Atlantic City and the Jersey Shore keep travelers booking flights to New Jersey every year. But New Jersey has a history that extends beyond the boardwalk casinos and the saltwater taffy that made these Jersey towns famous.
Does the name Thomas Edison ring a bell? Amid the smoke stacks and cloudy overcast that is synonymous with the New Jersey skyline, Thomas Edison occupied factories in West Orange and Menlo Park to create hundreds of inventions still used today. If Thomas Edison doesn’t impress, fly to New Jersey and pay homage to some of rock and roll’s royalty – Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and of course, Frank Sinatra.
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New Jersey has four distinct seasons. Winter is chilly and has some snow, and spring is mild. January temperatures are usually in the 30s (F) and 40s, and April can reach the low 70s. Summers can be hot and humid with temperatures reaching the 80s and 90s. Fall is warm with spectacular foliage and temperatures in the 60s in October. Hurricanes can hit New Jersey, but it is an unusual occurrence as are nor’easters. The annual snowfall is about 16 inches, most of which is in the northern part of the state.
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Peak Season:
Tourism is New Jersey’s second largest industry, and the resorts and beaches are jam packed during the peak summer season, especially on weekends. Cape May is also very crowded in summer. Princeton graduations are in May and June at which time New Jersey flights and accommodations are expensive and hard to find. Northwestern New Jersey’s Skylands are busy in winter with skiers and snowboarders.
Off Season:
The water along the Jersey shore is still warm well after Labor Day and most of the crowds have left. Late spring is also a quiet time to visit the beaches. Reduced rates on New Jersey flights and hotel rooms are also available in the winter, particularly in the Cape May area where the Victorian architecture is stunning year-round.
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The New Jersey scenery makes having a car worthwhile. The state is 40 percent forest and 20 percent farmland with nearly 130 miles of beaches from Sandy Hook to Cape May.
If you are in a hurry, New Jersey has two airports, Newark and Atlantic City, and trains stop in Trenton, Princeton, and Newark. Hoboken, Newark, and Jersey City are connected with the PATH train which also connects to Manhattan. There is some bus service from town to town, but it tends to be unreliable.
The Atlantic City casinos are on a one-mile stretch of the Boardwalk, along which you can either walk or catch a ride in an old-fashioned rolling chair. The Atlantic City Jitney covers the city’s landmarks, and driving is an option in this area.
Central Princeton is easily explored on foot and there are walking tours. There are also guided campus tours, but they are very crowded in summer. Cape May is best explored on foot and bikes are good for wandering the surrounding areas.
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- The world-famous New Jersey sandcastle contest in Belmar takes place in June/July. Now in its 21st year, entries last year included lots of sandcastles, sharks, a sea turtle, gorilla, Santa Claus, treasure chest and a wedding cake.
- See a new movie at an old theatre: the Delsea Drive-In in Vineland is New Jersey's only drive-in. There is space for about 330 cars and the screen is 120-feet wide. A double bill costs $6 and the soundtrack to the movie is broadcast to car or portable radio.
- The elegant beach town of Cape May was the Hamptons of the 19th century. Today, there are stately bed-and-breakfasts, beautiful streets and ocean views. Not only does it host Sherlock Holmes Weekends in November and March, but there are also ghost tours on which the legends of pirate Blackbeard, Esmerelda of Jackson Street and the Knerr sisters are recounted.
- Storybook Land, 10 miles west of Atlantic City, will delight the little ones. Walk through the children’s classics and nursery rhymes including Little Red Riding Hood, the Merry Miller and Mistress Mary’s Garden.
- Doris Duke: the heiress and philanthropist’s grand 2,700-acre estate in Hillsborough has 11 different types of gardens including Chinese, Japanese, Italian, French and English.
- The Pinelands National Reserve is 1.1 million acres of open space between Richmond and Boston on the mid-Atlantic coast. It is the first national reserve and a U.S. Biosphere Reserve of the Man and the Biosphere Program. Search for the Jersey Devil, who is said to roam the wetland areas. Apart from looking for the devil, visitors hike, go boating and canoeing, swim, camp, picnic, ride horses and fish.
- Glenmont in West Orange is the home of Thomas Alva Edison - The Wizard of Menlo Park - inventor of the lightbulb, stock-ticker and phonograph among many, many others. There are tours of the grounds and restored greenhouse as well as interpretive programs.
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