New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is the most densely populated state in the nation; heavily urban, suburban and industrialized. Despite this, it's well known for its vibrant beach towns and natural attractions, including the Pine Barrens, the migratory birds of Cape May, the Delaware Water Gap, a portion of the Appalachian Trail, and the Palisades. New Jersey's nickname of "The Garden State" rings true, with over a quarter of the state's land dedicated to agriculture, which can be seen in the blueberry farms and cranberry bogs that exist throughout the state's western and southern regions.
New Jersey is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and by the states of New York to the north and northeast, Pennsylvania to the west, and Delaware to the southwest. The northeastern parts of New Jersey are suburbs of New York City, just across the Hudson River, and the southwestern parts are suburbs of Philadelphia, just across the Delaware River.
New Jersey is commonly simply divided into two regions: North Jersey and South Jersey. For the purpose of this guide, those two regions will be further divided into five areas.
- Trenton. – The state capital and home of The College of New Jersey (TCNJ)
- Atlantic City. – A famed 1800s oceanfront resort town reborn as a gambling center in the late 1970s
- Camden. – Rough with vast stretches of poverty, the city is also home to the USS New Jersey, better known as Battleship New Jersey, and Adventure Aquarium.
- Hoboken. – A reborn former industrial city on the Hudson River with plenty of bars, restaurants, music and awesome views of Manhattan. Hoboken is also the original home of Carlo's Bakery.
- Jersey City. – New Jersey's second largest city, its financial sector complements Wall Street across the river and ferries for the Statue of Liberty leave from Liberty State Park.
- Newark. – New Jersey's largest city has notable cultural centers of art and music, the New Jersey Devils hockey team, and fantastic cuisines from around the globe.
- New Brunswick. – Home to the original and largest campus of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, a public research university founded in 1766.
- Paterson. – Site of the Great Falls of the Passaic River, a National Historical Park whose namesake waterfall powered factories and made the city the cradle of the Industrial Revolution
- Princeton. – Home of the Ivy-League Princeton University, and the many hip bars, restaurants, cafes, bookstores, and music venues that come with a "college town".
- Union - home of Bed Bath & Beyond's headquarters.
Trenton. – The state capital and home of The College of New Jersey (TCNJ)
Atlantic City. – A famed 1800s oceanfront resort town reborn as a gambling center in the late 1970s
Camden. – Rough with vast stretches of poverty, the city is also home to the USS New Jersey, better known as Battleship New Jersey, and Adventure Aquarium.
Hoboken. – A reborn former industrial city on the Hudson River with plenty of bars, restaurants, music and awesome views of Manhattan. Hoboken is also the original home of Carlo's Bakery.
Jersey City. – New Jersey's second largest city, its financial sector complements Wall Street across the river and ferries for the Statue of Liberty leave from Liberty State Park.
Newark. – New Jersey's largest city has notable cultural centers of art and music, the New Jersey Devils hockey team, and fantastic cuisines from around the globe.
New Brunswick. – Home to the original and largest campus of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, a public research university founded in 1766.
Paterson. – Site of the Great Falls of the Passaic River, a National Historical Park whose namesake waterfall powered factories and made the city the cradle of the Industrial Revolution
Princeton. – Home of the Ivy-League Princeton University, and the many hip bars, restaurants, cafes, bookstores, and music venues that come with a "college town".
[[Union City (New Jersey)|Union]] - home of Bed Bath & Beyond's headquarters.
- . Crystal Springs — Large rural resort area featuring golf courses, hotels, a ski area and a waterpark
- Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. — Camping, hiking and rafting in a large valley on the Delaware River
- Island Beach State Park. — stretch of undeveloped barrier island, the last in the state
- Lake Hopatcong. — New Jersey's largest lake provides boating and swimming for families and singles.
- The Pine Barrens — A natural pine forest that covers about a third of the state
- Six Flags Great Adventure. — Massive amusement park and safari, with neighboring waterpark
- Sterling Mine. — Former mine offering tours through caverns of fluorescent rock
- Thomas Edison National Historical Park. — National park preserves famous inventor Thomas Edison's home and laboratory complex
- Liberty State Park.
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. — Camping, hiking and rafting in a large valley on the Delaware River
Island Beach State Park. — stretch of undeveloped barrier island, the last in the state
Lake Hopatcong. — New Jersey's largest lake provides boating and swimming for families and singles.
The [[Pine Barrens]] — A natural pine forest that covers about a third of the state
Six Flags Great Adventure. — Massive amusement park and safari, with neighboring waterpark
Sterling Mine. — Former mine offering tours through caverns of fluorescent rock
Thomas Edison National Historical Park. — National park preserves famous inventor Thomas Edison's home and laboratory complex
Liberty State Park.
