Tag Archives: American Dream

Reasons to Visit New Jersey in 2024

For adventure seekers and wanderers who intend to expand their travel portfolio in 2024, the Garden State offers a host of exciting new experiences from the shore to the mountains to bustling city centres. With milestone event anniversaries, and new and renovated accommodations, restaurants and attractions, travellers have every reason to visit the Garden State throughout the seasons.

2024 Milestones

The Stone Pony Turns 50
Asbury Park is the Jersey Shore’s heart of culture and music, and The Stone Pony is at the centre of it all. This iconic live-music venue opened its doors in 1974 and has played a key role in launching the careers of some of New Jersey’s greatest and most famous musicians, from Bruce Springsteen to Jon Bon Jovi. With 50 years of memories displayed on the walls, The Stone Pony has an exciting events calendar for their big anniversary year, including The Stone Pony Summer Stage.

The Sopranos Series Commemorates 25 Years on TV

Considered one of the most essential television dramas of all time, The Sopranos is a New-Jersey based TV show that aired from 1999 – 2007. With most of the scenes taking place in North Jersey, On Location Tours is offering a Sopranos sites tour leaving from New York City and traveling through New Jersey. The tour visits major sites that were used in filming the show, such as Cozzarelli’s, Car Wash, Searchlight Diner and St. Cecilia’s Church, all of which were locations for major scenes as seen in the series. Get off the bus for a fun stop at Holsten’s (where the final scene of the last episode was shot) and feel free to order some onion rings! Guests can even sit in Tony’s booth for a nostalgic photo.

New Accommodations

Pendry Natirar

Natirar, the former home of the late King of Morocco located in Somerset County, New Jersey, will be expanded to feature a luxury boutique hotel called Pendry Natirar. The grand, Tudor-style,33,000-square-foot estate hotel is set among scenic trails and pathways on 400 acres of protected land along the north branch of the Raritan River in Somerset County, New Jersey. The hotel will feature 66 guest rooms and suites; 24 contemporary countryside Pendry Residences, 13,000 square feet of indoor meeting and event space, Ninety Acres, a distinguished farm-to-table restaurant and cooking school; a full-service Spa Pendry including an extensive health and wellness curriculum, fitness centre, swimming pool and tennis courts; a private membership club, and a variety of classic and unique outdoor activities to be discovered throughout the property.

Madison Resort Wildwood Crest to Open as the Largest Resort Hotel in Cape May County

Available for bookings in July, the 196-room Madison Resort Wildwood Crest combines the 54-year-old Royal Hawaiian Motel, acquired by Madison Resorts in December 2023, and Oceanview Motel, acquired in 2022, to become the largest resort hotel in Cape May County. The Jersey Shore property now includes a myriad of amenities, including three restaurants, two pools, two hot tubs, two fitness centres, five conference rooms and two rooftop event spaces. Madison Resort Wildwood Crest’s renovations have preserved the history and appeal of the mid-century Doo Wop heritage in the Doo wop Motel District, officially recognized as the “Wildwoods Shore Resort Historic District.”

Graduate Princeton to Open in Mercer County

Graduate Princeton is set to open in Princeton in June 2024. Created for travellers who seek memory-making journeys. Graduate Princeton allows guests to be immersed in local history, legends and Tiger traditions, as creative interiors and college nostalgia come together for a stay that’s undeniably Princeton. Located in the city’s historic district, steps from the Princeton University campus, the hotel is a perfect base for exploring this Ivy League destination.

Savannah Sunset Resort and Spa Opening at Six Flags Great Adventure

Now accepting reservations for bookings beginning on June 14, Savannah Sunset Resort and Spa is an African glamping experience that sits within Six Flag’s Wild Safari, providing panoramic views of open land and over 1,200 animals originally from six continents. A stay at Savannah Sunset grants access to all three Six Flags Great Adventure theme parks with VIP packages available at additional costs. Each luxury glamping suite has a private bathroom and access to outdoor entertainment, fire pits, restaurant & bar service, spa services, event space and more.

