NeoPatrick, Am also looking for things in this region. We've never been to New Jersey and I've searched Fodors in vain for ANYTHING that discusses the natural beauty, small towns, hiking, etc. that I think is there somewhere! I might start a separate thread...but hope you get some responses. All I seem to get for New Jersey are the typical things like Atlantic City etc that I'm definitely not interested in. Think there is a Skylands region that might be what we're looking for, but nothing comes up in Fodors. This is the first time Fodors has failed us! Leslie

Well, The Gap is for you. The whole northwest corner of New Jersey is gorgeous, the AT passes right through, and you will not be able to imagine anything more different from the NJ you see from the Turnpike.

I discovered it on a field trip for a university geology course, and a relative lived and painted there after graduating from art school in NYC.

Anoter interesting but not conventionally beautiful area is the Pine Barrens in southern New Jersey.

Do you know the writer John McPhee? He lives in Princeton and has written extensively of the wild areas in the state, both in the New Yorker and in his collections and books.

Interesting that this thread was brought back up even though it originally didn't get any comments. That weekend in October we did take a drive -- top down, but only slightly cold, and of course I left the heater on!
We followed the Delaware River northward from Lambertville, crossing back and forth between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. We only went as far north as Easton. Then we got sidetracked by heading over to the casinos at Bethlehem to meet friends for lunch. Meanwhile we stopped and walked at a number of places along the river. It was all quite beautiful.

Between here and there, just north of Stockton is a beautiful small road that winds along a creek and ends up at New Jersey's only covered bridge. It's especially pretty.

It's really true that those who only know New Jersey from traveling north on the turnpike or from flying into Newark, really don't have a clue how beautiful the rest of the state is.

Patrick, I never caught your original post. If I had, i would have given the area a very high rating.....especially that time of the year. Glad you enjoyed the experience.

Well, come spring, I'll break the convertible out of the garage and make a concentrated effort to really explore.

Patrick, I missed the original post too. We often take the road, 209 I think that goes from I - 84 to I- 80 through a bit or National Park part of the Gap when we are on a road trip south. That part of the route is busy in the very north and south parts but lovely in the middle. There is one commercial waterfall area with an entrance fee, but the park service areas are lovely and there are a couple of beautiful waterfalls. There are nice trails through the woods to get to them and some toilets at the beginning of at least one. There is a VC part way down and if you get their map you can find roads to avoid some of the congestion at the southern end.

Watch out for deer and wild turkeys as they like to use the road too.

I've learned to watch out for deer all the time around here -- they are everywhere, and my partner has hit two of them in the past year! Or rather they hit him! But a shot of Wild Turkey sounds pretty good -- on the rocks, please.

Funny, "there is a VC part way down" caught my eye because US 209 through the Gap used to be known to truck drivers as the Ho Chi Minh trail since it twisted around so much. A different kind of VC!

I used to drive it between Boston and North Carolina because off season it was pretty traffic free except for big trucks avoiding traffic and presumably weigh stations.

Yes, it was the Ho Chi Minh trail, but there aren't through trucks on it now, so it is a pleasant drive through the country along the river.