New Jersey's geography varies across the state. Much of the northern half of the state is made up of the easternmost hills of the Appalachian Mountains and other small ridge lines. Between these ridges lie the fertile river valleys that give New Jersey its "Garden State" nickname. High Point, at the border with New York in Sussex County, is the highest mountain in the state at .
The southern half of the state is part of the Atlantic Plain, and as such is very flat. Much less developed, this area is covered in large part by the Pine Barrens. The Jersey Shore stretches along the coastline, and for much of its length is made up of narrow, long barrier islands.
New Jersey has four distinct seasons.
Winter in the state is usually marked by cold temperatures and frequent snowstorms that can drop anywhere from just a couple inches to up to . It is not unheard of in the worst winters for temperatures to drop below freezing for long stretches, especially in January and February. This varies from year to year, however, and in some years winter may feature relatively mild temperatures and only one or two snowstorms.
Spring in New Jersey starts out cold and often damp, with rainstorms common in March. By late April and early May, temperatures begin to rise and trees and flowers bloom throughout the state.
Summer features brilliant sun that is only rarely scorching, with occasional heat waves. Humidity is often high, but the months are punctuated by spells of lower humidity that bring everyone outside to enjoy the weather.
Leaves start to turn color in September and Nor'easters (large subtropical rainstorms that travel up the coast) begin to occur, continuing through October. By late month, most of the leaves have fallen, and winter sets in throughout November.
New Jersey is the most densely populated state and as such has a diverse population, rich culture, and many assets, including abundant natural resources and various Fortune 500 companies.
New Jersey's big cities are centers of government and commerce. Though parts of the larger cities have become run down with deindustrialization since the 1970s, they still have a lot to offer. Princeton, Hoboken and New Brunswick in particular are great cities and inhabited by the middle to upper class. Most New Jerseyans of middle class, however, prefer to live in the suburbs, which exploded in the state in the post-war era of the 1950s and 1960s. Rich folks cluster in certain old, established towns and rural enclaves like Alpine, Mendham, and Millburn. More than a third of the state, including the Pine Barrens, is rural and sparsely populated, with little or no public transportation.
There is a strong New York influence in the northern part of the state and Philadelphia influence in the south. All major local TV and radio stations that serve New Jersey are located in those cities. New Jersey also serves as a bedroom community for many people who work in New York City or Philadelphia. Accordingly, strong regional affiliations within the state are split among those lines, and distinct cultural differences can be seen between "North Jersey" and "South Jersey".
English is spoken throughout the state, and Spanish speakers can be found in most of the large cities and suburban areas of the Gateway and Delaware River regions.
People flock to New Jersey from all over, especially from New York City and Philadelphia, making it difficult to isolate the New Jersey accent. North Jersey's accent is strongly influenced by New York, and South Jersey's accent is strongly influenced by Philadelphia. Disparaging references to a "New Joisey" accent, "guidos" (working class Italian-Americans), the popular HBO series The Sopranos, or any part of the state's physical appearance are not recommended. Such characterizations are unwarranted and in many cases outdated, and may be resented by residents.
New Jersey has many scenic sites, including the majestic Palisades (where Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton), opposite New York City on the western banks of the Hudson River. The cliffs rise about 300 to 500 feet in areas and give a breathtaking view of New York City across the river. There are also many mountains located in the western portion of the states that are full of many trails.
You can also visit the majestic, very wild Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area off Interstate 80. You can coast down the Delaware River on an inner tube, go canoeing and more there.
On Christmas Day you can watch a reenactment of Washington's crossing of the Delaware River just north of Trenton off NJ29.
No matter what you are interested in, you will probably find it in New Jersey. Fine beaches where you can surf, swim, sunbathe, or play volleyball in the summer, and run, stroll, walk your dog, or fly kites off season. Some skiing in the Skylands region, hot air ballooning in Clinton, and canoeing in the Pine Barrens. Hiking trails and campsites, especially in Southern and Northwestern New Jersey. Plenty of nature preserves for birdwatchers and photographers. Many bed and breakfasts. Spectator sports, including two professional football teams, horseracing Monmouth Park and at Meadowlands Racetrack in the Meadowlands Sports Complex, and (at last count) 8 baseball teams, along with Sky Blue Soccer, a new women's professional soccer team. Many museums, concert halls, and historic sites, including George Washington's winter headquarters in Morristown. Several tourist railroads and preservation groups offer (in season) Santa Train Rides and Easter Bunny Train Rides . Several college towns, including New Brunswick (Rutgers) and Princeton. Places of worship for every religion, may offering services in various languages. Virtually any kind of food you can imagine. Nightlife ranging from casinos in Atlantic City, to Albert Hall in Waretown, to clubs in Belmar, to jazz in Madison. Also some amusement parks, and countless places to shop, including main street stores and boutiques, craft shows, antique shops, estate sales, yard sales, flea markets, farm stands, and farmers' markets, as well as several very large shopping malls.
