Northern New Jersey to the Cabins: Route & Miles

From downtown Newark the cabins are 336 road miles north, about five and a half hours of driving with no stops. Bergen County starts closer, about 319 miles from Paramus, and Morristown is 337 miles by I-287. All three ways meet the New York State Thruway at Suffern within about half an hour of home, and from there it is the Thruway, the Northway and the mountain roads. This page is the North Jersey part of the trip in detail, the tolls a New Jersey E-ZPass pays, where to eat on a Friday night, the two ways to finish, and flights out of Newark.

336 milesby road from Northern New Jersey

five and a half hourstypical driving time

Saranac Lakethe last town on the exit 30 route; Malone on the Plattsburgh ending

4 guestsper cabin, each with its own hot tub

Where you start

The distances below come from OpenStreetMap routing to the cabins, with the router's times scaled the way the rest of this site does it. They assume a clear road and no breaks.

Start	Roads to the Thruway	Miles to the state line	Road miles to the cabins	Driving time
Newark, Broad Street	NJ 21, a short piece of US 46, the Garden State Parkway, NJ 17	32	336	About 5 hours 35 minutes
Newark Liberty airport	Airport roads, US 1 and 9, then the same roads	36	341	About 5 hours 40 minutes
Hackensack	NJ 17 from about two miles out	18	323	About 5 hours 20 minutes
Paramus	NJ 17	14	319	About 5 hours 20 minutes
Morristown	I-287 from the edge of town	32	337	About 5 hours 30 minutes

Paramus is 18 road miles closer than Morristown and about 12 minutes quicker. Every difference between the starts is settled before Suffern; north of it the trip is the same for everyone.

From Newark to the state line

The measured route leaves Broad Street for NJ 21, the McCarter Highway, and runs north for about 11 miles through Belleville, Nutley, Clifton and Passaic. Back in Clifton it takes US 46 for under a mile and joins the Garden State Parkway northbound, which crosses into Bergen County at Elmwood Park and Saddle Brook. After about four miles on the Parkway it leaves for NJ 17 in Paramus, 18 miles from Broad Street.

NJ 17 carries the rest of the New Jersey miles, north through Paramus, Ridgewood, Ho-Ho-Kus, Saddle River, Ramsey and Mahwah. At mile 31 the road crosses into Rockland County at the village of Hillburn, in the Town of Ramapo, and becomes NY 17 for the short run to the Thruway at Suffern. From Newark that first stretch takes about half an hour on an empty road.

From the Newark airport, the terminal roads and a short piece of US 1 and 9 lead to NJ 21, which puts the airport about four miles behind downtown on the same route.

From Bergen County

For Hackensack, Paramus and the towns around them, NJ 17 is the whole New Jersey part of the drive. From the center of Hackensack the route reaches NJ 17 in about two miles and the New York line about 16 miles later. From Paramus it is three and a half miles to NJ 17 and 14 to the state line, which makes Paramus the closest of the three starts to the cabins at about 319 road miles.

Bergen County still has a Sunday shopping law that most New Jersey counties have dropped. It bars the sale of nonessential goods such as clothing, appliances and furniture on Sundays, and grocery and drug stores are exempt. Nearly every other store in the county, the big ones along NJ 17 in Paramus included, is closed on Sundays, and supporters of the law point to the break it gives from the traffic. Pick up anything you need for the trip, from boots to a cooler, by Saturday.

From Morris County on I-287

From Morristown the route is I-287 almost from the town green: about 31 miles north through Hanover Township and Cedar Knolls, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Boonton, Montville and Towaco, Pequannock, Riverdale, Wanaque, Oakland, Franklin Lakes and Mahwah, to the Thruway at Suffern.

The northern part of this road is the newest. The 20.6-mile link of I-287 from Route 202 in Montville to Route 17 in Mahwah opened on November 19, 1993, after about 40 years of planning, with the ceremony held in Wanaque. Today Morristown, at 337 road miles, is within a mile of downtown Newark's distance and a few minutes quicker by the router.

Newark drivers sometimes take I-280 west to pick up I-287. Measured that way, the trip is about 352 road miles, some 16 more than the NJ 21 and Parkway way, and about a quarter of an hour longer.

Tolls for a New Jersey car

The New Jersey side costs one toll at most. Drivers on the Newark route pass the Garden State Parkway's Bergen toll plaza, a main-line barrier at milepost 160.5 that collects northbound only. It takes E-ZPass and cash, and the Turnpike Authority raised Parkway tolls 3 percent for 2026; its rate sheets have the current amount. The Bergen County and Morris County routes never touch the Parkway, so they skip that toll.

The Thruway charges a New Jersey tag more. It is cashless, and since January 1, 2024, drivers with a non-New York E-ZPass and drivers billed by mail have paid 75 percent more than New York E-ZPass customers, up from 15 and 30 percent before. The second step of the approved toll increase takes effect on January 1, 2027. A New Jersey E-ZPass still works on every gantry; it is billed at the out-of-state rate. Look up the current amount on the Thruway's toll calculator before you go.

