About 91,000 people live in Trenton, New Jersey, a city bisected by the Delaware River. It was founded in the early 18th century and was originally named Trent-towne, a name taken from a prominent local landowner, William Trent. Today, Trenton is an Urban Enterprise Zone, which means that the state runs several programs to boost local businesses within the city. This, combined with the lowest sales tax in the state, make Trenton an attractive place to both live and do business.
Sports enthusiasts can take in semi-professional baseball games in Trenton. The local baseball team, the Trenton Thunder, is part of the Major League Baseball Draft League, which showcases college talent. During June, several art festivals take place. The most notable of these is "Art All Night," which runs continuously for three days during the third week of June. The Capital Symphony Orchestra also plays concerts throughout the year.
Nearby attractions include Princeton University, which is just 10 miles up the road in Princeton, New Jersey. Princeton is also home to the Herrontown Woods Arboretum, an outdoor attraction featuring 3 miles of color-coded trails to hike through and see all of the wonderful flora. Right in Trenton, you can visit the state capitol and learn all about the history of New Jersey and its government. The capitol building was built in 1792 and is one of the oldest buildings in the state. If you're a science fiction fan, then you can drive just 10 miles to Grover's Mill, which is where the Martians landed in Orson Welles's Mercury Theater on the Air production of "War of the Worlds" in 1938.
Campgrounds Near Trenton, New Jersey
Indian Rock RV Campground features back-in RV sites with water, sewer, and 30-amp electrical hookups at each site. This campground is 30 miles from Trenton and offers various on-site amenities, including Wi-Fi and showers. You can also play miniature golf or swim in the seasonal pool during your stay.
Timberline Lake Camping Resort is 52 miles from Trenton. It's a family-friendly RV park that provides many themed activities throughout the year. These include hayrides, scavenger hunts, and crafts. Pets are allowed as long as they are leashed. The park has good cell reception, and each site has full hookups and is capable of accommodating rigs of any size.
Timberland Lake Campground has more than 200 back-in or pull-through sites, and each site has both 30- and 50-amp hookups. Every Saturday night, there's a themed dance party with a DJ. The miniature golf course will let you and your family while away an afternoon before taking a hayride. Both active-duty military and veterans get a discount at the park, and the same holds true for members of the AARP.
State Parks Near Trenton, New Jersey
It's 40 miles to the Spruce Run Recreation Area, which has 15 miles of shoreline. The reservoir within the park is stocked with 29 species of fish, so fishing is one of the most popular activities at the park. You can windsurf and boat on the reservoir as well. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, lifeguards are on duty to protect you and your family while you're swimming. There are almost 1,300 acres to explore on the park's hiking trails.
Right on the ocean, 40 miles away from Trenton, is Cheesequake State Park. The park is unusual in that it brings two disparate ecosystems together in one place. On the one hand, you have salt flats, marshes, and swampland. On the other hand, you have a hardwood forest, pine barrens, and a fishing lake. Several hiking trails ranging from 1.5 miles to 3.5 miles in length run through the area.
Allaire State Park, 37 miles from Trenton, is reputedly haunted by the Jersey Devil. Hike miles of trails, visit a railyard full of vintage steam engines, and swap ghost stories around a campfire. The park hosts more than 80 events throughout the year, and these include reenactments, craft shows, and antique displays.
National Sites Near Trenton, New Jersey
The New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve contains the Pine Barrens and one of the last remaining Atlantic coastal pine ecosystems. Tom’s Pond Trail is a little less than two easy miles of hiking that show off the best of the pines themselves and the wildflowers in the area. You can bring your dogs along on the Batsto Lake Trail, which is a little more strenuous than the Tom's Pond Trail. Just make sure to keep your dog on a leash.
The Deshler-Morris House is on the outskirts of Philadelphia, 36 miles from Trenton. The nearly 300-year-old house is on the list of places where "George Washington Slept Here." The first president stayed there to avoid a smallpox epidemic. For an easy trail, try the Germantown Hike. It's 1.5 miles and takes you past 10 historical landmarks. At each landmark, you can scan a QR code on your phone to learn more.
It's only 32 miles to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As the name implies, it's a museum dedicated to the Constitution. There are interactive exhibits, tours, and Constitution-based productions at the on-site theater. The museum is open from Wednesday to Sunday all throughout the year. In the library at the museum, there are roughly 150 documents available for study. These are the documents that the framers of the Constitution consulted when drafting that historic missive.
National Forests Near Trenton, New Jersey
Just a four-hour drive away, you'll find Finger Lakes National Forest in Central New York. Although this national forest is the second-smallest of its type in the United States, there are several easy and moderate hiking trails that take you past different ecosystems. Creeks, swamps, cow pastures, and ponds are all part of the forest's topography. You can fish for both smallmouth and largemouth bass, trout, walleye, and even pike in the lakes and streams in the area. Birders will be able to see many species of songbirds and raptors throughout the forest.
It's a four-hour drive to the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont. There are more than 2,000 sites of archaeology and history within the forest and a network of hiking trails to connect you to most of them. As with many places in the Middle Atlantic States and New England, autumn is the best time to visit because the foliage changing colors is so spectacular. Anglers 15 years of age or older will need a permit to fish in any of the ponds, lakes, and streams. Bring your binoculars if you like to birdwatch.
Since 1995, the National Forest Service has treated the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests as a single entity of 1.8 million acres. More than three dozen species of hardwood and pine trees grow in the forest, and there are 2,000 species of plants to explore. Experienced hikers will love the difficult Rushing Waters Circuit Trail, which runs 16 miles up to the top of Lookout Mountain. Newbies will have fun hiking the Hale Lake Trail. It's barely more than half a mile long, and at dusk or dawn, much of the forests' wildlife comes down to the lake to drink.