New Jersey is famous for its Jersey tomatoes, sweet corn, blueberries, and cranberries, and other fresh produce which every visitor will want to experience in season. That is easy to do, because the state has approximately 25,000 eateries, more per square mile than any other state in the US. And if that's not enough, there are loads of farms you can visit and buy from directly. Furthermore, the climate and soils offered there provide for ideal berry-growing environments.
They serve everything from fast food to haute cuisine, including Italian, French, Portuguese, Chinese, Indian, Korean, Japanese, and Syrian. There are also plenty of take-out shops and diners, which do not require reservations, seat patrons promptly, and offer large menus of inexpensive meals, which they serve quickly. Many are open 24 hours and breakfast is served all day.
If you ever need to eat breakfast in New Jersey, try the local processed meat known as “Taylor Ham” or “Pork Roll”. The common rule is that “Taylor Ham” is typically used in the northern parts of the state, while “Pork Roll” is used in the southern parts of the state. A common sandwich eaten in New Jersey is a “Taylor Ham/Pork Roll, egg, and cheese”, typically served on either a Kaiser Roll or a bagel. New Jersey is also very well known for having a large amount of diners, which serve up all kinds of breakfast, lunch, and dinner food for a very reasonable price.
Snack foods are also extremely popular, especially pizza, fries, and bagels. Other favorites include submarine sandwiches, sausage sandwiches, and Italian ice, which are known as hoagies and water ice in South Jersey. There many also enjoy soft pretzels and Philadelphia-style cheesesteaks and breakfast sandwiches of Scrapple, a loaf formed from cornmeal, pork scraps and spices, cut into 1/4 thick slices and fried crisp in butter or oil.
Many places in New Jersey sell "sloppy joes." These are completely different from the food known by that name in the rest of the United States. New Jersey sloppy joes are delicatessen sandwiches such as turkey, corned beef, and pastrami, which may be known as cold cuts in other part of the country. They in no way resemble the sandwich made of ground beef and onions in tomato sauce on a hamburger bun that goes by that name in the rest of the country.
All alcoholic beverages can be purchased in freestanding liquor stores. which are open every day of the week, although for shorter periods on Sundays. A small portion of supermarkets are licensed to sell beer and liquor, however they are the exception, not the rule. Some stores are only licensed to sell warm (non-refrigerated) beer and malts (i.e. Mike's Hard Lemonade), while others may sell liquor, cold beer and wines. Home-rule provisions of state law allow municipalities to stipulate in their zoning that establishments that sell alcohol may not sell anything else beyond accessories to alcohol consumption, effectively prohibiting drugstores or convenience stores from selling beer as they do in most other states (there are a few exceptions, such as New Brunswick).
Since liquor licenses are for the most part limited by a quota system based on population, many communities, particularly smaller ones, may have only one liquor store, and one bar or restaurant with a license. Many establishments without a license are BYOB, or "bring your own bottle", where you are allowed to bring liquor purchased elsewhere to consume with your meal. Again, however, some municipalities are allowed to forbid even this. Bars, restaurants and liquor stores that held their licenses before the quota system was imposed in the late 1940s are exempt from it; this is the main reason why the small resort town of Wildwood in Cape May County has 48 bars.
Underage drinking is illegal and many disapprove of it, but it is common. Anyone who provides alcohol to a person under age 21 may be prosecuted. Drunken driving is illegal and there is no sympathy for those who do it. Anyone caught driving while intoxicated will be prosecuted and may end up in jail. Drunken driving checkpoints are extremely common on the shore (however, New Jersey is the only state in which driving while intoxicated is not a criminal offense; even though violators can and do receive jail time and fines in addition to having their licenses suspended or revoked, a conviction will thus not show up on a criminal background check). Smoking is illegal in all bars and restaurants (save designated "cigar bars").
One restriction in state liquor law has an upside. No establishment with a license for on-premises consumption may offer, as a promotion, discounts for drinks that do not apply to all customers. In other words, there are no Ladies' Nights at bars in New Jersey.
The freedom given to municipalities in regulating alcoholic-beverage sales extends to allowing them to go completely dry. Most of these communities are in South Jersey. The best known is the Cape May County resort of Ocean City, founded during the 19th century by Baptists as a family resort, and still promoted that way.
There are a variety of microbrews to try. Flying Fish, Cricket Hill and Cape May Brewing are recommended. Some liquor stores allow you to purchase individual bottles of beer.
