While most summer day trips in New Jersey involve a jaunt down the Shore, fall in the Garden State is all about exploring our state’s autumnal pleasures, like hiking and biking trails, farms, and outdoor art.
There’s nothing like a beautiful, crisp fall day spent outside in the Garden State. Right now is the perfect time to set out and explore a part of New Jersey that is simply wonderful during this time of year.
Below, we offer a comprehensive guide of places to visit and things to do this season. Day-trip ideas span the state, from Fort Lee Historic Park and Museum in Bergen County all the way to Beach Plum Farm in West Cape May.
Happy exploring!
1. Explore New Jersey’s Best Biking Trails
Photo: Colin Miller
Yes, we have a lot of traffic and the Turnpike, but New Jersey is also criss-crossed with wonderful biking trails that can provide any cycling enthusiast with options for a beautiful day outdoors in the fall. Trails span the state, from north to south, and range in difficulty and terrain. One of our favorite choices for a fall day trip is a visit to Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park, a 70-mile-long, car-free nature preserve, with the charming towns of Lambertville, Frenchtown and Lumberville to stop at along the way.
2. Go Behind the Scenes at Grounds for Sculpture
Photo: Arron Andrews
Grounds for Sculpture, opened in 1992, is a longtime favorite of New Jersey Monthly‘s and the public outgrowth of artist Seward Johnson’s passion. A trip to the stunning 42-acre park, peppered with nearly 300 sculptures set among pristine landscaping, is a wonderful fall day trip on its own. But behind the park lie two rare and remarkable workshops, where wide-ranging and challenging ideas take wing. Classes and private group tours are available.
3. Visit Beach Plum Farm
Produce and flowers are grown on-site at Beach Plum Farm in Cape May. Photo: Courtesy of Beach Plum Farm
Beach Plum is a working farm that offers farm-to-table dinners, a produce stand and market, farm tours, six cottages where guests can stay, and an event space in West Cape May, less than two miles from the bustle of the beachfront and downtown. Pick pumpkins, produce and flowers. Visit the animals. Enjoy a meal made with locally harvested ingredients.
4. Take a Ghost Tour
Photo: Courtesy of Moorestown Historical Society
What’s Halloween without something spooky? A trio of ghost tours in Asbury Park, Princeton and Moorestown will give you a fright—and a history lesson. Dates vary, and the tours run through October or November.
5. Go to a Fall Festival
Photo: Shutterstock/r.classen
From Oktoberfest celebrations to family-friendly events at farms, the Garden State has a plethora of fun fall happenings all over the state this autumn.
6. Visit a Park With History
The Ford Mansion in Morristown Photo: Shutterstock/George Wirt
More Revolutionary War battles and skirmishes (some 600) were fought in New Jersey than in any other state. Fall is the perfect time to visit these seven historic locations that reflect New Jersey’s immense role in the War for Independence. Enjoy the surrounding foliage as you walk in the footsteps of General George Washington and his tenacious Continental Army.
7. Visit One of NJ’s Most Breathtaking Waterfalls
Photo: AEROJO Drone Productions
Ready for an autumn rush? Check out New Jersey’s beautiful waterfalls, which are mainly found in the northern part of the state, where elevations are greater. The majestic Great Falls in Paterson has the highest profile as New Jersey’s largest waterfall by volume and its newest national park (since 2011); Buttermilk Falls, in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, is the state’s tallest at 85 feet. But scores of lesser-known natural waterfalls dot the landscape, along with a few created by dams; these engineering marvels are arguably no less stunning.
8. Explore the 36-Mile Lenape Trail in Essex County
Photo: Ron Wyatt
Named for the indigenous people who once inhabited northern New Jersey, the 36-mile Lenape Trail links 18 parks and 11 municipalities as it carves its way in a horseshoe shape through Essex County. The sprawling trail links suburban streets with woodsy mountains and hidden history.
9. Unwind at a Scenic Tasting Room
Photo: James J. Connolly
Ready to enjoy a brew (or glass of wine or other drink) with a view? Here’s your guide to the Garden’s State’s most picturesque breweries, wineries, distilleries and cideries. They make for a perfect fall day trip on their own or after enjoying a neighboring farm or trail.
10. Go Horseback Riding at Watchung Stable
Photo: James J. Connolly
Guests can traverse the Watchung Reservation—a verdant, 2,000-acre preserve in Union County—on horseback while learning about local wildlife. Watchung Stable is open to the public, and guided, hour-long trail rides are available by appointment for individuals and groups (county residents get a discount). Guides will help you mount your horse, teach you how to use the reins, and share facts about the stable and surrounding environment.
11. Ride a Train to the Ol’ Susquehanna Mine
Photo: Joe Polillio
Board a historic passenger train in Phillipsburg, ride along the Delaware River and arrive at an interactive mining exhibit. Visitors settle into cushy leather seats and ride through the forest along the Delaware River in Warren County as a trail leader tells tales of the mine’s origins. This is a great activity for families.
12. Visit the Historic City of Paterson
Photo: Steve Greer
People come from as far away as France to gaze at the stunning Great Falls in Paterson. That’s where you should start your day trip to Silk City. Afterwards, head over to South Paterson, the area known as Little Ramallah, for some fabulous Middle Eastern food.
13. Explore the Great Swamp
Photo: Laura Baer
Take a trek through the Great Swamp, where woodlands, grasslands, brooks and ponds provide a habitat for a wealth of aquatic life, birds and mammals. It’s beautiful during the fall.
14. Geek Out on Hamilton History in Trenton
Photo: Shutterstock/Henryk Sadura
New Jersey’s capital city offers the kind of deep-dish American history you can only find in a few U.S. cities; Alexander Hamilton was born there. (And don’t forget about its thin-crust pizza!) It all makes for a great day trip.
15. Explore South Mountain Reservation
Photo: Laura Baer
Put on your walking shoes and hike to Hemlock Falls, a 25-foot-high cascade in the heart of the 2,110-acre wooded oasis of South Mountain Reservation. Other South Mountain Reservation attractions at the park’s northern end include the Turtle Back Zoo, a miniature golf course, an expansive playground area, paddleboat rentals and the 1.7-mile walkway around Orange Reservoir. South Mountain banks up against the suburban communities of Millburn, Maplewood, West Orange and South Orange, if you want to get a bite to eat afterward.
16. Visit a Haunted Attraction
Photo: Shutterstock/Alexander Raths
Find frights and delights all over New Jersey as Halloween nears with haunted houses, tractor rides and much more for everybody looking for a great scare.
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