5 New Jersey Road Trips: The Shore, Of Course, But Ghostly Things, Too

NEW JERSEY — First impressions about New Jersey — for example, those people form when they fly into the Newark airport and try to get anywhere from there — are often misleading.

Yes, New Jersey has one of the country’s highest population densities. Once the riddle of how to get around is solved, there’s plenty to do in New Jersey’s urban core. But New Jersey also has rugged hills, enormous stretches of pine forest and lush horse country.

When the need to get out of the city calls, here are five New Jersey road trips to consider:

Drive the Jersey Shore: This quintessential New Jersey road trip is about 125 miles via the Garden State Parkway but is best spread over two or three days so there will be plenty of time to explore interesting charming beach towns, see lighthouses and stroll along the state’s famous boardwalks.

Start in Sandy Hook at the Gateway National Recreation Area and end at Cape May, known for its charming inns and high-end dining scene. A sample three-day Jersey Shore itinerary on the state tourism website takes road trippers through Long Branch, home of Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park; the historic downtown of Asbury Park; Pleasant Point Beach and Jenkinson’s Aquarium; Forked River; Bay Front Park; Atlantic City, famous for its casinos and boardwalk along with offbeat attractions like Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Museum; and Ocean City before ending at Cape May.

Take a haunted road trip: If you’re haunted by the notion of paranormal activity, stick around Cape May for some potentially hair-raising encounters at Emlen Physick Estate, the Cape May Lighthouse or Hotel Macomber, where a shabbily dressed waitress and former patron of the hotel can be heard dragging her trunk across the floor.

Head next to Ocean City and the Flanders Hotel. Legend has it the historic hotel has been visited by spirits who can be heard laughing in the hallways and who include a young, red-headed woman named Emily.

This road trip, put together by Only In Your State, takes about six and one-half hours of driving time, according to this route on Google maps. Among other stops where ghostly encounters have reportedly occurred are the Old Tennent Cemetery and Church in Manalapan, a makeshift hospital during the Revolutionary War whose where the pews are reportedly still stained from blood from soldiers in the Battle of Monmouth. The Seabrook-Wilson House at Port Monmouth is known among paranormal experts as “the most haunted home in America,” the otherworldly visitors at Ringwood Manor State Park supposedly include Robert Erskine, George Wshington’s cartographer, and the reported ghosts at the Widow McCrea House in Frenchtown include a cat.

This haunting tour ends at the Red Mill Museum Village in Clinton, where visitors have reported seeing a re-enactor on the third floor — but, shivers, the museum doesn’t employ period re-enactors. It’s a great place to visit around Halloween when the museum’s haunted attraction is one of its biggest fundraisers.

Immerse yourself in the arts: For a small town of a little over 14,000 residents, Collingswood has a lot going for it. It’s gaining quite a reputation as an arts town with a range of vintage to modern theaters, community arts centers, seasonal festivals and its dining scene. The area is about 80 miles from Newark on I-95 South.

MK Apothecary, a 100-year-old pharmacy that was transformed into a gallery features “art that goes against the grain and challenges the status quo” and is “bold with definitive style,” according to the website.

Close by is the Haddonville Outdoor Sculpture Trust featuring about 30 works from acclaimed artists, some permanently installed, others on loan or lease and available to purchase.

While you’re in Haddon Township, check out the Ritz Theatre Co., a 334-seat vaudeville movie house, a National Register of Historic Places-listed property that is the only one in the area that still has its original design.

Get away from it all in Sussex County: One of New Jersey’s most rural counties and its northernmost, Sussex County offers breathtaking natural beauty with a scenic landscape that includes mountains, lakes, rivers and rural farms. It’s about 55 miles from Newark via New Jersey 15 North.

With so much to do, consider staying overnight at one of the historic inns or campgrounds. Some 1,803 feet above sea level, High Point State Park offers views of a spectacular panorama of rich farmland and forest, soft hills and lush valleys in three states. Inside the park are the 20-acre Lake Marcia, which offers trout and bass fishing; more than 50 miles of trails for horseback riding, mountain biking and hiking.

The Pochuck Appalachian Trail Boardwalk, the Stairway to Heaven Trail in Vernon Township, or Wawayanda State Park in Hewitt provide more opportunities for physical activity. There’s plenty more to do. Farm stands are brimming with just-out-of-the-garden produce at this time of year. Skydive Sussex, open from April to November, specializes in first-time tandem skydiving from 14,500 feet, the highest in the tri-state area.

Or, take out some time to visit the Elias Van Bunschooten Museum, a Dutch Colonial farmhouse, stands almost as it did when it was built in the late 1700s. The exhibit also includes a barn, wagon house, ice house and a Greek Revival privy. Special events are held from May to October, with a few remaining yet in August.

Plan right now and you can still take in a county fair: The Hunterdon County 4-H and Agricultural Fair is coming up Aug. 23-27. If you’ve never been to a county fair, you haven’t truly experienced rural America. The schedule of events includes things like a hay bale toss, pedal tractor pulls, magic shows, circus acrobatic acts, lots of music and a midway. That’s just a sampling, though.

The main attraction, though, is the competition for blue ribbons among 4-H kids. Be sure to wander through the various livestock barns, buildings and tents to see the culmination of a year’s worth. Talk to these kids about what they fed their calf or what they learned from their project, and you’ll peel away a slice of rural life you might not have thought existed in New Jersey. Adults take their crops, flowers, garden produce, baked and canned goods, quilts and more to the fair, too.

The fairgrounds are located at South County Park, just off Route 179 in Ringoes. The physical address is 1207 Route 179, Lambertville. Via 1-78 West and U.S. 202 South, it’s about 55 miles from Newark.

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