Before you drive out to my favorite roller ski sites, please read this!!
Roller skiing, like snow skiing, can be hazardous. ALWAYS wear a helmet when you're rolling. The best technique in the world won't keep you upright if that one piece of road debris lodges itself like a doorstop under your wheel. Knee pads and padded pants are good also. Dress in brightly colored clothing or wear a reflective vest, and watch out for oncoming traffic. If you yield to the automobile, you'll increase the odds of making a friend for our sport.
Roller Ski Sites
- Lake Denmark Road, Rockaway Township. Running alongside Picatinny Arsenal and not so far away from Mt. Hope quarry. When they aren't blasting rock at the quarry, the army may be detonating something, or a helicopter pilot is practicing flying at treetop level. Otherwise it's quiet and densely wooded. From the picnic area on the eponymous lake, you can ski about 1.5k uphill towards the arsenal entrance, and you can also head out Snake Hill Road until the pavement ends. North of the picnic area on Lake Denmark Road, there is some steep up and down, including one downhill towards a blind curve. Walk down the hills, or control your speed, or risk the consequences. The road is narrow; however generally there's not too much traffic. Speed reducers or slower roller skis are recommended. Watch out for bear; we get a couple of sightings each summer.
Dave Baker and Andrey Revyakin at Lake Denmark
- Loantaka Park, off South Street, Morristown. You can also park off Kitchell Road and Blue Mill Road. Approximately 8 km of paved bike path from South Street to the other end by the Green Village post office. It's nice and green there during summer. Pavement varies from very good to frost-heaved. There can be lots of debris on the path in fall. Expect to share with runners, cyclists etc. as this is a popular spot.
- Bergen County bike path system Bergen County has 15 miles of paved bike trails. The park is mostly flat with small rolling grades, especially the bridges. You can access this system from trailheads off Ackerman Rd in Glen Rock; at the duck pond off E. Ridgewood Ave in Ridgewood; in Paramus, at Dunkerhook Park on Paramus Rd, just north of Century Rd. In Fair Lawn, there is an entrance off Century Rd. In Saddle Brook there is access off Saddle River Rd. The only problem is under some of the bridges if the water reaches flood stage and recedes it takes several days for the mud to be cleared.
- Dorbrook Recreation Area, County Road 537, Colts Neck NJ. Part of the Monmouth County park system. There's a 2.4-mile paved bike path, comprised of flat and gently rolling terrain.
- Westchester County bike path The northern terminus is in Lake Mahopac, NY; it runs south to Briarcliff Manor NY. Generally excellent pavement, although there are 1 or 2 places with frost heaves. I park where the bike path crosses U.S. Route 202 east of the Taconic Parkway in Yorktown. From this point, out to Lake Mahopac and back is around 3 hours at an easy pace, and there is plenty more available. There are several other places to park both north and south of Route 202.
- SUNY Purchase, Anderson Hill Rd., Purchase NY. If you live in Bergen County or want variety, the SUNY campus is a good bet. A 5 km, rolling road encircles the campus, with both gentle grades and a couple of shorter, stiffer climbs. About half the road has a good shoulder. Just watch out for the two cobblestoned sections near the dormitories! P.S. Motorists generally disregard the 25 m.p.h. speed limit here.