The Best Weekend Getaways
in New Jersey - Where They Are

Find out where the Best weekend getaways in NJ are. New Jersey is blessed with many scenic attractions, and with its relatively small land area that many of the scenic attractions can be experienced as a weekend getaway or short trip of two-three days.

With many historic villages, charming oceanfront towns, and rustic farm and mountain settings, NJ has a destination that can be enjoyed by couples looking for that out of the ordinary romantic weekend getaway.

New Jersey's many diverse destinations with excellent lodging include the Jersey Shore, The beautiful hills of Western NJ, the mountains of Northwest NJ, and much more.

 

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The Best Weekend Getaways In New Jersey

Cape May

Cape May is an ideal place to visit for that special scenic seaside and rates a popular choice as one of the best weekend getaways. This beach resort town offers beautiful, powdery sand beaches, a charming village with Gingerbread Victorian homes, gas-lit street lamps, horse drawn carriages, tree lined streets, and an historic light house. To complete the weekend getaway experience, there are a variety of Victorian bed and breakfasts, quaint shops, and fine dining restaurants that appeal to all tastes. While the summer season is the most popular time to visit, Cape May has become a year round attraction offering seasonal programs, candlelit house tours, and a variety of other cooler weather activities.

Cape May is also the home of one of the largest commercial fishing ports in the United States, and as a result you will find a good variety of seafood restaurants that serve up locally caught fresh sea food.

Things to do
If relaxing on the beach is not your thing, there are plenty of other activities that can occupy your day time leisure hours. They include; bike riding, with many bike rentals available locally by the hour or day. Cycle down to Sunset Beach or the Cape May Light House built 1859 and listed on the State and National Registers of historic places, or the nearby Bird Observatory operated by the New Jersey Audubon society. There is picnicking, beach walking at sunrise or sunset, where you might see schools of dolphins swimming by, whale and dolphin watching boat trips, kayaking in the salt water marshlands, a salt marsh safari, deep sea fishing, a nautical museum, and an historic World War II coastal defense gun emplacement.

Places to Stay

The Albert Stevens Inn

Located within walking distance of the Cape May Point Lighthouse and the Cape May Bird Observatory. The inn offers a spacious screened in porch for sitting and watching the world to by as well as on-site parking.

 

 

The Bedford Inn

The Bedford Inn is well situated in the charming Jersey shore destination, located in town, just a very short block to the beach and near many fine restaurants and shops. The Bedford is open all year round and provides the setting for the perfect romantic escape. Sit on the rockers, located on the first or second floor verandas and listen to the relaxing sounds of the waves breaking on the beaches. In the colder months, sit on the closed in porch, warmed by a small fireplace.

The Queen Victoria 

Thirty-two inviting and romantic rooms and suites with private bath are decorated with period antiques in the Victorian style and tradition of an historic Cape May bed and breakfast. Inn includes a full breakfast and an afternoon tea with sweets and savory in the British fashion.

Southern Sky Lands - Hunterdon County

Hunterdon County is a special scenic destination with rolling farmlands, historic sites, and charming towns and is a another popular choice as one of the best weekend getaways. Featured here are the towns of Clinton, Frenchtown, Lambertville, and Sergeantsville. All are small charming towns with surrounding rural scenic beauty that easily be seen in a weekend.

Clinton nestled in the hills, is a classic American small town that has attracted photographers, movie makers, and visitors here for its scenic and historic beauty. It’s a charming historic village with shops and cherry tree lined streets, a river with a 200 foot wide waterfall winding through it, and lined with old grist mills. It's certainly a popular favorite as one of the best weekend getaways in NJ

Things to do
Hunterdon Museum of Art - A contemporary art museum located in an 1836 stone gristmill listed on the National and State Historic Registers. 908-735-8415
Red Mill Museum Village - The most photographed spot in New Jersey, is situated on 10 scenic acres next to Clinton's waterfall. The museum is just steps across the antique iron bridge with over 40,000 artifacts and chronicles more than 180 years of Hunterdon County history. 908-735-4101
Clinton Canoe & Kayak Rental – 908-735-6767
Ken Lockwood Gorge, Califon - From Califon down to High Bridge, the Raritan River cuts through a beautiful scenic gorge straddled with huge boulders.

Places to Stay
Riverside Victorian Bed Breakfast
Listed in the Historic Registry, The Riverside Victorian is located in the heart of Clinton. Just one block from the center of this quaint, historic town, you can visit the old mill, museum and many specialty shops. Fine dining or casual dining is just a short walk from the inn.

