New Jersey Travel Guide - New Jersey 2025 Official Travel Guide
Into the Blue
2024-12-16 07:23:46
Whether salt-laden or ultra-fresh, the healing waters of New Jersey offer a tonic for both body and mind.
With a staggering 60+ beaches spanning 130 miles of coastline, over 6,400 miles of rivers and streams, countless waterfalls and more than 400 publicly accessible lakes and reservoirs, the “Blue Mind” theory is strong in NJ. Being in, on or by a body of water does the soul good, and with landscapes like ours, wellness runs deep here.
FROM BEACH TO BAY
Strands of shoreline running the length of the coast offer a wide range of activities and experiences for the avid water sportsman and woman. Cast a line right off Ventnor Fishing Pier or at uncrowded Horseshoe Cove in Sandy Hook Bay. For deep-sea charters, from the Delaware Bay to offshore canyons, tackle up with Free Spirit Fishing in Margate or stay inshore for fly fishing with Fish Head Charters in Ship Bottom. Get your kicks parasailing with Belmar Parasail, rent jet skis at Beesleys Point or paddle out into the surf when visiting Manasquan Inlet. Dock your boat on the banks of Raritan Bay for a NYC skyline vantage point or tow tube across the waters of Barnegat Bay. Paddleboard into the sunset on Sea Isle City’s bay side, or bodysurf the waves on the Atlantic side. Head into the back bay sounds of Avalon on a family-friendly crabbing trip with the captain and crew of Miss Avalon Fishing Charters.
LIFE ON THE LAKE
Beaches aren’t the only coastal attraction in NJ. With hundreds of publicly accessible lakes in the state, waterbased activities aren’t limited to those with sandy toes. Hop aboard your choice of watercraft at Wawayanda Lake in Hewitt or take the boat for a cruise around Lake Hopatcong in Hopatcong State Park. Take a refreshing dip before setting your tent up at Atsion Lake and falling asleep beneath the stars to the sounds of water lapping on the shore. Let the kids go swimming, crabbing or canoeing at Hooks Creek Lake in Cheesequake State Park in Matawan. Venture to the lakeside restaurants and marinas fringing seven-mile-long Greenwood Lake in West Milford, where diving, rowing and waterskiing triggers a state of ‘happy.’
CHASING WATERFALLS
Some of the most breathtaking views can be found in New Jersey’s very own backyard. Look up and marvel at Buttermilk Falls—the tallest waterfall in New Jersey—when visiting the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Hardwick, or test your map deciphering skills and join the hunt for Silver Spray Falls (or “Hidden Falls”). Feel humbled beside a 77-foot roaring cascade at Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park, home to one of the nation’s largest waterfalls, while Coppermines Trail Cascades offers a more modest, tranquil reward at the end of your trek.
.*Access to Buttermilk Falls from Walpack Center is currently closed due to bridge repairs. To access the Falls, take Strubel Rd. to Dimon Rd. through Stokes State Forest.
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Into the Blue
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