Walking Across the Garden State: The FreeWalkers Cross-Jersey Challenge

100 Miles from Trenton to Manhattan: March 22 to May 31, 2025

Written by Charles Updike

In 1963, President Kennedy posed to America a question that inspired the creation of FreeWalkers. Are you physically fit enough to walk fifty miles in one day? A half century later, it was FreeWalkers delivering a longer challenge, that of walking one hundred miles across New Jersey. Now, as FreeWalkers celebrates its 15th anniversary, the Cross-Jersey Challenge, which embodies so much of the history of the organization, has returned to the calendar for the spring of 2025.

The Birth of a Walking Movement

FreeWalkers emerged in 2010 from founder Paul Kiczek's personal quest to complete the 50-mile walking challenge initially proposed by President Kennedy. As a teenager in 1963, Kiczek had attempted this feat, making it 38 miles before stopping. Nearly five decades later, he reached out to Mike Kruimer at the East Coast Greenway Alliance for support in creating a formal 50-mile walk event. This collaboration birthed not only the Big Walk, which ultimately grew into a complete cross-Jersey route, but also the FreeWalkers organization itself, which has since grown into a

community of thousands of members hosting dozens of walking events annually.

Our philosophy remains unchanged since our inception: walking events should be free, open to everyone, easy to access via transit where possible, and allow participants to move at their own pace and distance. After fifteen years, we continue to ask our members Paul's inspiring question: "Can you do more than you ever thought you could?"

The 2025 Cross-Jersey Challenge: A 100-Mile Journey

For spring 2025, FreeWalkers presents the ambitious Cross-Jersey Challenge – an opportunity to walk 100 miles across New Jersey along the East Coast Greenway from Pennsylvania to New York City. This signature event series includes five distinct walks that can be completed over three to five days, showcasing the Garden State's diverse landscapes, historic sites, and urban treasures.

Spring Ahead Walk: The Season Opener (March 22, optional)

The journey begins with the Spring Ahead Walk, a 14-mile trek from Trenton to Princeton that serves as the traditional kickoff to the spring walking season. Starting at the Trenton Transit Center, we visit historic ground where the fledging American revolution of 1776 was saved from near collapse. We cross the Roebling pedestrian bridge into Stacy Park and continue to Olmstead's Cadwalader Park, enjoying natural paths through New Jersey's capital city. The route continues along the Delaware and Raritan Canal towpath, passing notable landmarks

including Mill Hill Park, the Old Barracks, the State Capitol, and the Battle of Trenton Monument before arriving in Princeton. It's an ideal opportunity for walkers to shake off winter and prepare for the more demanding walks ahead, because it's time to get moving again!

Great Canal Walk: A Natural Challenge (April 5)

Two weeks later, walkers will tackle the Great Canal Walk, covering either 28 or 40 miles from Princeton or Trenton, respectively, to New Brunswick. This more challenging segment follows the D&R Canal towpath through picturesque towns including Kingston, Griggstown, Millstone, Manville, and Bound Brook. The serene canal path provides a remote walking experience through nature, with historic canal locks, towering trees, and wildlife sightings along the way.

The Kruimer Walk: Connecting History (April 27)

Named in honor of Mike and Anne Kruimer of the East Coast Greenway, who have supported the Challenge for many years, this 13-mile walk connects New Brunswick to Metropark in Iselin. This pleasant and easy journey guides us through Highland Park, Edison, Woodbridge, and Metuchen on predominantly paved terrain. Highlights include Roosevelt Park and the Thomas Edison Center at Menlo Park, with its impressive monument, museum, and grounds celebrating America's most

prolific inventor. And we get to walk the world's first electrified street. Paul describes the walk as a "quirky mixture celebrating the old and new, the industrial and post-industrial."

Paul's Big Walk: The Signature Challenge (May 17)

The centerpiece of the Cross-Jersey Challenge is Paul's Big Walk, celebrating the original 50-mile walk that launched FreeWalkers in 2010. Recently renamed to honor our founder Paul Kiczek, this rigorous journey follows the East Coast Greenway from Metropark through Iselin, Avenel, Rahway, Cranford, Kenilworth, Union, Elizabeth, Newark, Kearny, and Jersey City before culminating in Manhattan. Walkers experience the diverse landscapes of New Jersey, from suburban parks like Merrill Park and Nomahegan Park to urban green spaces including Weequahic Park, Lincoln Park, and Liberty State Park, with stunning views of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline along the Hudson River Greenway.

Staten Island Marathon Walk: The Final Stretch (May 31, optional)

For those who prefer to break up the 50-mile challenge, an option exists to complete 24 miles of Paul's Big Walk to Elizabeth, then finish the remaining distance on the Staten Island Marathon Walk. This final segment takes walkers through Elizabeth and Staten Island before ending in Manhattan, showcasing the surprisingly beautiful and expansive park system of Staten Island. We enjoy the view from the Goethals Bridge, walk through New York City's largest city park, the Staten Island Greenway, walk on beach and boardwalk along Staten Island's southern shore, and have a spectacular ride on the ferry to Manhattan.

The Legacy of the Challenge

So many of our veteran walkers originally started their journey with FreeWalkers along the cross-Jersey route.  As a solitary long-distance walker, I accidentally discovered FreeWalkers late in 2014 when I stumbled onto the Great Canal Walk posted for the following spring, and decided to give a forty mile amble a try. I was amazed to find a cohort of people as crazy as me in their determination to walk. The Kruimer Walk and Big Walk followed, after which I was further surprised to find myself hooked on the spirit and the people that make FreeWalkers special.

I find that there is something powerful about connecting walking segments together in this manner. To connect distant points on foot is to make the land yours forever, etching the details and contours of the journey in your mind in a way that cannot be experienced through the windshield of an automobile. While the spirit of FreeWalkers flows through all of our varied events, it is difficult to fully know what Freewalkers is at its core without walking the Challenge.

History, Nature, Scenic Beauty

The course of the Cross-Jersey Challenge is a testament to New Jersey's nickname as the Garden State while also showcasing its urban evolution and development. This 100-mile journey provides walkers with a comprehensive scenic tour of dramatic contrast between natural and urban environments, making it a truly remarkable walking experience full of nature, history and scenery. The many parks we visit offer natural beauty and urban landscaping, including the Delaware and Raritan Canal towpath, the Middlesex Greenway, the Rahway River Parkway, Merrill Park in Woodbridge, Nomahegan Park in Cranford, Weequahic Park in Newark, and Lincoln Park and Liberty State Park in Jersey City. The walk culminates with magnificent views of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline. This hard-fought reward of dramatic urban vistas provides both visual delight and a sense of approaching accomplishment.

Building Connections Beyond Footpaths

The Cross-Jersey Challenge exemplifies FreeWalkers' commitment to not only promoting physical fitness but also connecting communities. As a 501(c)3 non-profit, FreeWalkers partners with trail advocacy groups like the East Coast Greenway Alliance, which is developing a 3,000-mile multi-use trail from Maine to Florida. The Challenge follows the New Jersey section of the Greenway, helping to raise awareness of this great resource for walkers and cyclists, while providing a unique adventure for our determined walkers. As FreeWalkers observes its fifteenth anniversary, the 2025 Cross-Jersey Challenge represents both a celebration of our history and an ongoing invitation to join a growing movement of walking enthusiasts. From the colonial heritage of Trenton to the bustling development of Jersey City, the route passes through diverse communities that tell the story of the Garden State's evolution. The Cross-Jersey Challenge stands as a testament to the natural appeal of long-distance walking and the vision of a founder who transformed a presidential fitness challenge into a movement that continues to inspire thousands to explore life on foot.