Welcome to Visit South Jersey! Here is expanded information from IPW 2017’s Media Day. If you’d like additional information on “What’s New and Exciting in South Jersey”, please contact Megan York Parker at [email protected]. If you are interested in learning more about the rest of our beautiful state, please contact Jennifer Stringfellow at [email protected]
“What’s New in South Jersey”
- Award winning wineries in international competitions (NJ, San Francisco Chronicle, Finger Lakes) – AWARDS | AWARDS
- One of the best known breweries in the region, Flying Fish, and the newest to join the 30+ breweries in South Jersey, Death of the Fox (opening in Gloucester soon with behind-the-scenes tours available upon request) MORE INFORMATION
- The Rowan Fossil Park (behind-the-scenes tours and digs, where you can bring home fossils!) paired with breweries and wineries post-dig, and antiquing in Mullica Hill.
- Adventuring through the beautiful Pinelands – Pinelands Adventures, Batsto Village and Wine and Ale Trail of SJ (Brand NEW trail and ONLY Wine and ALE trail in state)
“What’s Exciting in South Jersey”
Hammonton
This is the food truck capitol of the Northeast, where the food trucks get made. See a live band at the new venue Kathedral, housed in a former church. Check out cutting edge theater at Eagle Theatre. Feast on authentic Mexican fare or fuel up at the Funky Cow Café. Come in August for NJ FRINGE and see the best of avant-garde culture the region has to offer. And don’t miss the blueberry harvest … take plenty of fresh blues home to bake, nosh or preserve. Nearby Lake Atsion, Hammonton Lake, Blue Hole and Wharton State Park are a Instgrammers dream for foraging, photo walks and forest cleanses and a chance to scare yourself silly with Jersey Devil lore. When you’ve had your fill, you can head to the shore.
Camden
Visit Cooper River Distillery for bourbon cocktails, check out the art at Stedman Gallery and/or FireWorks in South Camden. Catch free jazz in Wiggins Park, find Walt Whitman in the Children’s Garden and go see his house and his gravesite. Eat like a local Newtown Café or see what all the fuss is about with cheesesteaks at the famous Donkey’s. Other sites to see include petting the sharks at the Adventure Aquarium, touring Battleship Museum, the local shipyard museum – even poetry in a bank vault courtesy of the IDEA Center at Rowan University student center. Grab a great view of the Ben Franklin Bridge and the Philadelphia skyline. A great time to visit is XPoNential Music Festival weekend, which featuresWilco this summer.
Medford
Hang out at two cool local breweries a few short blocks from each other … Lower Forge and Nale House. Both offer plenty of local history and lore. Eat disco fries at the Pop Shop or unforgettable mac and cheese at historic Braddock’s Tavern, and then take a ride (maybe before the beer, actually) to Woodford Cedar Run to Instagram your way down the nature trail to the rehabbed animals – bald eagles, fox, hawks, deer and a gorgeous lake. Visit the Tabernacle farmers market on Saturdays, or go retro and hit up the Dairy Barn for a cone.
Mt. Holly
Have a great meal and cocktail at The Local, check out the poetry scene at the Daily Grind. Book a meal at the converted bank that is a culinary school-run restaurant, and then grab a flight or two at Spellbound and Village Idiot. Visit the ‘haunted’ and historic prison or treasure hunt on antiques row.
Collingswood/Westmont
Start your Saturday under the PATCO line for New Jersey’s coolest farmer’s market, where you can do everything from savouring a Thai coconut almond milk or a cold brew coffee with your breakfast quesadilla, to petting alpacas, adopting a cat, planning your community garden, stocking up on Jersey corn and tomatoes and checking out local musicians on two stages. Swing by the Perkins Center for the Arts for exhibits and studio tours, and then wander Haddon Ave where you can find everything from a machine-driven maker’s space to giant brick labyrinth to a ‘secret’ meditation garden to a craft brewery inspired by the Jersey Devil. Don’t miss the vintage finds at Frugal, the artisan pies at Constellation Collective or the midcentury everything at Dig This. Nearby Westmont offers a mid-week farmer’s market and a series of craft-brewery centered restaurants with excellent choices from buck-a-shuck oysters to wood-fired wings to great burgers. A pop up space will soon offer outdoor experiences including a beer garden.
“What’s Exciting for Foodies”
Collingswood – At last count, this town had 34 restaurants in 1.9 square miles. Plan ahead to visit James Beard multiple-nominee Joey Baldino’s Zeppoli. Thai? Tacos? Tikka Masala? It’s also here. You can do the white table cloth Italian feast at Nunzio’s or Il Fiore, but you can also sit outside and eat a sizzling steak slathered with melted Manchega on a stone at El Sitio or grab a window seat and watch the world go by at Sabrina’s, the region’s hottest brunch spot. Artisan bakeries line the avenue offering German baked goods, European pastries, organic pies and scones, or allergen-free treats. Thai-rolled ice cream, ‘50s-style soda fountain fun, and two top-shelf Indian restaurants round out the dozens of options all within a few blocks.
The town is technically BYOB but there are plenty of places offering New Jersey wine or the option of carrying in a local growler from its one craft brewery. And one of New Jersey’s premiere wine shops is nearby.
Haddonfield
The historic King’s Highway offers nearly as many opportunities to dine and explore. Two Fish, Zafra, Sanook Thai all offer exceptional dinner experiences, but you can also go more casual with crepes, burgers, organic wraps and juices or a great breakfast at the Bistro. Jersey Java is an out-of-the-fray place to chill and have an iced latte or even sample a local wine. And hit the farmer’s market or monthly night markets for food trucks, organic fare and much more. Don’t miss the British Chip Shoppe or Picket Fence Garden and Tea Room for a cultural escape. Grab a gelato before you go, or an ice cream cone near the gazebo. And you cannot miss Indulgence Cupcakery and a chance to saw hi to Haddy the dinosaur, without which no visit is complete.