New Jersey, New State on Fall 2021 Trip

New Jersey campground

New Jersey

This was our first visit to New Jersey.  Almost all of our time there was spent in Sussex County, the northernmost county in the state.  It was rather difficult to find campgrounds there because it is the most densely-populated state in the United States.  However, Sussex County is a relatively rural area and the countryside is beautiful.

Two things we learned about New Jersey:  you do not pump your own gas there and you cannot buy a New Jersey refrigerator magnet to save your life.  We collect magnets on our travels and attempted at least seven or eight times to acquire one.  No such luck!

The Great Divide Campground

The Great Divide Campground  was a relaxing stop on our trip.   Our site, G20, was nice and level.  We had our whole section to ourselves the first night, but several campers were nearby on our second night.

This campground, like a few others on our trip, was highly-decorated for Halloween.

The Great Divide Campground
The Great Divide Entrance

The Great Divide is a family campground and is set up for lots of activities for children.  We were there during the middle of the week, but the owner said they are 80-90% occupied on weekends.

Campground Office

We spent most of our free day at the campground.   It is a cute place and we mostly had it to ourselves.  It was one of those beautiful fall days where the temperature is almost perfect and it felt great just being outside.

There was a fork in the road

All About the Puppy

Sophie liked walking in the campground with us, but she really loved the dog park.  Practically every campground requires dogs to be on leash, so it was great for her to be able to run in the dog park.

Some Quality Time with Sophie

I just love to see that little girl running around at breakneck speed.  She always seems so happy!

Great Little Dog Park

Deer in the Campground

On three separate occasions, we saw deer in the campsite across from us.  They did not seem especially afraid of us as long as we didn’t get too close.  It was pretty cool to have them in the neighborhood.

Deer in New Jersey Campground
Deer across from our campsite

Jersey Food

However, we did briefly go into nearby Newton, the county seat.  It is a lovely little town with some interesting old buildings.   It is only 60 miles from New York City, but it is a totally different world.

Interestingly, most of of the highest-rated restaurants in Newton feature pizza.  Dominick’s is number 1 and they make a fine pizza.  The photo below is of what we took back to the camper.  They also had great service and we got to enjoy a young woman with a lovely New Jersey accent.  She could tell that we were not from around there.

Pizza at Dominick’s

In Conclusion

Because of the whirlwind of our many stops on this trip, it was nice to have a laidback day to just chill.   I know that Sophie enjoyed the time with us focusing on her.  Lastly, Sussex county was beautiful as the leaves were just beginning to turn.   We will have to visit Newark sometime to get a taste of big city New Jersey.   However, I do feel we have experienced some of the best of its rural countryside.   Check out our page, States Visited, a Campsite Resource to read about other states.

Happy Camping Y’all!

Retired couple and dog