Nobu Hotel Caesars Atlantic City Now Open

After much anticipation, Nobu Hotel Caesars Atlantic City opened in January and further positioned the city as a leading travel destination on the East Coast. Nobu Hotel Atlantic City is part of Caesars’ $400 million investment into the destination, including the Nobu restaurant which opened in Atlantic City in 2022. The 82 rooms and suites within Caesars Atlantic City sit on the Centurion Tower’s top three floors and are designed in neutral tones complimented by subtle Japanese nuances and sleek, modern touches. New & Renovated Attractions

New attractions

Edelman Fossil Park Museum to Open this Summer
Rising from a former marl quarry in Mantua Township, Rowan University’s Jean & Ric Edelman Fossil Park Museum will be a world-class destination inspired by the deep-time perspective that the fossil record offers. With an expected summer opening, the museum will attract an estimated 200,000+ guests per year. Set into a 65-acre landscape, the museum will perch above the quarry where a 66-million-year-old marine and terrestrial fossils record the last moments of the dinosaur world. The museum will feature immersive exhibits galleries, full-scale reconstructions of extinct creatures, hands-on learning experiences, live animal attractions, virtual reality and more. Featuring geothermal, water-source heat pump heating and cooling systems, as well as a photovoltaic solar field, the museum will be New Jersey’s largest public net-zero facility.

American Dream Welcomes New Entertainment Facilities

American Dream, the second-largest mall in North America, spans 3 million-square-feet in East Rutherford. Known for its indoor theme park, waterpark, ski slope, surf attraction, high-end luxury stores and dining, this year American Dream is welcoming several new entertainment facilities to the mix: New Jersey Hall of Fame, Skip Barker Karting Academy, Sesame Street Learn & Play Educational Play Centre and The Gameroom Powered by Hasbro.

New rides at Six Flags Great Adventure
Celebrating its 50th year, Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, launches new rides this year THE FLASH: Vertical Velocity coaster is the first super boomerang coaster to open in North America. This ride will rush you forward and backward at nearly 60 miles per hour through a 180-degree twisted drop and zero-G roll, then it will change direction and you will speed off backward. Saw Mill Log Flume is a family friendly flume ride which cruises down a winding water course through the trees before plunging 4 stories down into refreshing, free-flowing water.

New Arts & Culture Experiences

Walk Through History at Morven Museum & Garden in Princeton

A National Historic Landmark, Morven Museum & Garden is honouring their twentieth anniversary by showcasing rarely exhibited objects and newly discovered photographs with “Morven Revealed: Untold Stories from New Jersey’s Most Historic Home.” On view from April 28, 2024 – March 2, 2025, the exhibition will take a thematic look at what was once a home to George Washington and five New Jersey governors, explaining the role Morven has played in the history of New Jersey and the nation for more than 250 years.

Montclair Art Museum Opened “100 Years of Black Art” Exhibit

Running until July 7, the Montclair Museum of Art is showcasing Century: 100 Years of Black Art at MAM. The largest of its kind in the Museum’s history, this exhibition celebrates the dramatic growth of MAM’s collection of works by Black artists. Ranging from James Van Der Zee’s historic photograph Black Red Cross March, Harlem (1924), to Nanette Carter’s Destabilizing #2 (2022), the show features the depth, breadth and variety of art by African Americans during the past century.

For more information on New Jersey’s upcoming events, please visit www.visitnj.org.

NEW JERSEY WELCOMES NEW FLIGHTS AS WELL AS NEW AND RETURNING VISITORS

British Airways have recently announced the addition of a new flight to and from Newark Liberty International Airport which will launch in June and making it three daily routes from London Heathrow, as well as United Airlines’ two daily flights from Dublin to Newark and Aer Lingus’ daily flight from Dublin to Newark.