Frenchtown is an undiscovered secret that is attracting visitors with its many three story multi-colored Victorian homes, art galleries, antique shops, clothing boutiques, and restaurants, all surrounded by rural scenic rolling hills, a river and historic sites, is another great selection as one of the best weekend getaways.

Things to Do
If you chose to make Frenchtown your overnight base for exploring Hunterdon County, rent a bike at Freeman’s bike shop and ride south along the D & R Canal towpath, stopping in at Stockton, then continue on to Lambertville. Return to Frenchtown by way of Route 29. Check out Alexandria Balloon Flights - 908-479-4878. View Frenchtown’s romantic sunsets from a hot air balloon. See fantastic views of the river, the riverbanks, and the rolling hills. If its summer, rent an inner tube at Delaware Tubing, 908-996-5386, for a leisurely float along the Delaware River. Check out the Sand Castle Winery for tasting and tours

Places to Stay
The National Hotel
Frenchtown
A boutique hotel with guest rooms featuring a whirlpool tub,With dark wood beams, and beds draped in mosquito netting

The Widow McCrea House
Frenchtown
This charming 1878 Victorian B and B is located a few minutes walk from the Delaware River and the village shops and restaurants in the village of Frenchtown. They offer a private cottage and suites equipped with antique brass & Eastlake queen size featherbeds, working fireplaces framed in carved oak mantles inlayed with hand-cast tiles, and romantic jacuzzis with marble & Italian stonework. Extras include a gourmet candlelight breakfast.

Lambertville is Hunterdon County’s only city and is popular with visitors attracted to its quaint town with tree lined streets, Victorian homes, antique shops, clothing boutiques, art galleries, and restaurants. Its five block downtown area along the Delaware River attracts window shoppers and browsers.

Things to do
If you chose to make Lambertville your overnight base for exploring Hunterdon County, and you have your own bike, head North to Frenchtown on Route 29, and return south along the D & R Canal towpath, stopping in at Stockton.
Lambertville Historical Society – The Marshall House with 1834 furnishings, a Shad history display, and quilts.
Magic Glass Studio - Create your very own one of a kind glass piece at their unique studio.
The Museum At Holcombe-Jimison Farmstead – where you can see old farming equipment, a country kitchen, a rural post office, Dr. Leaver's doctor/dentist office, a blacksmith shop, a print shop, a carpentry shop, and a period herb garden. The River Horse Brewery – is the area's only micro brewery producing handcrafted lagers and ales. Take a walking tour of the kegging and bottling operation and sample products in the tasting room.

Places to Stay

Inn at Lambertville Station
Lambertville's largest bed & breakfast is family friendly. Its three stories with most rooms having a view of the river.

Chestnut Hill on the Delaware
Milford, NJ
This charming luxury Victorian B & B is perched high on the banks of the scenic Delaware River was built in 1860 and features a parlor, drawing room, and dining room with a strong tie to a bygone era. Teacup & Flowers Fountain "As romantic as an old-fashioned valentine, each room in this grand Victorian home is furnished with antiques." The six upstairs guest rooms feature high walls papered in wine-red and moss-green period patterns with original photos and paintings that chronicle Chestnut Hill's history and that of the town. The rooms hold furniture and dress from the time when the first two families owned the home. The rooms have a variety of amenities and are equipped with private bath with whirlpool/shower, telephone, hidden TV/VCR, and air-conditioning plus ceiling fan, and electric fireplaces.

Sergeantsville is a small village that resembles Pennsylvania’s Amish Country with its rolling hills, open farmland, and the State’s last pre-20th century covered bridge, and an old fashioned general store.

Things to Do
Drive through the last pre-20th century covered bridge in New Jersey, and stop by to visit an old fashioned general store.

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Northern Skylands - Morris, Sussex, and Warren County

Here you can experience New England scenic beauty without leaving New Jersey.

The Northern Skylands Region is rich with mountainous terrain, riverfront towns, state parks, farmlands, wildlife, bed and breakfasts, and plenty of recreational opportunities. This is an area that has some of New Jersey’s best cycling, fishing, tubing, canoeing, and camping. This is another popular choice as one of the best weekend getaways.

The Upper Highlands Region of the Skylands, from the east at Ringwood State Park, west to Vernon Valley, and south to the glacial lakes remnants of the former Morris canal, and North to the New York State border, it attracts more annual visitors than Yellowstone National Park. It is a beautiful scenic panorama of forests, sheer cliffs, and a scattering of open areas of lakes and streams. This area is popular for down hill skiing, snow boarding, camping, trout fishing, hiking, and golf.

