New Jersey

From River Road, it does not look like a portal. Kinokuniya New Jersey sits at 595 River Road…

By Duncan Edwards · May 14

The best New Jersey road trips do not always announce themselves with dramatic mountain passes or endless desert…

By Duncan Edwards · May 14

The first clue is the smell of garlic hitting hot olive oil before you even settle into the…

By Duncan Edwards · May 14

You can stand under a wolf howl in Warren County, climb a lighthouse in Cape May County, wander…

By Duncan Edwards · May 14

The building still looks like it could handle a little grease under the fingernails. West End Garage at…

By Duncan Edwards · May 14

A waterfall roaring beside brick mill buildings. A dinosaur hiding in a downtown shopping lane. A lighthouse climb…

By Duncan Edwards · May 14

At the bend where South Main Street crosses Brainerd Lake, Cranbury does something sneaky. One minute, you’re in…

By Duncan Edwards · May 13

Somewhere between the turnpike exits, beach traffic, and diner menus big enough to qualify as literature, New Jersey…

By Duncan Edwards · May 13

Firefighter boots dangle overhead, the bar has the lived-in confidence of a true neighborhood spot, and the brick…

By Duncan Edwards · May 13

The boardwalk fries can wait. Somewhere beyond the beach badges and sandy car mats, New Jersey has castle…

By Duncan Edwards · May 13

The Free Bridge into Easton is the kind of New Jersey detail that tells you a lot before…

By Duncan Edwards · May 13

The road into some of New Jersey’s best escapes does a funny little disappearing act. One minute you’re…

By Duncan Edwards · May 13

The “Trenton Makes, The World Takes” sign still glows over the Delaware River like it has something to…

By Duncan Edwards · May 13

A six-story elephant stands near the Margate beach as if it wandered out of a boardwalk fever dream…

By Duncan Edwards · May 13

The plate that turns heads at The Cubby Hole does not arrive with sparklers, powdered-sugar theatrics, or some…

By Duncan Edwards · May 12

The creepiest sound in New Jersey is not always a scream from the Pine Barrens. Sometimes it is…

By Duncan Edwards · May 12

A grocery run on Route 4 usually means traffic lights, turn lanes, and a parking lot that tests…

By Duncan Edwards · May 12

A quiet road bends through the pines, a brick ruin peeks out of the brush, and suddenly New…

By Duncan Edwards · May 12

A giraffe can be chewing calmly a few yards away while your kid is still holding the same…

By Duncan Edwards · May 12

A brick factory hidden in the Pine Barrens, a fairy-tale castle behind fencing, a Cold War missile site…

By Duncan Edwards · May 12

A weathered old sign, a Route 9 address, and the kind of doorway that makes you slow down…

By Duncan Edwards · May 12

A giant elephant stands a block from the beach, a smiling water tower grins over Absecon Island, and…

By Duncan Edwards · May 12

About 150 feet off Sunset Beach, the remains of a concrete ship rise out of the Delaware Bay…

By Duncan Edwards · May 11

A six-story elephant looks out over the Shore like she has been waiting patiently for everyone else to…

By Duncan Edwards · May 11

A shopping cart rattles across the floor, somebody two aisles over gasps at a pair of boots, and…

By Duncan Edwards · May 11

A funny thing happens when you stop treating New Jersey like a place to rush through. The state…

By Duncan Edwards · May 11

A few steps off Middletown-Lincroft Road, you can crouch beside a shallow creek, scoop up a handful of…

By Duncan Edwards · May 11

There is a particular kind of New Jersey magic that happens when you park once, forget where you…

By Duncan Edwards · May 11

The first thing you notice is not the skyline, even though Manhattan is sitting right there across the…

By Duncan Edwards · May 11