# Hackettstown

Hackettstown is a town in Warren County in the Skylands region of New Jersey in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.

## Understand

Because Hackettstown is relatively smaller geographically than most other municipalities in the area, some of the attractions listed here are in the municipalities of Mansfield (Route 57), Independence (New Jersey) (517/46), Allamuchy (517/Waterloo Rd.) or Washington Township, Morris County (Route 46), but most are in or are close to Hackettstown. These townships are considerably less developed. Most of the commercial development of the townships are located near the Hackettstown border.

## Get in
### By train

Hackettstown Station is the last stop on the NJ Transit Montclair-Boonton and Morris-Essex lines. Once you get to the Dover station, trains can be found that take you to Morristown, Hoboken and Newark and New York City.
There 7 trains a day to and from Hackettstown
* 40.851956-74.8347121 Hackettstown railway station. (updated Nov 2019)

### By bus

New Jersey Transit has a shuttle service, known as Wheels 973, that usually has two small buses going in a loop around town M-F from 8AM to 6PM.
Martz Transit $^{[deadlink]}$ has a stop at nearby Panther Valley on some bus routes that travel from Northeastern Pennsylvania into New York City.
The Warren County government runs a bus that goes from Hackettstown to nearby Washington once an hour M-F from 8AM to 5PM. From there, another bus can take you to Phillipsburg.

### By car

* The Route 80 exits 26, 25 and 19 are all between 5 and 10 minutes driving time north of Hackettstown.
** From Exit 26 take Route 46 West through Mt. Olive and Washington Township until it turns into Main Street, Hackettstown.
** From Exit 25, going North, turn right into the International Trade Center and follow the signs for Waterloo Village. Make a right onto Continental Drive, and then, at the end of that road, turn left onto Waterloo Road, which turns into Willow Grove Road when it comes up toward Hackettstown.
** Via Exit 19, turn left towards Panther Valley. Follow County Road 517 several miles until you get to Hackettstown.
* County Road 517 goes south through Schooley's Mountain and connects with route 78 at Exit 24, also known as Oldwick, Whitehouse in Tewksbury, Hunterdon County
* Route 57 goes southwest through Washington and on towards Phillipsburg.
* Route 46 goes Northwest past Main St., through Great Meadows, Independence and on towards Belvidere until it ends at the Delaware River bridge crossing to Portland, Pennsylvania.

### By plane

* 40.82-74.8552 Hackettstown Airport (FAA LID: N05), ☏ +1 908-852-4664. Private planes only, Elevation: 670 ft.

## Get around
### Car rental

* Enterprise Rent-a-Car, 7 Riverside Plaza, ☏ +1 908 852-8600. New cars. If you plan to drive one way long distance, Enterprise has offices all over the country. $45 a day.
* Rent a Wreck, 141 Mountain Ave, ☏ +1 908 813-1155. Affordable car rental of older, used cars. Cars are inspected and up to code, but may have scratches on the body. Locally owned, so you can't go one way long distance like Enterprise. about $29 a day.
* Hertz Rent A Car, 115 E Plane St, ☏ +1 908 852-5547.

### Taxi or limo

* Knight Rider Taxi & Limousine, 229 Main St, ☏ +1 908 850-4450.
* Hackettstown Taxi Service: +1 908-852-3111
* Chapin Limo & Taxi: +1 908-979-9444

