Some Facts About Rail-Trails There are nearly 10,000 miles of rail-trails in the United States. More than 2,000 rail trails exist in  48 states.   New Jersey has 20 rail-trails distancing over 200 miles from Cape May to Sussex Counties.  These include two rail-trails in Monmouth County: the Henry Hudson Trail and the Edgar Felix Bikeway.   Developing rail-trails from unused or abandoned railroad corridors is a cost-efficient way to create and add to area recreational resources without having to acquire expensive open property.   Rail-trails provide safe, quiet places for children and adults to walk, cycle, skate, ride horses and cross-country ski away from busy roads.  When surfaced with macadam, rail-trails can be made accessible to people in wheelchairs.   Rail-trails bring economic benefits to the towns through which they pass, from development and maintenance jobs and money spent by trail users in nearby retail stores and attractions.   Realtors in some large cities in which rail-trails pass through residential neighborhoods claim that houses adjacent to a trail can sell for up to six percent more than houses farther away, because the rail-trail is viewed as a selling asset.   Privacy of adjacent home owners can be maintained by planting shrubs and installing fencing.  Studies have proved that vandalism is nearly non-existent in residential areas.      BACK