Located in northern eastern United States New Jersey is bounded by New York to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, and Delaware and Pennsylvania to the west. The state boasts countless things to entice and entertain visitors, here are just some of the reasons you should visit New Jersey in 2022.

1) The Great Outdoors

There are over 130 miles of New Jersey beaches to enjoy, and over 50 seaside resort towns including Asbury Park, Atlantic City and Cape May. The spectacularly soft shoreline stretches from the top of Sandy Hook to the tip of Cape May Point, and there is a beach for everyone- families enjoy Long Beach Island and Point Pleasant, surfers and boogie boarders ride the surf at Manasquan. For a more low-key beach outing, Avalon, Ocean Grove, Spring Lake or Cape May are where to head. A more hipster vibe can be enjoyed at Asbury Park which features one of the best beaches in the state.

Above- Manasquan, photo courtesy of The New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism

There are many natural wonders in New Jersey. Pinelands (or Pine Barrens) cover over one million acres of farms, forests and wetlands near Hammonton, occupying 22% of New Jersey’s land area and it is the largest body of open space on the Mid-Atlantic seaboard between Richmond and Boston. It is home to blueberries, renowned cranberry bogs and dozens of rare plant and animal species including the ubiquitous Jersey Devil.

Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park is where you can find Great Falls of the Passaic River, one of the highest waterfalls in the country. This 77ft high 260ft wide waterfall was at the forefront of the American Industrial Revolution and was the venue for harnessing its hydro power to drive machinery.

Above- Patterson Great Falls. Photo courtesy of The New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism

A host of outdoor activities can be enjoyed year-round in the state of New Jersey, top tips include hiking along the New Jersey portion of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, which stretches more than 2,180 miles from Georgia to Maine. Book a rafting tour and float downriver at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Paddle your way through Great Egg Harbour River, a 129-mile river system that flows through Pinelands National Reserve or canoe or kayak the Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River, the largest free-flowing river on the eastern side of the country.

2) Food

New Jersey is a delight for foodies. Famous for iconic foods such as hoagies, Italian Hot Dogs, Rippers, Port Roll, Tomato Pie and Salt Water Taffie, however it also has a burgeoning food scene which you can explore through trendsetting eateries, artisanal coffee shops or gourmet food stores. Read more about current local food trends here.

You can now take in the culinary roots of late celebrity chef, bestselling author and TV personality Anthony Bourdain, who spent most of his childhood growing up in the state. An itinerary launched by the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism spotlights 10 New Jersey restaurants featured on Bourdain’s Emmy Award-winning TV series ‘Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown’, including Fort Lee institution Hiram’s Roadstand- Bourdain’s “happy place”, Tony’s Baltimore Grill in Atlantic City and Donkey’s Place in Camden which serves cheesesteak he claimed “should be a national landmark”.

Above- Tony’s Baltimore Grill in Atlantic City. Photo Credit: Meet AC

3) Attractions

With world-class attractions located throughout the state no visitor can claim to have nothing to do in New Jersey. Just a few of these include:

Liberty State Park is one of the state’s most dramatic parks, with the Manhattan skyline, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island as a spectacular backdrop. Here visitors can walk, run or ride Liberty Walk, a two-mile promenade, visit the Liberty Landing Marina, the NJ Empty Sky 9/11 Memorial and state-of-the-art Liberty Science Centre. You can also take a ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

Above- Liberty State Park. Photo courtesy of The New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism

Theme Park fans should head to American Dream, located in East Rutherford, which is the Western Hemisphere’s largest theme park, home to thrilling rides and experiences, including DreamWorks Water Park, Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park and the new Observation Wheel, with unveiled views of New York City’s skyline from 235 feet in the air. In Jackson Township Six Flags Great Adventure’s newest addition is Jersey Devil which is the world’s tallest single-rail coaster.

Grounds for Sculpture was created to make contemporary sculpture more accessible. This sprawling garden provides a casual setting for visitors to stroll through its 42 manicured acres to enjoy over 400 contemporary works of art.

