A Scholarly Fall Foliage Trip - Princeton

In my college days, many years ago now, autumn was always my favorite time of year to be on campus. It’s hard to say whether it was because the new school year was getting started, the leaves were changing, or the days were sunny and cool when you could sit outside and study. Something just always felt right about it!

Two years ago, Michele and I went north to the Palisades and Sleepy Hollow for a fall foliage day trip. Last year, we went west along the Delaware River. This year, we decided to try another unique location and decided on Princeton, home of one of the country’s finest universities.

The trip started out with a drive west, bypassing Trenton by taking Interstate 295 around the city to the Princeton Pike exit for Mercer Road.

Our first stop was at the Princeton Battlefield State Park, located on Mercer Road, a couple of miles from town. George Washington scored a big victory here on January 3, 1777 coming on the heels of his Delaware crossing and the battle of Trenton. We didn’t end up spending too much time here, the park was not really very impressive compared to Washington’s Crossing State Park that we visited last year. Other than the Clarke House and a few historical markers, it’s a large field. The foliage wasn’t great, most of the trees were either bare or had yet to change, and walking trails were lacking. The park also sits directly on busy Mercer Road. Worth a quick stop, more interesting things were ahead of us in Princeton.

Mercer Road took us directly into the center of town where it intersected Nassau Street, with the University buildings on one side and the town shops on the opposite end. It took a little bit of driving around with our map to get oriented with the campus, and finding a lot to park in at the University was an obstacle (either lots were for student use, or since there was a home football game that left the stadium lot out of the question). We noticed plenty of on-street parking meters near the train station and decided that was the best bet, pleasantly surprised at how cheap they were. At 30 cents an hour, the little bit of spare change I had with me bought us over two hours of parking.

The foliage at Princeton University was more vibrant than what we saw earlier, making for better photo opportunities as it blended with the unique architecture of the campus. Constructed in the Gothic, or Collegiate Gothic style, the buildings featured interesting combinations of gray stonework and masonry. We walked through the various quads along with students going about their weekend activities. The marching band had assembled outside one of the halls in preparation for the football game.

Michele and I spent the better part of a few hours taking photos of the campus. One particular highlight, the University Chapel, blended intricate stained glass windows with high cathedral stone arches. The library, and Alexander Hall also offered aesthetically pleasing stonework.

With time set to expire on the meter, we drove back into town and found the municipal parking garage to use for the remainder of the afternoon. A few blocks away was Triumph Brewing Company, and after a morning of walking around we were ready for some lunch and a refreshing beverage!

Michele and I have been on a bit of a brew pub tour throughout the state since she bought me the New Jersey Breweries book this past summer, and this was our first visit to Triumph. The entrance may be on Nassau Street, but it’s a walk down the long corridor before you’re finally inside the brew pub. The interior was nicely laid out with two bars, one on the lower level and one on the floor you enter, with a small dining area there and an upstairs dining area as well.

We ordered a sampler of the craft beers, and Michele was pleasantly surprised by the variety and taste (fewer bitter beers on tap) compared with the other pubs we’ve visited so far. She decided on the pumpkin ale and Gose (a German wheat beer) while I stuck with the more conventional IPA. We treated ourselves to a full lunch with appetizers (calamari for me and the meat and cheese platter for her), and a main course of lamb kebab for me and gnocchi as her entree. The food was excellent and reasonably priced, with good customer service as well. We decided to stop back later to fill up a growler of fresh beer.

On to explore the town, we encountered a mix of high end shops that catered to the wealthy area residents, mixed with college hangouts and places frequented by the less wealthy student crowd. The Princeton University Store carried every imaginable article of clothing and accessory with the school logo and in orange school colors. By coincidence, Michele’s top was orange and she received numerous compliments around town all day! I picked up a pint glass and shot glass from this store to add to our collection.

As our day finished up, we stopped back at Triumph for a growler of Oktoberfest Ale and came home to relax. Free from the worries of academic life that the Princeton scholars faced, I filled up my new pint glass and sat back to relax for an enjoyable ending to another great day trip!

TRAVEL TIPS

Princeton is best reached by car, or using NJ Transit on the Northeast Corridor rail line. Driving from the east, take I-195 to I-295 North, which becomes I-95. Exit on the Princeton Pike for Princeton and continue into town. From the west, take I-95 and the Princeton Pike exit. From the north, Route 1 south is the best option.

Princeton Battlefield State Park is located on Mercer Road, about two miles south from the center of town. Park is open daily and free.

Parking in Princeton can either be at the municipal public garage off of Chambers Street or metered street parking adjacent to campus The meters are a bargain at 30 cents per hour. Walking is the only method for exploring campus, you can explore on your own or sign up for a group tour.

Triumph Brewing Company is located on Nassau Street across from the University, with a full line of craft beers and full menu.

