Delaware River Region

The Delaware River Region covers the western half of southern New Jersey, the broad flatland country running from the Trenton area south along the Delaware River to the Salem County tip. The terrain is mostly flat coastal plain — pine flatwoods in the southern Pinelands, agricultural country through the central counties, and the densely populated suburban belt across from Philadelphia. The Delaware defines the entire western boundary. Five counties cover the region. Mercer holds Trenton (the state capital), Princeton (with Princeton University), and Hopewell; Burlington holds Mount Holly and most of the New Jersey Pinelands; Camden holds Camden and Cherry Hill; Gloucester holds Glassboro and Woodbury; Salem holds Salem. The New Jersey State Museum and Old Barracks Museum in Trenton, the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, Battleship New Jersey, and Princeton University’s Nassau Hall and Art Museum anchor the major attractions. Most trips here run as Philadelphia-extensions. Trenton handles the colonial-and-revolutionary itinerary — Washington’s Christmas Crossing of the Delaware happened here; Princeton runs the college-town and museum scene; Camden’s waterfront draws aquarium and battleship visitors; the Pinelands National Reserve covers more than a million acres of protected pine forest, cranberry bogs, and blueberry country in Burlington.