3 NJ Drives Among Nation's Best Winter Road Trips

NEW JERSEY — The colder months can be an ideal time to pack up the car and head out to take in the nation's snow-covered landscapes — and some of the most beautiful spots and routes for a road trip can be found right here in the Garden State, according to a new survey.

Automobile distributor Ultimate Toys recently asked 3,006 seasoned travelers to name the best winter road trips in the United States and three New Jersey drives made the list including:

• Liberty State Park to Sandy Hook
• Pine Barrens Scenic Byway (Hammonton to Tuckerton)
• Hunterdon 579 Trail (Bethlehem Township to the Delaware River Valley)

The trip from Liberty State Park to Sandy Hook came in at No. 39 on the list. This drive along the coast offers views of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline ending at Sandy Hook, where you can visit the lighthouse or hike through the maritime forest.

The Pine Barrens Scenic Byway was ranked at No. 64, according to the survey. The approximately 130-mile byway is filled with countless scenic trails, multiple wildlife refuges, reserves, forests, parks, rivers and streams. It extends from Batsto and Tuckerton in the north to Dennisville and Port Elizabeth in the south.

Finally, Hunterdon 579 Trail came in at No. 94 on the list. From the hills of Bethlehem Township to the Delaware River Valley, the 579 Trail boasts more than 100 restaurants, bed and breakfasts, vineyards, historic bridges, farm shops and more.

Here's a look at the top 10 destinations, according to the survey:

1. Great Smoky Mountain Loop, North Carolina
2. Hudson Valley Scenic Drive (Beacon to Hudson), New York
3. Scenic Byway 12 (Panguitch to Torrey), Utah
4. Lake Tahoe Loop (Incline Village to Zephyr Cove), Nevada
5. Coastal Route 1 (Portland to Camden), Maine
6. Green Mountain Byway (Waterbury to Cambridge), Vermont
7. Richardson Highway (Valdez to Fairbanks), Alaska
8. Lakes Region Scenic Drive (Alton to Wolfeboro), New Hampshire
9. Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway (Phoenicia to Andes), New York
10. Pacific Coast Scenic Byway (Astoria to Brookings), Oregon

See the full ranking at UltimateToys.com.