## See

* Centenary Stage Company (Centenary College Players), 400 Jefferson St, ☏ +1 908 979-0900. Box office is open M-F 2-5PM and two hours prior to each event. A stage for professional actors on the property of a small, private college. Drama majors from Centenary College usually mix with professional and amateur actors from around the area. Expiremental as well as traditional plays are performed, as are other performing arts, including Jazz and other music performances from the area and from around the world.
* $^{[formerlydeadlink]}$ Clearview Cinemas - Mansfield Cinema 14, 1965 Rt. 57 (Corner of Allen Rd. and Route 57), ☏ +1 908 852-5960.
* Mars Corporation Headquarters (M&M/Mars Factory), 800 High St, toll-free: +1-800-627-7852. Not open to the public. Home to one of the biggest chocolate-making companies in the world, the factory once offered tours, but not anymore. Some say the reason they no longer offer tours is because of 9/11, but others say it is to avoid industrial espionage due to people dying to know how they make their Snickers bars! You can drive by smell the chocolate and look at the giant inflatable characters from the street. It's one of the things Hackettstown is known for.
* Friday the 13th: film location, all over Blairstown (24 mi from Hackettstown). The original Friday the 13th horror movie (1980) was filmed in Blairstown. Follow the link to see some before and after pictures of many of the buildings that were featured in this very famous movie.

## Do

* 40.869183-74.811 Stephens State Park, 800 Willow Grove St, ☏ +1 908 852-3790. Sunup to sundown, office hours vary by season. Hiking trails, fishing, some camping (minimal facilities), picnic, playground, hunting, some educational programs for kids in the summer. Historic lime kiln, which was used by early settlers to produce lime, an early industrial and agricultural product. Make sure you wear bug repellent in the summer.
* 40.90203-74.959032 Land of Make Believe (Pirate's Cove), 354 Great Meadows Road - Rt. 611, Hope (10 mi from Hackettstown, 2 miles south of Route 80, Exit 12), ☏ +1 908 459-9000. 10AM-6PM throughout the summer season. Amusement park "specifically designed for parent participation with children".

## Buy

General: Wal Mart and Target are both nearby
Clothes: Kohl's, Marshall's
Hardware: Lowe's, Home Depot, Hometown Hardware
Electronics: Staples, Radio Shack, GameStop
Antiques, etc. on Main St.:
Trinity Thrift Shop
* What in the World (Merchants of Fair Trade), 229 Main St (in the center of Main Street, Route 46, inside the building across from Hometown Hardware), ☏ +1 908 850-8942. Daytime hours, closed Monday. Handcrafts from around the globe. Al & Vicki Kopacka import crafts all over the world. Enjoy the company, and eat at Tu Tierra restaurant next door.

## Eat

There are 11 pizzerias in Hackettstown and its immediate surrounding areas.
* Mama's Pizza & Cafe Baci, 260 Mountain Ave (http://www.mamascafebaci.com/directions.html), ☏ +1 908-852-2820, +1 908-852-2821. Su-Th 11AM-11:30PM, F Sa 11AM-12:30AM. Started out in the 1970s as just another struggling pizza place. But, over the years, they have grown, and grown, and grown. Catering, quality dining, entertainment on weekends, special events. The service is what stands out. The Schiano family are very generous to the Hackettstown Community. Definitely a Hackettstown institution. WiFi hotspot.
* River Star Diner, 14 State Route 57, ☏ +1 908 979-0626. A classic New Jersey diner on the banks of the Musconetcong river.
* Friendly's (Dining & Ice Cream), 304 Mountain Ave, ☏ +1 908 852-4191. Burgers, chicken, sandwiches, breakfast, lunch and dinner - and a lot of ice cream.
* Golden Skillet Chicken & Stewart's Root Beer, 333 Mountain Ave, ☏ +1 908 852-5552. limited (closed Mondays). Small, family owned, fried chicken fast food joint. Famous for the giant "Golden Skillet" sign and it's witty sayings. Picnic tables are outside right along the beautiful Musconetcong River.
* Brazilian Rodizio, 105 Main St (Across from the Ford Dealer on the north end of Main Street near the railroad tracks.), ☏ +1 908 852-6369.
* Irish Pub, Grand Ave.
* Ashley's Restaurant, 229 Main St (in the Center of Main Street, Route 46, inside the building across from Hometown Hardware), ☏ +1 908 850-9301. Renamed Tu Tierra - pleasant atmosphere across the hall from What in the World Crafts Shop.
* Enzo's Pizzeria & Restaurant, 903 High St, ☏ +1 908 850-0010. Serving quality Italian dishes, Enzos is looked upon by many as the best pizza in town.
* Blackstones, 86 US Highway 46, ☏ +1 908 850-6677. Owners of the former Pietro's in Washington Township
* Pandan Room, a. 100 East Moore St, ☏ +1 908 850-5999, fax: +1 908 850-5996. Lunch: Tu-F 11:30AM-2PM, Sa-Su 11AM-2PM; dinner: Tu-Su 5PM-10PM. This restaurant serves Thai cuisine. There are traditional Thai soups, appetizers, entrees. Lunch portions a smaller than dinner portions. A quaint restaurant split up into two rooms of dining. The bright colors and festive decorations give the restaurant a wonderful atmosphere. The restaurant offers dim sum Sa-Su 11AM-2PM. Dim Sum: “Small individual portions of food, usually served in a small steamer basket or on a small plate.”
* Fujiyama, 1954 New Jersey 57, ☏ +1 908 850-9400, fax: +1 908 850-1801, info@finefujiyama.com. The restaurant is split up into two sections. Upstairs is a dining area and downstairs is used for hibachi. The dining room is open M-Th 11:30AM-10:30PM, F Sa 11:30AM-11PM, Su noon-10PM. Closed between 3-4:30PM (except on Sundays and holidays). Fresh fish daily. A fairly large dining area with a chic and stylish décor. The hibachi grills are located on the first floor and have food being cooked right in front of you. The seating is about eight people per table. Hibachi meals include salad, soup, rice, noodles, shrimp, vegetables, and a choice of different seafood and poultry for the entrée for the Dinner meal. However, the lunch meal contains most of the same components but instead of getting both rice and noodles the customer chooses one or the other. The price of lunch hibachi is significantly less than the price of dinner hibachi. There are also lower prices for children ten and below.

