West Essex Trail

The West Essex Trail is a former railroad track bed of the Erie Lackawanna Railroad Caldwell Branch[1] now hiking trail located mostly in Essex County, New Jersey in the United States,[2] with a small section in Passaic County, New Jersey.

[3] Proceeding south the trail crosses County Route 612 in Little Falls at 0.2 miles.

[4] At 1.5 miles the trail crosses the Peckman River[4] on the old railroad bridge before crossing Pompton Avenue (Route 23), where there are remnants[5] of the old Erie Railroad Cedar Grove Station[6] on the south side of the tracks[7] and stairs leading down to Pompton Avenue.

Just north of Keeney St was the Erie Railroad Overbrook Station.

[7] The rail bed continues through Verona passing under Bloomfield Avenue (the tunnel has since been filled in), Essex Fells and Roseland before rejoining active rail lines in Roseland at Interstate 280.

The northern trailhead of the West Essex Trail is located where the Erie Railroad Caldwell Branch split from the still active Montclair Branch. The trail can be seen in the left of the image. Image taken at 40°52'21.0"N 74°12'38.9"W facing west.