Who Runs This Town?

Pequannock offers amazing roads and trails for runners of all levels.

BY ANDY WATSON

When you think of Pequannock Township, what comes to mind? Is it the nice neighborhoods and good schools? Or maybe it is the small-town feel, despite being only 20 miles from New York City. What initially drew my family to town was something different—the great running.

I used to drive 15 minutes just to run here. Pequannock offers something for runners of all abilities. Whether you are training for a marathon or just want to get (or stay) in shape, you can do it all here.

Over the years, I have run thousands of miles in Pequannock. Here are some of the routes I enjoy most.

The Flats

Most of Pequannock is in a beautiful valley, or what some call “the flats.” There are many runs that you can do in the flats, but I enjoy running a loop using West Parkway, The Boulevard, Newark-Pompton Turnpike or the new Rail Trail. Popular cross streets include Mountain Avenue, Sunset Road, Jacksonville Road and Duncan Avenue. A typical loop can range in distance from three to six miles. If you are looking to add distance, you can easily do so by incorporating a neighborhood, such as Greenview or the Village, into your loop.

If you are using the newly paved Rail Trail, the distance from Newark-Pompton Turnpike to Woodland Place on the trail is just under two miles and there are several locations along the way to enter the trail. I enjoy exiting at PV Park and taking a loop around Woodland Park for added scenery—and distance!

Mountain Avenue/ Mountainside Park

If you are looking to add some elevation into your running, Pequannock has that, too! For my longer runs, I always try to add Mountain Avenue into my route. A run in the flats to the Mountainside Park trailhead will get you about 375 feet in elevation gain. If you do an out-and-back from Greenview Park to Mountainside Park trailhead, that is about six miles. If you are feeling particularly daring, you can make it a 10-mile run with 1,000 feet in elevation gain by running the Mountainside Park powerline trail all the way down to Route 23.

Andy Watson and his wife, Kristin, moved to Pequannock in 2017. They and their three kids enjoy everything about the town, especially the parks. You can find their kids swimming at PV Park most days during the summer.