Fall Foliage - New Jersey Style

When autumn begins and the talk of foliage starts, most people immediately think of the New England states and scenes from secluded rural villages. However, the entire northeast offers fall foliage that can be an easy day trip instead of venturing to a place such as New Hampshire or Vermont. In New Jersey the fall colors tend to peak in the middle of October and the leaves are on the trees until early November, making the period around Halloween a great time for a foliage trip.
Having traveled to the northern part of the state the previous year, Michele and I were looking for a different location to visit this year and decided on the western part of New Jersey along the Delaware River. Here Route 29 begins and parallels the Delaware to its ending point in Frenchtown.
Driving across I-195 we picked up Route 29 around the capital of Trenton, and once passing the metropolitan area the road became a two-lane highway. Here the urban development is sparse and things take on a more rural feeling only a few miles outside of the city. Our first stop was Washington’s Crossing State Park.

The park’s place in history is solid; George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River on Christmas day 1776 and landed near this location to march to Trenton and win a key battle in the Revolutionary War. Today, the park has well maintained roads and hiking trails where visitors can enjoy the scenery as much as the history. One of the nice features is that the terrain is not overly steep and rugged on many of the roads and trails, making this a nice destination for folks who might not do a lot of hiking and don’t want to be exhausted. The tree-lined roads throughout the park feature old oaks and hardwood trees, some nearly a century old as indicated on the plaques near their bases. We had arrived at the park fairly early in the morning, it was cool, sunny autumn weather, so there were a fair amount of people out and about. However, the park is relatively large so it’s not overcrowded and people have plenty of room to roam and find a little solitude. That made for a nice relaxing morning stroll while taking pictures of the foliage.
After a couple of hours at the park we continued north on Route 29 to our next stop, the city of Lambertville, located on the banks of the Delaware river and joined by bridge to New Hope, Pennsylvania. It may be classified as a city, but Lambertville has a traditional small town feel with Victorian and row houses, tree lined streets, shops and a church. I was able to good shots capturing the small town charm and we enjoyed visiting the unique downtown shops that included rare and out of print books, antiques, art and home collectibles, and a pet store. Parking was not difficult to find, and traffic wasn’t overly heavy.

We figured that we would find a restaurant across the bridge in New Hope, Pennsylvania to grab lunch, but just a quick drive across the bridge proved otherwise. Traffic was heavy and parking scarce, so we decided to bypass New Hope and head directly to Peddler’s Village. Just a short drive from New Hope, Peddler’s Village was the most crowded of the places we stopped, probably because of the weather, however we had very little trouble finding parking or getting around. Peddler’s Village was a destination that Michele was very interested in visiting during our day trip to browse the various specialty shops. We picked up a map of the village and Michele marked out the places she wanted to see while we ate a sandwich at the Cock & Bull Pub. The shops are mainly in building clusters with common areas between, and it just so happened that there was a scarecrow contest underway with scarecrows that had been constructed in the common areas by the individual businesses.
When Michele had finished browsing the stores we drove to our final stop of the day, Frenchtown. Frenchtown is a small borough on the Delaware River and the terminating point of Route 29. Much smaller than Lambertville, it still has much of the same small town and rural charm. We had dinner at the Cocina Del Sol which featured good Mexican food at a very reasonable price, the place is BYOB but there is a liquor store a short walk down the street to pick up bottle. Frenchtown was a good spot for photos of the Delaware River from the bridge to Pennsylvania, and we took several before heading home.





We managed to pack quite a bit of exploring into a day's trip. It was a great mix of both peace in nature and small town America charm. And, it was nice to be able to do this on a day over the weekend without having to travel a long distance or drop a big sum of cash in the process. Cities have their place in my travels, but when autumn comes around it’s the season to go rural!



TRAVEL TIPS:

Route 29 runs from Trenton to Frenchtown , New Jersey and is accessible from Interstate 195 or 295 in New Jersey or Interstate 95 in Pennsylvania . The approximate distance from Trenton to Washington ’s Crossing is 7 miles, to Lambertville is 15 miles, and to Frenchtown is 30 miles.

Washington ’s Crossing State Park is open from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM daily. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day there is a $5 per vehicle entrance fee. Follow the signs from Route 29 to the park entrance.

Lambertville and New Hope are easy to explore on foot and on-street metered parking is available. One word of caution, traffic can be heavy in New Hope!

Frenchtown is also good for walking and a municipal parking area is located east of the intersection of Route 29 and Route 12.

Peddler’s Village is located in Lahaska, Pennsylvania. From New Hope, follow Route 179 through town until it ends at Route 202. Turn left on Route 202 and travel approximately 3 miles to Peddler’s Village. Shops are open by 11:00 AM daily, excluding holidays.