I have moved to New Jersey from California 17 years ago, and I have nearly completed my bucket List (things to do in NJ before I "kicks the bucket.) Feel free to post items from your New Jersey Bucket List.
My NJ New Jersey Bucket List.
10. Canoeing in the Pine Barrens - One of the best ways to enjoy the Pine Barrens is a canoe trip down one of the rivers that meander through the pines. The black cedar water is so cool!
9. Blue fishing on the Sea Devil. You can catch the Sea Devil in Point Pleasant and fishing and eating Blues is a Blast! Captain Bob Pennington is cool and my son loves to fish because he had sooooo much fun on the Sea Devil. Ok the Sea Devil leads to number 8.
8. Jenkinson's Boardwalk in Point Pleasant. Rides, food, rock music, BEACH.
7. I love Wild West City. My son had such a great time in the park when he was 7. We purchased a cap gun that he still plays with today. He is 11 now! It is like going back to the seventies and kids from 7-12 just love this place.
6. Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor. MORE FLAGS MORE FUN! If you love rollers coasters, this place is a blast.
5. Mountain Creek both in the winter and the summer. Love to Ski!.
4. Medieval Times is a great dinner attraction with a strange and unique combination of a medieval banquet and thrilling competition between Knights captures the imaginations of all ages. See the movie Cable Guy!
3. Battleship New Jersey - America's most decorated Battleship is now a museum, open for tours, events and overnight encampments. Exploring BB62 is experiencing history. Really cool.
2. Guys night out at the the Meadowlands racetrack. Great horse racing fun!
1. Hang out in Ocean Grove, NJ for a weekend July-Oct (September is the best). The great Auditorium is one of the best places to hear music in the State. Ocean Grove has Fantastic beaches with a family atmosphere. No mosquitoes (Stevens Institute has been trying to figure that out), surfing, and Nagles for Ice Cream. My favorite, must experience place in New Jersey is Ocean Grove. Remember, staggering home from the Stone Pony is part of the fun!
The Maplewood Library has a thirty year old book called "The Eight Wonders of New Jersey"...look for it, its fun. In there are Tillman's Ravine at Stokes State Forest and Sunfish Pond at Worthington. Also the Great Falls in Paterson...drive up there after a rainfall.
So right, NoHereo. The actual address of Lady Liberty is Communipaw Avenue in Jersey City. As a child who grew up in JC, my father would have to take us over to Manhattan in order to get to the Statue of Liberty. Of course, you can now take the ferry, direct from Liberty State Park, both to Liberty and Ellis Islands.
If you want to do something awesome, on a clear night take the Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan. It's an incredible New York skyline treat.
Take the tour to the Rockefeller estate in Sleepy Hollow. (I know it's technically Hudson Valley/New York state, but I believe you can get the ferry from Weekhawken). The art work there will blow your mind and is probably worth many times the value of the land estate itself. You'll sail by the Palisades (New Jersey) which are stunning.
Here is my New Jersey Bucket List 10) Jenny Jump State Park 9) Hoboken 8) Summit 7) Morris Town 6) Chester 5) New Brunswick 4) Black River and Western Railroad, Ringos 3) Asbury Park 2) Jankinson Boardwalk Point Pleasant 1) Cape May
Lambertville, for antiques, art galleries, and loads of good restaurants, as well as wonderful views of the Delaware River. And you can throw in a little of Bucks County, PA, just by crossing the bridge into New Hope.
Sunset at Diamond Beach, Cape May Point (and look for some Cape May Diamonds while you're there)
Visit the lighthouses: Barnegat Light, Absecon Light, Hereford Light, East Point, Cape May, the lighthouses in the Delaware River, the Twin Lights - I enjoyed this more when my knees were in better shape, I must admit.
Wheaton Village and Glass Museum in Millville
Jockey Hollow and the Revolutionary sites in Morristown
Dinner and/or wine tasting at the Renault Winery (not far from Atlantic City)
Go whale watching off of Cape May and take a trip through the Cape May Canal
Ride the ferry from Cape May to Lewes, Delaware - especially at sunset.
Drive the back roads of Cumberland, Salem and Gloucester counties - hard to believe this, too, is New Jersey - it's a different world!
climb the observation tower (if its open) at High Point State Park - fantastic views. If the tower isn't open, the views are still good - Fall foliage is beautiful from this vantage point.
Simple pleasures. Taking a picnic and flying a kite, watching the boats and helicopters cruise by with one of the world's great skylines as a backdrop at Liberty State Park on a hot summer day.
Memorial Site at Eagle Rock Reservation in West Orange (incredible and moving tribute to 9/11 victims)
Ferry Street, Newark (Portugese food at its best!)
...Re: Rt. 130 South (mentioned above) - My brother (who lives near New Brunswick) took a bunch of us/kids on a long Rt 130 ride in his Suburban (with windows down and singing songs)after a youth soccer game. It was a great sunny late afternoon and we stopped at Stewart's on the way back and ate outdoors....what a perfect day that was!
I love Town Halls Sloppy Joes in SO!!!!!!! Cranes Sloppy Joes are pretty good, but I still get my favorite BBQ Sandwich at Cranes! The BBQ at Cranes would to be added to the list with Sloppy Joes, but the BBQ sandwich is really a transplant from New Orleans. So I guess it doesn't qualify due to a technicality. Yea, Sloppy Joes, now I am getting really hungry.
not only canoing the Pine Barrens, but do a cranberry bog tour (and learn about the Jersey Devil) --- being on a bog during cranberry harvest on a gorgeous autumn day is pretty cool -- and go to Wheaton Village and the Museum of American Glass and watch artisans creating with glass.
Island Beach State Park.
Hit a boardwalk, play some skeeball, have a Korr's frozen custard.
My NJ New Jersey Bucket List.
10. Canoeing in the Pine Barrens - One of the best ways to enjoy the Pine Barrens is a canoe trip down one of the rivers that meander through the pines. The black cedar water is so cool!
9. Blue fishing on the Sea Devil. You can catch the Sea Devil in Point Pleasant and fishing and eating Blues is a Blast! Captain Bob Pennington is cool and my son loves to fish because he had sooooo much fun on the Sea Devil. Ok the Sea Devil leads to number 8.
8. Jenkinson's Boardwalk in Point Pleasant. Rides, food, rock music, BEACH.
7. I love Wild West City. My son had such a great time in the park when he was 7. We purchased a cap gun that he still plays with today. He is 11 now! It is like going back to the seventies and kids from 7-12 just love this place.
6. Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor. MORE FLAGS MORE FUN! If you love rollers coasters, this place is a blast.
5. Mountain Creek both in the winter and the summer. Love to Ski!.
4. Medieval Times is a great dinner attraction with a strange and unique combination of a medieval banquet and thrilling competition between Knights captures the imaginations of all ages. See the movie Cable Guy!
3. Battleship New Jersey - America's most decorated Battleship is now a museum, open for tours, events and overnight encampments. Exploring BB62 is experiencing history. Really cool.
2. Guys night out at the the Meadowlands racetrack. Great horse racing fun!
1. Hang out in Ocean Grove, NJ for a weekend July-Oct (September is the best). The great Auditorium is one of the best places to hear music in the State. Ocean Grove has Fantastic beaches with a family atmosphere. No mosquitoes (Stevens Institute has been trying to figure that out), surfing, and Nagles for Ice Cream. My favorite, must experience place in New Jersey is Ocean Grove. Remember, staggering home from the Stone Pony is part of the fun!