Traveling the Trans New Jersey Trai
The Trans New Jersey Trail is a 450 mile backroad - dirt road route that spans the length of our home state of New Jersey. Traveling the Trans New Jersey Trail is a 3-day road trip that starts in the Appalachian hills of Northern New Jersey and meanders its way on gravel and local roads until the stone stops and sand begins. From central New Jersey until reaching the finish point at the Cape May Lighthouse the roads go from sandy Pine Barren trails to local back roads until you reach the end of the state and are greeted by the ocean. It is important to note this trip can be completed in any AWD or 4WD sedan or SUV.
The first day of the route covers about 120 miles of Sussex, Warren, and Hunterdon County. The first 15 miles into the route we found ourselves engaging 4WD for a really cool basketball-size rock-filled road. Shortly after we came across an extremely washed-out road called Carry Warren RD. You could tell this "road" has not been used in years, except by the local youthful 4x4 drivers and gravel bike riders. After stuffing our Maxtrax in the loose gravel we came across a downed tree on some power lines. Active or not we didn't have a chainsaw to open the trail so we turned back and made our way around.
From then on, the route was easy going. Traveling on Old Mine Road, an iconic North Jersey dirt road, traversing the Delaware River and Buttermilk Falls, a popular hiking location. From then on until we reach our First Campsite at Spruce Run State Park we enjoyed the great weather and quiet roads along the way.
Spruce Run was a great, clean campsite. Getting in around 6, we took in the hazy sunset, due to the smoke from the forest fires out west, and grilled up some dinner. Our site backed up to a very large reservoir, and we quickly noticed all of our neighbors were here for the fishing.
As the temps dropped for the first chilly week in Jersey we made our way into our sleeping bags and turned in for the night.
Day two covered nearly all of Central New Jersey, from our Campsite in Hunterdon county down to the Pine Barrens, where we would spend our second night. After 9 hours of driving, we determined THIS section of the TNJT was our favorite. We departed our campsite and made our way through some small towns passing through Princeton, large horse farms scenic properties. From there, we headed South West down towards Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township.
The gravel ended and the trail switched to sand, which made for a much smoother ride. The route brings you to what is known as the "Poor Man's Safari" which is an amazing sand route that parallels the Safari at Six Flags. From the trail we caught a glimpse of the animals inside. We were able to see Giraffes, Ostriches, and some Buffalo, all while skipping the entry fee!
From Six Flags on we didn't touch a local road until we reached our second campsite at Brendan Byrne State Park in Lisbon, New Jersey, only 15 minutes away from LBI as the crow flies.
The trails in Brendan Byrne did not disappoint in the slightest. Having seen pictures of offroaders in large sand lot fields going over obstacles, we knew we had to find it. After 8 hours of driving the route to this point, we spent another three hours in the truck exploring the puddle-filled trails. After turning left, turning right, and just picking random trails, we did end up finding the sandlot.
This area was an offroader's playground for any offroad toy you might have. Side-by-sides carved out some really cool berms, you could see where the big lifted vehicles were testing the depths of the marsh while the quads and dirt bikes were gaping mounds of dirt and working on their doughnuts. We kept it mellow going over a few obstacles, knowing we were by ourselves and the sun slowly fading. We shot some videos and stills and made our way back to camp.
Brendan Byrne State Park was massive and empty. Out of our small loop of campsites, we only had one neighbor across the way. Our site was clean and access to the trails was directly across the street.
On day three, the final day to the lighthouse we had to stray off the Trail to make up some ground. We were a little more than halfway through the route but not averaging a very fast pace. The first two days we averaged 20 miles an hour, and that wasn't going to cut it. We had to pick up the pace. We had the route in the GPS App we were using, but the estimated time of arrival was determined by our speed, not the speed limits posted. Without knowing what the route had in store ahead, we hopped on the highway and shaved off about 60 miles. We didn't want to risk the trail taking 16 more hours and arriving after dark, the park is closed, as well as our 3.5 hour drive back home.
We arrived at the Cape May Lighthouse at mid day and we were thrilled with the adventure we had just completed. Did you know you can take a state that typically takes 3.5 hours to cover and turn it into a three-day, 20 hour trip?! Neither did we, but we loved every minute of it!
With the current Covid-19 restrictions, traveling between certain states requires a 7-day quarantine followed by a Covid-19 test. Add a few days for results before being able to travel. The time it took us to get to Cape May, we could have almost made it to Colorado! But, we stayed within our home state, saw some amazing views, roads, State Parks, and some Giraffe's!
From this trip we hope everyone can take the dive and make an adventure out of your home state. See the historical sites of your state, travel the roads you've never been down. Get out and see the hidden gems your state has to offer. Remember, the best vehicle for an adventure is the vehicle in your driveway. Throw the dart at the map and start your adventure.
And if you read till this point, check out our YouTube Video that covers the entire trip! We look forward to more projects like this as well as some how-to's, new products, and everything adventure travel related.
If you would like the route, we used for our trip head over to OverlandBounds thread for detailed updates and the route's GPX file. The route was built using LeadNav, an App available on the App Store.
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