## Drink

* Bar 46, 94 Rte. 46 W (1.5 miles west of downtown Hackettstown), ☏ +1 908 850-1044. W-Su 6AM-2PM. Live music on weekends. Beer pong every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month.
* Marley's Gotham Grill, 169 Main St, ☏ +1 908 852-2446.
* Greene's Beans Coffee, 313 High St, ☏ +1 908 979-0022. Small, independent coffee shop in town. Many locals prefer the atmosphere here to Quick Chek or Dunkin' Donuts.

## Sleep

* Comfort Inn, 1925 Route 57 West, ☏ +1 908 813-8500. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM.
* Panther Valley Inn, Route 517 (Very close to Route 80, exit 19), ☏ +1 908 852-6000. Small, luxury hotel, restaurant & pub - good proximity to Route 80.
* Stephens State Park. camping: see "do" category above.

## Stay safe

Emergency: dial 911
Hackettstown Regional Medical Center$^{[deadlink]}$, 651 Willow Grove St. (908) 852-5100
Hackettstown Police Department, 215 Stiger St, +1 908 852-3302
24-hour pharmacy in nearby Mt. Olive.

## Connect

Panther Valley does not have hotels it is now an assisted living facility. WiFi wireless hotspots can be found in a few restaurants, including Panera Bread, McDonalds and Mama's Pizza, as well as the town library on Moore St. and the County Library up the hill in Independence on Route 46.

## Go next

Hackettstown is one hour west of New York City by car. A little closer to the east is Metro New York, where one ofhe highlights is historic Morristown, New Jersey.
Heading due West on Route 80, you will reach the Poconos in about half an hour. Route 80 goes on an on all the way past Pittsburgh, Chicago, Des Moines, Salt Lake City and on to San Francisco. To the southwest is the Lehigh Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
The best way to get to the Jersey Shore is to take Route 80 or Route 206 to Route 287, and then keep going south to either the New Jersey Turnpike or the Garden State Parkway.
Philadelphia can be reached that way, but some people prefer to go out to the Lehigh Valley on Route 78, or Route 22, and then to the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, (S/I 476 South). Definitely consult a good map, though.