The Ridge and Valley region of the Skylands covers the extreme Northwest corner of the State and the Kittatinny Mountains. The region is very popular with outdoor enthusiasts. It has the highest point in New Jersey at 1,803 feet and attracts active visitors seeking camping, hiking, skydiving, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and fly fishing.

Things to do
High Point State Park
The view from High Point Monument, at 1,803 feet above sea level, is a spectacular panorama covering three states of rolling farmlands, mountains, forests, rivers and streams. The park also contains an 18 mile section of the Appalachian Trail. It’s an all season park for attracting visitors for mountain biking, horseback riding, hiking, swimming, fishing, cross country skiing, ice fishing, dog sledding, and snowshoeing.

Stokes State Forest
Is 15,996 acres of scenic mountain views and a beautiful section of the Appalachian Trail. The rugged terrain makes the forest a popular area for mountain biking, hiking, fishing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, horse back riding, swimming, and camping.

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Borders over 40 miles of the Delaware River and almost 70,000 acres expanse of scenic beauty, breath taking cliffs, and a 1,400 foot deep, 900 foot wide gap that separates New Jersey’s 1,528 foot Mt. Tammany and Pennsylvania’s 1,462 foot Mt. Minsky. It’s a popular place for back packing, hiking, biking, canoeing, camping, cross country skiing, picnicking, horseback riding, and fishing. For the less active, take a one-day auto tour of the park and experience waterfalls, rural scenery, and historic Millbrook Village.

Skylands Manor and New Jersey Botanical Garden at Ringwood.
Spend a couple of hours wandering through the 96 acre gardens with over 400 varieties of lilac. Take a stroll though the woodland paths of magnolia walk, and crab apple vista, with a visit to the elegant Tudor-style manor house.

Franklin Mineral Museum at The Franklin mine is a zinc mine known for its unique display of mineral fluorescence, (glowing rocks) and variety of rare species. They have thousands of mineral specimens on display with a huge fluorescent presentation of brilliant and glowing colorful minerals.

Westfall Winery, Montague
They give tours of the vineyards and winery. Harvest begins in  early September.

Hike The Appalachian Trail - The New Jersey stretch of the Appalachian Trail is 74 miles long and begins at Abram S. Hewitt State Forest in the northern most point and runs west and south through Wawayanda State Park, High Point State Park, Stokes State Forest, ending at Worthington State Forest.

Travel the Old Mine Road - A New Jersey Historic and Scenic Treasure, this is a scenic route recorded in the National Register of Historic Places and is considered to be one of the oldest roads in the United States, running 104 miles from the southern most point at Kittatinny Point Visitor Center in Hardwick Township, NJ to Kingston, NY.

Places to Stay
Alexander Adams Homestead
31 A Auble Road
Blairstown, NJ
908-459-4018
Offers private suites on six acres of rustic countryside. This is and ideal Bed and Breakfast for a weekend or romantic getaway. The private 2 story stone, circa 1730 cottage is especially romantic and includes breakfast delivered to your cottage each morning.

Alpine Haus
Vernon, NJ
Located in the Sussex County Skylands, reserve one of the romantic suites in the Carriage House with gas fireplaces and Jacuzzi tubs.

Whistling Swan Inn
Stanhope, NJ
A romantic honeymoon B&B in the Skylands Region with suites having a fireplace and whirlpool tubs for two. Massage services are also available

Wooden Duck B&B
Newton, NJ
Located on a 10 acres of open fields and woodlands in the rolling hills of rural Sussex County, this charming mini-estate is an ideal place for a quiet romantic getaway. Reserve one of the four deluxe rooms with a two-person soaking tub, a fireplace, and a private balcony.

Grand Cascades Lodge
Hamburg, NJ
A luxury hotel in located in the Crystal Springs Resort with amenities that include indoor & outdoor heated pools, mineral spa, sports & fitness facilities, and six Golf courses. The interior features elegant wooden beams, natural stonework, and forest-green colors that blend in with the surrounding mountains and forested surroundings. They offer a variety of room types with many having in-room and deck gas fireplaces.

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Romantic New Jersey Hotels With Fireplaces - Couples planning a weekend getaway at a romantic Inn or looking for hotels with fireplaces, jacuzzi's, and charming settings can discover the variety of lodging options that New Jersey has to offer.

 

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Historic Restaurants - New Jersey has many historic restaurants that date back as early as 1706 with connections to the revolutionary war and other historic events.

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