesink Twin Lights built in 1898, projected light 22-miles to distant mariners. Also at this site in 1899, Guglielmo Marconi tested his "Wireless Telegraph" to report The America's Cup yacht races off Sandy Hook. Built in 1764, the Sandy Hook lighthouse is still a working navigational aid. In the past, the peninsula was a military base with gun batteries, mortar batteries and Nike missiles. Among prickly pear cacti in the dunes, remnants of structures and artifacts from earlier periods remain, including an 1869 Rodman gun that lobbed 1,000-pound cannon balls almost five miles out to sea.
 

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Sean Sanders
August 17, 2017
2 McR Points
Motorcycle Type : Other
Excellent ride, but caution going on a summer weekend morning, as beach traffic (and angry distracted drivers) can back up for a few miles.

The "tip" of Sandy Hook is an old military base with most structures still freestanding. The officers' houses along the water are slowly being renovated, and there is an AirBNB there now. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/14005657?location=Middletown, NJ&s=QC6scfw3

Also, you do not have to pay the $15 entrance fee if you tell the person at the booth that you are just riding through and not parking. They also let military folks in for free.
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BritBike
April 21, 2020
8 McR Points
Motorcycle Type : Sport
Nice relaxing ride. There is a little bit of twisty fun (very little) however it is a beautiful & easy ride. And that is not a bad thing. Sandy Hook is spectacular but avoid this ride on summer weekends. The traffic can be atrocious, not to mention having to deal with paying to enter Sandy Hook, if you ever get there.
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1329g
November 9, 2020
30 McR Points
Motorcycle Type : Touring
If I had to describe this route using one word, it would be "AMAZING!!!". The roads are smooth and there are a lot of things to see. It took me 2 hours to get there because I came from Northern Jersey (Newark) but it was worth every two hours. I could have gotten there way faster if I would have taken the Parkway North however I chose to take 35S (near exit 129S) to 36S. Make sure you take lots of pictures because it will be a memorial trip if you decide to take it.
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