Nice Drives: Northern New Jersey

• Pretty, fun drive
• Sustainable farming
• Wineries
• 30 miles long

• Drive north on Route 15 from Wharton and turn right (east) onto Berkshire Valley Road (just past Picatinny Arsenal).
• Follow it as it meanders up the mountain
• About 9 miles from Route 15 is a light – go straight here
• ½ mile beyond the light, you will go over a bridge – try to catch the view to your left – and take the very next left turn on to Reservoir Road.
• Park on the side and watch boaters and fishermen.
• Take a left on Route 23, to go north here and a couple of light ups,
• Make a right onto Route 515 – the first 7 or 8 miles are windy and pretty – look for small lakes and ponds through the woods.

• From Newark to the Great Swamp,
• Of cities and suburbs
• 50 miles long

Start in Newark at CR 510

• Go through Morristown
• Pick up CR 604 south
• End at Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

Destinations:
The urban “Ironbound” of Newark
Follow urban expansion to the leafy suburbs
National Historic Park
Jockey Hollow in Morristown
Great Swamp
Source: DiIonno, Mark, “Backroads, New Jersey, Driving at the Speed of Life,” Rutgers University Press, 2002

• Historic NJ
• Shows autumn foliage
• 40 miles long

Start: Route 24 west, leaving Morristown

• Follow Route 24 and CR 510 to Chester
• After Chester, follow Route 24 and CR 513 through Califon, to Route 31
• Go south on Route 31 to Clinton

Destinations:
Antiquing in Chester
Ken Lockwood Gorge, a famous fly-fishing spot, south of Califon
Voorhees State Park, including hiking, fishing and night time astronomical observatory
Clinton Historic Mill
Source: Jen Allen, John Peppas, Palisades

• State parks and northwest beauty
• 100 miles

Start at Interstate 78 exit 3, north on 173, then  north on CR 519 until Interstate 80

Or Start at Interstate 80 exit 12

• Meander north up CR 521
• CR 521 merges with Route 206 – go north until 521 breaks off at Montague
• Near Port Jarvis, join Route 23 South

Destinations:
Stokes State Forest, near Normanock
Swartswood State Park
High Point State Park, reached off Route 23
Access to the Appalachian trail

Source: DiIonno, Mark, “Backroads, New Jersey, Driving at the Speed of Life,” Rutgers University Press, 2002

• Iron mining towns of the 1800s
• 50 miles long

Start: Exit 41 off Interstate 287, north on CR 511

• Drive north, to Ringwood

Destinations:
Ringwood State Park, near Ringwood
Ringwood Manor, Skylands Manor 
NJ State Botanical Garden
Longwood Ironworks State Park

Source: DiIonno, Mark, “Backroads, New Jersey, Driving at the Speed of Life,” Rutgers University Press, 2002

• Palisades Interstate Parkway
• Demographic cross-section – suburban to urban
• Liberty State Park
• 130 miles long

Start: Palisades Interstate Parkway north, starting at Fort Lee, next to the George Washington Bridge.

• Drive north on the Palisades Interstate Parkway
• Get off at exit 2, go left on Palisades Boulevard, right on CR 502 west, than, after about 1 mile, left CR 501 south
• Drive south through white, Korean, Hispanic, and European immigrant communities, ending at Bayonne

Destinations:
Palisades Interstate Park, with 700 acres along 13 miles of the Palisades along the Hudson
Liberty State Park, including the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
Liberty Science Center

Source: DiIonno, Mark, “Backroads, New Jersey, Driving at the Speed of Life,” Rutgers University Press, 2002; Go-New-Jersey.com