New Jersey, the Garden State


Land area: 7,419 sq. mi. (46)
Population (2000): 8,414,350 (9)
Population density: 1134.16 per sq. mi. (1)
U.S. Representatives (2003-12): 13
Entered Union: 18-Dec-1787 (3)

There’s a lot more to New Jersey than the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike. There’s prime hiking territory in High Point and Wawayanda State Parks and Stokes State Forest. Liberty State Park in Jersey City offers the closest vista to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Cape May features rows of Victorian houses. Atlantic City is home to the Miss America pageant and a dozen casinos. And the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford hosts the Hambletonian harness race and the 1995, 2000, and 2003 Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils.

On Sunday 26-Feb-2006, I completed a geographic goal by entering West Wildwood Borough in Cape May County. By doing so, I had succeeded in entering all 566 municipalities in New Jersey within the first 57 days of the calendar year.

Note: I’m not a county highpointer – someone who attempts to visit the highest point in every county. But I can claim two high points in New Jersey: High Point, the state’s tallest peak (1803 feet; 550 meters), in Sussex County; and Bald Mountain (1164 feet; 355 meters), in my home county of Bergen.


No. of Counties I’ve Visited: 21 of 21

County Pop. (2000)     Latest Visit   County Seat Visited?
Atlantic 252,552 7-Sep-2009 Mays Landing yes
Bergen 884,118 (where I live) Hackensack yes
Burlington 423,394 4-Oct-2009 Mount Holly yes
Camden 508,932 4-Oct-2009 Camden yes
Cape May 102,326 7-Sep-2009 Cape May Court House yes
Cumberland 146,438 7-Sep-2009 Bridgeton yes
Essex 793,633 19-Nov-2009 Newark yes
Gloucester 254,673 4-Oct-2009 Woodbury yes
Hudson 608,975  (where I work) Jersey City yes
Hunterdon 121,989 12-Apr-2009 Flemington yes
Mercer 350,761 4-Oct-2009 Trenton yes
Middlesex 750,162 4-Oct-2009 New Brunswick yes
Monmouth 615,301 15-Sep-2009 Freehold yes
Morris 470,212 8-Nov-2009 Morristown yes
Ocean 510,916 15-Sep-2009 Toms River yes
Passaic 489,049 19-Nov-2009 Paterson yes
Salem 64,285 4-Oct-2009 Salem yes
Somerset 297,490 1-Oct-2009 Somerville yes
Sussex 144,166 8-Nov-2009 Newton yes
Union 522,541 4-Oct-2009 Elizabeth yes
Warren 102,437 8-Nov-2009 Belvidere yes

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