New Jersey Fall Foliage Tours

This weekend is going to be nice and should be prime fall foliage time in the Skylands of the state. Here are two recommended trips:

NJ Fall Peepage Tour #1: The Lake & Gap Tour

View New Jersey Skylands Fall Peepage Tour 1 in a larger map

Highlights:

START

1. High Point State Park Monument

On the left is the view from the pond shore (with a certain DVD) and right is the view of the monument.

2. Delaware Water Gap view- Upper Yard Creek Reservoir. If you want to hike for the better view, go to Mount Tammany. Check out this photo by flickr user Karen Peterson.

3. Lake Mohawk Drive. This realtor youtube video to give you an idea.

4. Lake Hopatcong

5. Ort Farms - It should be pretty busy with activities and so delicious local food.

6. Round Valley Reservoir

End at the Red Mill in Clinton

NJ Fall Peepage Tour #2: The Rolling Hills River Towns Tour

View New Jersey Skylands Fall Peepage Tour 2 in a larger map

1. Start at the Red Mill in Clinton. Best pictures are during the morning hours, when the sun is shining on the mill.

2. Milford

3. Green Sergeant Covered Bridge - Oldest remaining covered bridge in New Jersey. Here's a State bilking guide for this route.

4. Lambertville - Might be a good time to stop by the River Horse brewery. Or if you're here on Saturday, watch out for traffic. The Pet Masquerade is in the afternoon.

Take it easy on the River Horse, on Sourland Mountain, Lindbergh Rd. is narrow and treacherous!

5. East - West Jersey Dividing Line Marker. Only one of the lines that divided Jersey, the Keith Line.

I purposely did not write down exact routes. There are some detours and very narrow roads. Use caution and have fun leaf peeping!

It could happen: HS Winter Classic in NJ

Ice Hockey. New Jersey. Outdoors.

It is something that we rarely picture. But could it happen here?

Possibly.

On Sunday, Paul Bruno of NJ.com thought out loud about
holding a high shool outdoor ice hockey event in the Garden State.

Alliance Hockey photo
It is a rare occurence that allows me to write about two of my passions in the same post. As a kid, I skated on a branch of the Assunpink Creek that went through my parents' property. It rarely freezes over anymore, but in North Jersey, especially the Skylands, they get to lace up skates outdoors quite often. Even parts of the award-winning documentary, Pond Hockey, were filmed farther east - in Bergen County.

But where in the state could a game like this occur?

The coldest place in New Jersey of course - Sussex County. And they have two potential venues that would work.

My first thought would be Skylands Park in Augusta. It is home to the Sussex Skyhawks of the Cam-Am League. If you could get Century Link and other sponsors on board, it would be the perfect venue.
If that doesn't work, I have heard the new owner of Mountain Creek, Eugene Mulvihill, who has a big vision for the resort, could pull it off.

Then, get the New Jersey Devils involved in that Northwest corner that often goes ignored PR-wise (co-owner Jeff Vanderbeek did not stop here on his summer Jersey Tour) and you may have something.

If not high school, make it college teams like Princeton, Seton Hall, William Paterson, Rutgers, Monmouth, Rowan, TCNJ or Rider. Men's and Women's games.

Hot chocolate, revived roasted chestnut stands, a guest announcer like Glenn "Chico" Resch and ice hockey outside - the way it was meant to be played.

New Jersey as a winter sports paradise? Add it to the tourist books.

New Jersey Stereotype # 10: North Jersey is ugly

Now, there is a certain smell as you travel on the New Jersey Turnpike, roughly between Exit 11 and North. It is hard to refute this . . . we trust our noses.

Additionally, many visitors to the New York Metropolitan area, fly into Newark Airport and never stay in New Jersey . . . they go right into the City. They catch that smell and coupled with the sight of oil refineries and other eye sores in the area - a certain negative vision of New Jersey is etched quite rapidly into visitors' minds. However, North Jersey is not all of this.

There is the beautiful Northwest as seen in Sussex, Warren and Morris counties. Even Passaic county, with the most chain stores on one roadway that I've ever seen (see Route 3 in Clifton for yourself), has much beauty in its far North.

Bergen has the posh lifestyle - great downtowns, an abundance of high end shopping malls and of course - something that is rampant in North Jersey: nail salons.

In Essex County, where I work, there are even more great downtown areas (have you strolled through Millburn ever?) Even Newark is revitalizing with its Portuguese restaurants in the Ironbound area, "the Rock," the new home of the New Jersey Devils, . . . and across the Passaic River in Harrison will be the Red Bulls' new stadium, Red Bull Park.

And of course, there is Hoboken (my current residence) or "playground on the Hudson" as one NJ Transit conductor constantly exclaims.

So yes, there is a certain "smell" in some parts of North Jersey. And it definitely has its share of eye sores (none worse than those in Gary, Indiana). But North Jerseyans have their ego for a reason up here. The assortment of arts, culture and beauty are what many locals think of . . . instead of the congestion, the economically depressed towns (well - they do exist) and the haze.

Sure New Yorkers bust on North Jersey all the time. But when you are so close to one of the greatest cities in the world - that is bound to happen. North Jersey still has a large amount of culture that is a result of being near the creative nexus that is NYC . . . . and despite the comments, it has more to offer than just guidos.