Atlantic City is on the Jersey Shore in the southern region of the state. This city is known for its collection of casino resorts and the Boardwalk, a two-mile beachfront pathway running parallel to the Atlantic Ocean. The Boardwalk features restaurants, retail stores and hotels. Many of Atlantic City's streets were inspirational in the creation of the famed board game, Monopoly. According to the South Jersey Transportation Authority, Atlantic City receives approximately 30 to 35 million visitors on an annual basis.
Located in Newark, Branch Brook Park is a 360-acre Essex County Park and home to one of the largest cherry blossom tree orchards in the United States. Approximately 4,000 cherry blossom are in the park at the date of this publication. Branch Brook Park is home to the annual Cherry Blossom Festival; this festival occurs in April when the cherry blossom trees are in full bloom. The east side of Branch Brook Park is home to the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart Basilica, one of the largest Catholic cathedrals in the U.S.
Much of the New Jersey coastline -- from Sandy Hook Bay to Cape May -- is known as the Jersey Shore. This coastal region of the state features beach resort cities such as Wildwood, Ocean City, Cape May and Seaside Heights. Each of these cities has oceanfront motels and restaurants. Jersey Shores also features family-friendly amusement parks. Among these parks is Morey's Piers (moreyspiers.com) in Wildwood and Keansburg Amusement Park (keansburgamusementpark.com) in Keansburg.
The Northwest corner of New Jersey is known as the Skylands. This region borders Pennsylvania and New York, providing kayaking and fishing opportunities at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Other recreational facilities, such as hiking and bicycling trails, are at Bald Pate Mountain near Lambertville, New Jersey, and the 892-acre Hacklebarney State Park. A segment of the Appalachian Trail -- a 2,181 trail running from Georgia to Maine -- passes through the Skylands.
Many celebrities lay claim to the Garden State as their home. During the 1980s, New Jersey produced two of the decade's most popular rock 'n roll artists, Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi. Springsteen paid homage to New Jersey in several songs such as "Atlantic City" and "4th of July, Asbury Park." The nickname Jersey Shore, one of New Jersey's regions, is used for the reality television series, "Jersey Shore." New Jersey native Zach Braff, a Hollywood actor, became famous through the television comedy, "Scrubs," but also directed a movie named "Garden State."
