Road cycling in Monmouth County, NJ

Monmouth County has some of the best road riding in New Jersey: farm roads around Colts Neck, the hills of the Highlands, and the shore. It also has fast county roads with no shoulder and state highways cutting through every town. The trick is linking the good roads without riding the bad ones.

Updated October 2026

Shoulders on Monmouth's county roads

County routes (the 500-series and the rest) are the roads that connect Monmouth's towns, so most loops use some of them. New Jersey's transportation department measured the paved shoulder on about 380 miles of Monmouth County roads:

35%no shoulder at all

34%1 to 2 feet

8%3 feet

22%4 feet or more

So only about one county-road mile in five has the 4 feet of shoulder that really works for a bike. The survey dates from 2007 imagery; some roads have been widened or restriped since, which is why RideLoop also checks recent street-level photos.

What riders have graded so far

RideLoop riders grade the roads their loops use, for pavement, shoulder and traffic. Grades are shared, so every loop makes the map better. In and around Monmouth County so far:

800+roads graded

345 miof road checked

70%quiet traffic

1 in 13rough enough to avoid

The road-by-road grades are in the app: sign in, set your start, and loops are built on the roads that graded well.

Where to ride

Colts Neck and Marlboro

Horse farms, orchards and long, quiet roads make this the heart of Monmouth road riding. Route 34 and the busier county routes run through the middle and carry fast traffic, so a good loop crosses them rather than following them. Dorbrook Recreation Area in Colts Neck is a common place to park and start.

Holmdel and Middletown

Rolling terrain and wooded roads. The Highlands toward Atlantic Highlands have the steepest climbs in the county; Mount Mitchill is the highest point on the Atlantic coast south of Maine.

Matawan, Aberdeen and Keyport

Denser streets with more traffic, but the Henry Hudson Trail runs through here, and side streets give quiet ways out. Some neighborhoods have only one way out across a creek or rail line, so the first and last mile matter.

Freehold and Manalapan

The southern section of the Henry Hudson Trail starts in Freehold. West of Route 9 the roads open up into farm country that links toward Colts Neck and Millstone.

The shore

Ocean Avenue and the roads behind the beach towns are flat and scenic, and Sandy Hook has a multi-use path along the peninsula. Summer weekends bring heavy beach traffic, so early mornings and the off-season are the best times.

Tips for Monmouth loops

Cross the state highways (34, 35, 36, 9, 18, 79) at lights rather than riding along them.
Treat shoulderless county roads as connectors: short stretches between quiet roads, at quiet hours.
The Henry Hudson Trail is a good way through the north of the county, but it has road crossings and slower trail traffic.
New Jersey's Safe Passing Law requires drivers to change lanes, or give 4 feet, or slow to 25 mph when passing you.

Build a Monmouth loop on graded roads

Start from home or anywhere on the map, pick a distance, and send it to your Garmin.

Plan a loop, free