4) Fascinating history

New Jersey has a long and distinguished history that dates back far before the American Revolution, in which the state played a pivotal role. You can discover New Jersey’s rich history and heritage through many of its historical attractions. Study artifacts in museums such as New Jersey’s State Museum and Newark Museum or see ‘live history’ in recreated villages such as Historic Cold Springs Village, Allaire Village and Batsto Village where historically clothed interpreters give demonstrations and answer questions. Alternatively follow the trail that American and French soldiers took from 1781-1782 during the Revolutionary War whilst exploring the 680-mile Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail.

Above- Battle of Monmouth re-enactment. Photo courtesy of The New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism

https://visitnj.org/American-RevolutionNew Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism have created three- and four-day American Revolution Trip Itineraries, which show you how you can experience for yourself the historic sites, memorials and monuments that find their home in charming towns, cosy villages and vibrant cities throughout the state.

5) Music

New Jersey has a rich music history, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi and Frank Sinatra all hail from here.

Visit the Bruce Springsteen Live! Exhibit at the Grammy Museum Experience at the Prudential Centre, the exhibit explores the evolution of Springsteen through the decades and grants exclusive backstage access to Springsteen legendary performances.

Catch a gig in Asbury Park, the music mecca of New Jersey. The Stone Pony is a club that has been central to the town’s music scene since 1974 and launched the careers of Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi.

SOPAC, in South Orange, is unlike most venues in the US. A non-profit multidisciplinary arts centre which hosts a variety of performances in an intimate live performance space, from dance and theatre, to family and music concerts. Its superb acoustics and small size create a unique and intimate connection between artists and audiences.

As well as at indoor venues, you can catch live performances at the many music festivals that take places throughout the year. Exit Zero Jazz Festival has become known as one of the most respected and creative jazz festivals in the country. It takes place in Cape May twice a year, every Spring and Fall, the next one takes place from May 13th to 15th. From June 16th -19th in Wildwood, country music lovers can see Eric Church, Cole Swindell and Jason Aldean at the second annual Barefoot Country Music Fest, the state’s largest country music festival. Sea.Hear.Now is a music, art and ocean sustainability festival featuring a professional surfing competition. The line-up for this year’s event, which takes place on September 17th and 18th is yet to be announced but last year Pearl Jam, The Avett Brothers and Billy Idol performed among others, so expect more big names this year.

Above- See.Hear.Now. Image by Kevin Doherty for See.Hear.Now

6) Shopping

The shopping options in New Jersey are plentiful, from upscale boutiques to bargain-friendly outlets, flea markets and discount malls, the variety of shopping in New Jersey is plentiful and with no retail tax on clothing or shoes, there’s extra need to pack light and come home heavy.

Designer items at a fraction of the original cost can be found at the many outlet malls dotted throughout the state, popular ones include The Mills at Jersey Gardens, The Mall at Short Hills and Jackson Premium Outlets which shoppers often visit by bus tours from New York in order to bag a bargain. American Dream is a 3-million-square-foot mall and one of the largest in North America.

A more “Main Street” vibe can be found in retail districts such as Historic Smithville and Village Green offering one-of-a-kind shops and attractions or for more exclusive retail therapy Princeton University town’s Palmer Square offers a stunning collection of brand-name shops and one-of-a-kind boutiques in a refined outdoor setting.

For more reasons to visit New Jersey click here.

To start planning a New Jersey holiday, visit www.visitnj.org

Follow the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube for more events and news throughout the state.
ENDS

About New Jersey

New Jersey provides a wide variety of experiences to visitors all year long. Travellers can enjoy outdoor adventures, renowned culinary offerings, educational opportunities, and a strong arts and cultural scene. With numerous state and national parks, beaches, skiing, tax-free shopping, historic sites, museums and more, New Jersey blends together its rich history and exciting present. Home to the nation’s first beach resorts and the birthplace of major inventions, New Jersey offers picturesque escape opportunities for all ages.

For more information, explore VisitNJ.org.
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