Community Corner
Bike Along the Hackensack River at Johnson Park
Grab your bike and head down to Johnson Park and the Hackensack River Pathway for sweet ride
Tucked away at the northeast corner of River Road and Anderson Street in Hackensack is Johnson Park. This green space connects downtown Hackensack with Farleigh Dickenson University. It contains recreational facilities for the entire family.
The parking lot for Johnson park is off River Road at the south end of the park. A small playground and five tennis courts are nearby. Continuing north, a resident will pass the field house and two sports fields. Fences separate the Johnson Park from police training facilities and parks department buildings that are closed to the general public.
A path for pedestrians and cyclists runs through Johnson Park. It starts at the park entrance where River Road and Anderson Street meet. Then it travels along the west bank of the Hackensack River. A riparian buffer separates the path from the river, although a few gaps in the vegetation allow pleasant views of the Hackensack. Marsh grasses dominate much of the riparian buffer, but trees and shrubbery are also present there. Residents can take the path all the way to the FDU campus.
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The Johnson Park path feeds into the Hackensack River Pathway, a Bergen County park. The Hackensack River Pathway borders the Hackensack River behind FDU and the county's technical schools. It comes to a dead end just before Route 4. There are resting spots with benches and educational signs on either end of the pathway and at the bridge that connects the two halves of FDU's campus.
Johnson Park and the Hackensack River Pathway combine to provide alternatives to automobiles for those who want to travel between FDU and downtown Hackensack. Extending the Hackensack River Pathway all the way to the Van Steuben House would connect downtown Hackensack residents and FDU students to a historic park and 2 malls. They would benefit greatly from pedestrian and cyclist access to these recreational and commercial centers. Hopefully, Bergen County will extend the Hackensack River Pathway once an improving economy increases the available budget.