Day Trips from Hoboken, NJ
 

Daughter has recently relocated from Texas to Hoboken, NJ and not had much opportunity to explore other than NYC. I am visiting weekend of 21 Apr. I know the area offers a lot but looking for insider info on best options. Will have car or can take train, anything historical, scenic, etc. Thanks.

Nearby is Liberty State Park. Accessible by light rail and bus shuttle from Hoboken where you can walk along the waterfront directly across from Ground Zero and you can access Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty via ferry.
http://www.libertystatepark.com

Have you thought about where you will park your car in Hoboken? To park on the street, you must have a permit. However, there are parking garages around.

Other than NYC, there is Liberty State Park. I'm not sure if the Science Museum has re-opened.

If you like historical and scenic, perhaps you'd enjoy Princeton, NJ for the day? It's about an hour drive from Hoboken, depending on traffic. There's really not much right outside of Hoboken (aside from NYC) that would be considered historic or scenic. There certainly must be some places in NYC that she hasn't had the chance to explore yet.
I know when my parents come out, I'm all about shopping with them, and taking advantage of the car. Maybe you can drive your daughter up to Woodbury Commons (designer outlet mall - gucci, saks etc.). Does she need any stuff for her apartment (IKEA, Target, Costco, etc.)?

Drive up 9W or the Palisades Pkw North to Piermont , Nyack and then on up to Bear Mt or Cold Springs..all along the Hudson, full of antiques and old homes and plenty of charm.

I also like the Warwick Valley area--little towns and wineries. I also would suggest West Point. As the other posters have suggested, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty can easily fill a whole day as well.

A nice day trip would be to head down the Shore. Stop in Spring Lake to stroll the Boardwalk, explore nearby Allaire Historical Village and stop in Red Bank and see a show at either The Count Basie or Two River Theaters.
Another possiblity is to drive out to New Hope, PA which has streets full of interesting shops, then south to Washington Crossing State Park and Bowman Hill Wildflower Preserve.
There is lots of possibilities out there.

litchfield county connecticut is quite scenic and a nice area for buying/browsing antiques.
http://www.litchfieldcty.com/

just an hour or so north.

I second Cold Springs. Some other ideas...

Ringwood Manor/Skylands Manor...both located in Ringwood, about 45 minutes northwest of Hoboken. Ringwood Manor offers tours of the historic manor (call for days/times) and has extensive grounds and gardens to meander through. Skylands Manor doesn't offer tours but the grounds are stunning...every tree and flower imaginable can be spotted here. Pack a picnic lunch and hit Ringwood Manor first, then eat at Sklyands under a willow tree along the rock wall or in the lilac garden.

Suffern...just over the border into NY, about 45 minutes drive from Hoboken. Very cute little main street with a "vintage" movie theater (shows old films on Saturday mornings...search "Lafayette Theater"). Plenty of places to grab a quick bite and some cute shops to visit as well.

Montclair is about half an hour from Hoboken...you can make a day out visiting the antique and specialty shops along Bloomfield Ave, having lunch along the way and then catching a movie at the Clairidge or Wellmont Theaters. Restaurants are plentiful...Cuban Pete's just opened in November (great Sangria) and Cafe Eclectic has some great atmosphere, coffee and desserts. Al di La for homestyle Italian or Mexicali Rose for, well, Mexican!

NJ Performing Arts Center...in Newark but not a scary drive...about half an hour by car...look up performances on their website. Afterwards, Don Pepe's or Iberia can't be beat for their Sangria and Spanish food!

Chester...little town about an hour west of Hoboken...go after lunch and shop for antiques, craft items, etc. and then grab an off-season Thanksgiving Dinner at Larison's (Larson's?).

Enjoy your stay!

You can also try Lambertville, NJ and New Hope, PA for antiques and shops and you might as well as stop in Flemington, NJ to shop the outlet malls and such. All these towns are less than 2 hours away by car. Unlike Texas, a 3-1/2 hour trip from Hoboken will take you to 4 states.

Thank y'all for the great ideas! We've already seen Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on previous trips to NYC. She brought her car from Texas - I think her monthly parking fee is more than she paid for renting house in Houston ;-)Cold Springs and Warwick Valley sound nice. Are they in the same area?

Char319, I don't know how long your daughter plans on staying in Hoboken, but if she gets a NJ liscense, she will be able to get a on-street parking permit. That will reduce her costs significantly. My son did that. He hated giving up his NY liscense, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do!

No, Warwick and Cold Springs are not really close..they are east and west of each other, not that far but hard to tell you how to get from one to the other ...
http://www.coldspring.com/

Warwick
http://tinyurl.com/p3mse

Personally, I love driving up along the Hudson, those winding roads and forest then the small towns with the old homes. You can keep going , past Cold Springs, on towards Hyde Park and Rhinebeck..
My husband says get on the Thruway and drive up to Woodstock lol .. I say go to Rhinebeck..we are homesick, I think :)

I dont want to intrude on this thread but since I livez in Hoboken Belgium I often wondered about Hoboken NJ. Does anybody know where the name came from? Paul

"I dont want to intrude on this thread but since I livez in Hoboken Belgium I often wondered about Hoboken NJ. Does anybody know where the name came from? Paul"

Here -
(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoboken...#Early_history) -

...It was used seasonally as a campsite by the Lenni Lenape Native Americans until they fell victim to war, disease and forced migration brought by Europeans in the 17th century. The name Hoboken is derived from the original Lenape name for the area “Hobocan Hackingh” or “land of the tobacco pipe.” The Lenape made their pipes from the soapstone of Castle Point...

To bill boy; Many thanks for your info on Hoboken NJ.
The name of my Hoboken (which is a suburb from the town of Antwerp) is derived from the old flemish for High beech trees. Greetings from Belgium.Paul

If you don't want to drive...Hoboken is well-connected to various parts of northern Jersey via NJ Transit train lines.

Morristown and Madison are two charming little towns about an hour or so from Hoboken on the train. If you're traveling on a weekday, there are direct train services every hour. You'll want to head to Hoboken Terminal and board a train bound for "Dover" or "Hackettstown". If you're going on a weekend, you'll need to change trains at Seacaucus Junction, very close to Hoboken. Just ask any staff member at the Hoboken station and they should know where to point you.

Madison and Morristown are very close to each other along the same train line (The Morris & Essex Line, to be precise). They've both got charming and thriving downtown districts, a lot of history, museums, restaurants, shopping. It's a great place to spend the afternoon if you're into that stuff. These towns are real popular with New Yorkers looking to get out of the city on a Saturday afternoon.