The 7th largest producers of US wines, NJ produces wines from grapes grown in the state. New Jersey has more than 35 wineries that produce nationally and internationally acclaimed wines. You can visit New Jersey's wineries nestled amid rolling hills and breathtaking scenery. More than 250 wines can be sampled at wine festivals across the state where you can listen to great jazz and blues and sample delicious foods and artisan crafts. Along the Wine Trails, you can tour the wineries, discover how wines are made, try a pig roast or catch some fireworks.
New Jersey is a fairly safe place to visit. Suburban and countryside areas are very safe along with most Jersey Shore towns. Cities are mostly safe but do exercise common travel sense. Some neighborhoods of Camden, Newark, Atlantic City, Jersey City, and Trenton are crime prone but it is unlikely that you will visit these areas. As in most US cities, when out at night, stay in well lit and well trafficked areas and you will be fine.
New Jersey has the highest density of car ownership in the United States so expect crowded highways and the occasional irate driver. Many major highways are under construction for expansion purposes, resulting in delays. Traffic tends to move well above the speed limit on the New Jersey Turnpike, The Garden State Parkway, or other highways and you can expect to be tail-gated when driving in the left lane. Best to stick in the middle or right lane if you don't like that sort of thing. The watchword is, drive defensively.
Under no circumstances whatsoever are you to import firearms into the state. New Jersey does not recognize any out-of-state gun licenses and there are no gun offenses that are graded below a felony. Police are known to enforce these laws vigorously, and if caught with a firearm you will be prosecuted, even if you are just a hunter traveling through.
Also, it is illegal to import fireworks into the state unless they are mandated by a municipality for special occasions to be attended by the public at a park or on the shore (i.e. Independence Day). However, you'll find that this is worked around quite easily - it is impossible to cross the border into Pennsylvania and not see signs for on-the-border fireworks shops.
Although the media and other sources portray residents as "rude" and "loud," most natives are proud of their state and are more than willing to help a tourist with directions and other tips. Don't hesitate to ask for assistance. Some areas - especially the famed Jersey Shore - are very used to tourists.
Since the 1980s, New Jersey has seen an increase in its once-nearly-extirpated population of black bears. These critters are most common in the forests of the northwestern counties but have been expanding their territory southwards. Though they can potentially be dangerous if they attack, the vast majority of the time they're just looking for food. Attacks on humans are incredibly rare, but to minimize your chances of an encounter you should handle and dispose of your garbage carefully so the smell won't attract hungry bears.
Culture, accent, and local dialect vary depending on what part of the state you visit. Although NJ is small, the north and south are very different. For example, a large sandwich in the northern region is called a "sub" and in the south the same sandwich is referred to as a "hoagie." The north identifies with New York culture while the south has a strong connection to Philadelphia. This loyalty extends to professional sports teams too. Ignoring these small differences may come off as very rude.
New Jersey natives are very aware of stereotypes fueled by popular television shows such as Jersey Shore and The Sopranos, and can be rather sensitive about how outsiders perceive them. Don't assume everyone from New Jersey is rude, loud, uneducated, etc. Making blanket statements about New Jersey can be rude and will most likely be met with hostility and shunning from locals. On the contrary, most people in New Jersey are remarkably polite and extremely friendly often in a sarcastic but well-intentioned way.
Life in New Jersey moves at a fast pace! A lot of the bustling and quickness stems from the fact that NJ is a densely populated state, squished between two massive metropolitan areas. "Taking it slowly," which is common in other areas of the country, may be met with impatience or even anger. However, if you are looking for a slower pace in New Jersey, the shore towns and the southern end of the state (south of Atlantic City and many towns east of the Garden State Parkway) can be more relaxed as it is more seasonal and more of a vacation area.
- New York — One of the benefits of visiting New Jersey is that you're very close to New York City, which lies just across the Hudson River. Further afield is upstate New York, a generally rural and very beautiful area with a distinct culture.
- Pennsylvania — Philadelphia is just across the Delaware River. Both Interstate 80 and Interstate 78 will take you through Northeastern Pennsylvania to the Poconos and the Lehigh Valley respectively, where there are many things to do year round.
- Delaware — New Jersey's southern neighbor was the first state to ratify the Constitution (hence its nickname of the "First State") and offers an urban experience in its northern parts while providing a rural experience to the south.
[[New York (state)|New York]] — One of the benefits of visiting New Jersey is that you're very close to [[New York City]], which lies just across the Hudson River. Further afield is upstate New York, a generally rural and very beautiful area with a distinct culture.
[[Pennsylvania]] — [[Philadelphia]] is just across the Delaware River. Both Interstate 80 and Interstate 78 will take you through Northeastern Pennsylvania to the [[Poconos]] and the [[Lehigh Valley]] respectively, where there are many things to do year round.
[[Delaware]] — New Jersey's southern neighbor was the first state to ratify the Constitution (hence its nickname of the "First State") and offers an urban experience in its northern parts while providing a rural experience to the south.