Best Places to Picnic in New Jersey

Italian Giovanni da Verrazano, in 1524, was the first European to explore the area we know today as New Jersey. One of the original 13 states (it joined the Union in 1787), it was named after the island of Jersey in the English Channel. 

New Jersey is referred to as the "Garden State" because of its fertile farmland. General George Washington won a key Revolutionary War battle at Trenton when he crossed the Delaware River from Pennsylvania and surprised the Hessian soldiers stationed there. 

Trenton is the state capital, and the flower is the purple violet. "Atlantic City, a resort town and former home to the Miss America pageant, attracts visitors from around the world."

• National Park Sites

  • Edison National Historic Site

  • Morristown National Historical Park

• New Jersey State Park Sites (with picnic facilities)

  • Allaire
  • Allamuchy
  • Barnegat Lighthouse
  • Bass River
  • Belleplain
  • Bull's Island
  • Byrne (formerly Lebanon)
  • Cape May
  • Cheesequake
  • Delaware & Raritan Canal
  • Double Trouble
  • Fort Mott
  • Hacklebarney
  • High Point
  • Hopatcong
  • Island Beach
  • Jenny Jump
  • Kittatinny Valley
  • Liberty
  • Monmouth Battlefield
  • Parvin
  • Penn
  • Princeton Battlefield
  • Ringwood
  • Round Valley
  • Spruce Run
  • Stephens
  • Stokes
  • Swartswood
  • Voorhees
  • Washington Crossing
  • Washington Rock
  • Wawayanda
  • Wharton