NJ Turnpike

[Susan A]

We will be traveling along the NJ Turnpike next week with a 3 year old and a 1 year. Are there picnic areas at the rest stops? I want to find a safe place for them to run around.
I've traveled the turnpike before, but never with kids. I just remember gas stations and fast food...
Thank you!

[ILoveLegos]

How far off the turnpike are you willing to venture? What exit? (We get that all the time here, LOL) Afterall NJ is the garden state! Honestly - rest stops are mainly just for fast food and fuel ups, they all really busy places but there is probably a picnic table out on the lawn somewhere, I honestly don't know the answer to your question because when I venture out on the turnpike I don't need a pit stop until I'm well out of state or I'm just hoping on/off to go somewhere local (that's a perk of living in Central Jersey I guess). Maybe someone else can give you a more definitive answer about where a young one can burn off some energy...

[Disney Lynn]

Click here: New Jersey Turnpike Authority- Official Guide to the Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway. http://www.state.nj.us/turnpike/

The above link is to the official (government)Turnpike (and GSP) site. I looked over some of the departments and didn't find anything about picnic tables. However, if you aren't traveling too soon, you could try contacting them.

Like the previous poster, I usually don't need a rest stop or gas in NJ (since I'm starting out here), so I don't know about "running around" areas.

[barnaby]

We will be traveling along the NJ Turnpike next week with a 3 year old and a 1 year. Are there picnic areas at the rest stops? I want to find a safe place for them to run around.
I've traveled the turnpike before, but never with kids. I just remember gas stations and fast food...
Thank you!

I have travelled on the Tpk. from the Camden area to Freehold recently. I am pretty sure it is like you remembered - gas stations and fast food.

[princessesmom]

We just traveled down the Garden State Parkway, and there were no picnic type areas at the rest stops. There is a big parking lot, a gas station and a building with fast food and restrooms. I wouldn't count on finding a picnic area on the turnpike, either. Though I think you could pack your own food and eat it inside the rest area.

[diz_girl]

Although the service areas usually comprise a gas station and fast food outlets, there is usually a place for people to walk their dogs. I'm not sure if there are picnic tables outside, but there may be some tables. I can't see how they couldn't have some picnic tables, if people want to buy their food inside but eat outside, especially those people traveling with dogs. I tried looking at Google Earth and I couldn't see any, buy if they were shaded by trees then the trees would block my view.

[SBETigg]

You really don't want to let the kids run around outside much at a NJ rest stop, turnpike or parkway. Pretty dangerous. Some of the rest stops have lots of room for walking around inside, like a food court area. Some are smaller. But still, the way traffic moves in and around the rest stops make it not very safe for lingering with kids to enjoy the outdoors, not designed for picnic or outdoor dining. NJ may be the garden state, but you see very little evidence of that on the turnpike or parkway rest stops, at least in the NJ stops I've been in and I've been all around the state.

[prprincess]

I live right off of Exit 4--it's easy off, easy on there, so you might want to try it out instead of a rest stop. There are a ton of restaurants (fast food and sit down) in the area, and the Moorestown Mall is literally two minutes away--the kids could stretch their legs there, if need be.

[Mfarquar]

It all depends on your destination and how far down you are traveling. You can get off exists where farms and pie stands are a short drive away. Or you can get off at the rest stop before Exit 11 and feel like you're in the middle of a city surrounded by a giant, busy parking lot.

You may want to consider taking the Parkway mixed with some country roads to avoid traffic and enjoy the actual Garden State that we hide from tourists

It all really depends on where you are heading.