April Staycation Ideas in New Jersey
For more events and fun things to do in New Jersey, visit NJNext.com.
"April is the cruelest month," T.S. Eliot wrote nearly 100 years ago. Clearly he foresaw our decidedly non-springlike April of 2018. For those who cannot escape to warmer climes, don't despair! There's plenty to do and enjoy in New Jersey with the kids, even in April.
Enjoy the Cherry Blossoms
Skip the trip to Washington D.C. (Newark actually boasts the largest cherry blossom collection in the United States) and savor the stunning scenery ride in your own backyard.Throughout the month of April, visitors can enjoy the gorgeous grounds of Branch Brook Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the famed landscape architect and designer of Manhattan’s Central Park, as well as an array of activities that includes concerts, a bike race (April 7), and a 10K (April 8). Keep an eye on the webcam to see when the trees are blooming!  The Cherry Blossom Festival get underway in Branch Brook Park April 7.
Visit a Museum
While you wait for those cherry blossoms to bloom, try something indoors. New Jersey has scads of world-class art museums — from Newark Museum to Morris Museum to Grounds for Sculpture and more — and many are free or offer special pricing for kids and families. See our list here.
Learn Some History
The whole family will enjoy seeing where electricity was harnessed and filmmaking transformed at Thomas Edison Historic Park in West Orange — the site of Edison's actual laboratories. Conversely, your musical theater kids who have memorized the entire score of "Hamilton" will enjoy visiting where Washington, Hamilton and the Continental Army headquartered during the winters of 1779 and '80 at Morristown National Historic Park.
Go Downashore
 Catsbury Park Cafe & Lounge Cafe Area, Photo Courtesy of Catsbury Park Cafe
Visit the Mountains
Time for skiing may be over, but the hills are alive — with biking, trail hiking, golf and more. Check out the activities at Mountain Creek Resort here. Looking for a hike closer to NYC (and a smaller mountain)? Check out the South Mountain Reservation trail map here.
Visit an Escape Room
Escape rooms, in which players must solve riddles or piece together clues within a specified time frame, are popping up all over the Garden State. Read our roundup here. Some "escape" more easily than others. Courtesy of Bane Haunted House.
Go Skydiving Indoors
iFly Indoor Skydiving will open its first New Jersey location in Paramus on Friday, April 13. Inside the 5,200-square-foot complex where the dream of floating through space becomes a reality, guests “ages 3 to 103” can enjoy the simulation of true freefall conditions inside a vertical wind tunnel. Read more here.
 Learn to fly at iFly Indoor Skydiving.
Take a Walk on a Canal Path
The Delaware and Raritan Canal Watch group is offering a walk off the beaten path - a 2.6-mile-long section of the towpath that runs alongside of the canal in the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park. The nonprofit group, which helps to promote and preserve the state park, has arranged for a walking tour on April 14 at 10 a.m. that starts at the turning basin on Alexander Road in Princeton and ends at the bridge tender's house in Port Mercer in Lawrence Township. More information here.
Shop a Farmers Market — Indoors
Millburn will host its first ever INDOOR Farmers Market on Saturday, April 7. Meanwhile, Duke Farms is hosting its final Farm to Table Winter Market on Sunday, April 8.
Visit an Aquarium
Jenkinson’s Aquarium in Pt. Pleasant Beach focuses on education and conservation. Exhibits include Atlantic sharks, Pacific sharks, coral reefs, penguins, and seals give you the opportunity to get up close to animals from around the globe. Another attraction, the touch tank, allows visitors to touch live animals ranging from a sea star to a sting ray.
Adventure Aquarium in Camden is just minutes from downtown Philadelphia on the Camden Waterfront and features more than 8,500 aquatic species, the largest collection of sharks on the East Coast, hippos, Little Blue penguins and the longest Shark Bridge in the world, plus a suspension bridge just inches over Shark Realm.
Bring Your Dog
Have a great idea for staycationing with the kids that we missed? Email us at editor@newjerseynext.com.
For more events and fun things to do in New Jersey, visit NJNext.com.
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