The tolled part ends at Albany. At exit 24 the Thruway turns west as I-90, and I-87 carries on north as the Adirondack Northway, which has no tolls all the way to the Canadian border.

Eating on the Thruway on a Friday night

Northbound between Suffern and Albany there are four service areas, at mileposts 33, 65, 103 and 127. All of them are open around the clock with fuel and an Applegreen store, but the food counters keep their own hours, and on a late Friday that decides where you eat. These are the closing times the Thruway Authority lists in October 2026:

Service area	Open latest on a Friday	Closes earlier	Fuel and chargers
Sloatsburg, milepost 33	Shake Shack and Dunkin' to 10 p.m.	Chick-fil-A 9 p.m., Panda Express and Starbucks 8 p.m.	Sunoco, no chargers listed
Plattekill, milepost 65	Burger King and Chick-fil-A to 10 p.m.	Panera Bread and Starbucks 8 p.m., Auntie Anne's 4 p.m.	Sunoco, 6 EV chargers
Malden, milepost 103	Burger King to 10 p.m.	Popeyes 8 p.m., Dunkin' 7 p.m.	Mobil, 4 EV chargers
New Baltimore, milepost 127	Chick-fil-A to 11 p.m., Shake Shack to 10 p.m.	Panera Bread and Starbucks 8 p.m.	Mobil, 4 EV chargers on each side

New Baltimore is about two hours from Newark on a clear road. Leave at 5 p.m. and you are there around 7 with every counter open; leave at 8 p.m. and you arrive about 10, when its Chick-fil-A, open until 11 on Fridays, is the surest hot meal on the road. Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays, so plan the drive home around the others. The Thruway also warns that service areas are not for long-term parking: a car left unattended for more than four hours can be towed.

There are no service areas on the Northway. North of New Baltimore, food and fuel are at the exits, and the drive from Albany and the drive from Saratoga Springs list the towns along it.

The two ways to finish

About 255 miles from Newark, at exit 30 in North Hudson, the route chooses between two endings.

	Exit 30 and the High Peaks	Exit 37 and Plattsburgh
Roads after the Northway	US 9, NY 73 through Keene, Old Military Road, NY 86 through Saranac Lake, NY 30 from Paul Smiths	NY 3, NY 190 (the Military Turnpike), US 11 through Chateaugay, Burke and Malone
Road miles from Newark	336	363
Driving time	About 5 hours 35 minutes	About 5 hours 50 minutes
Last supermarket	Saranac Lake, 43 miles before the cabins	Malone, about 10 miles before the cabins

The router prefers exit 30 by 27 miles and about 18 minutes. The drive from New York City follows that road through Keene and Saranac Lake stretch by stretch, and the drive from Lake Placid covers its last 43 miles. For a North Jersey household leaving after work, the Plattsburgh ending is often the better choice, for the reasons below.

The Plattsburgh ending through Malone

Stay on the Northway to exit 37, about 303 miles from Newark. NY 3 leads a mile west to NY 190, the Military Turnpike, which runs 23 miles west through the towns of Plattsburgh, Beekmantown and Altona to US 11 in Ellenburg. US 11 then heads west through the Town of Clinton, the village of Chateaugay at about mile 340, Burke and into Malone at about mile 353, and county roads cover the last ten miles south to the cabins.

Three things recommend it on a Friday night. It stays low: the highest point on US 11 is about 1,340 feet, while NY 73 near Upper Cascade Lake climbs to about 2,200, so the last hour is easier in the dark or in snow. Malone is the last town, and its Price Chopper at 53 Finney Boulevard lists 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day. And Malone has the fuel, the pharmacies and the hospital nearest the cabins, so you arrive having passed everything you might need for the weekend. The drive from Plattsburgh describes the US 11 stretch in more detail, and the groceries and supplies page has the Malone stores.

On the exit 30 route, shop in Lake Placid or Saranac Lake instead. The route reaches Saranac Lake about four hours and 40 minutes after Newark and never enters Malone.

Winter from New Jersey

Expect about three times the snow at the cabins that you get at home. On the 1991 to 2020 normals, Newark's airport gets about 9 inches of snow in January and 31.5 inches in a whole winter, with February the snowiest month at about 10 inches. Malone, ten road miles from the cabins, averages 22 inches in January alone and about 95 a winter.

Check 511NY for the New York roads before you leave, and again at the New Baltimore service area, where you still have time to choose your ending. When snow is falling north of Albany, take exit 37 and US 11 rather than NY 73 through the High Peaks. The winter driving guide covers tires, plowing and what to carry, and getting to the cabins covers the gravel drives and the final turns.

The I-81 way

There is a second way north that avoids the Thruway entirely: I-280 and I-80 west into Pennsylvania, I-380 to Scranton, I-81 north through Binghamton and Syracuse to Watertown, and US 11 east across St. Lawrence County to Malone. It measures about 428 road miles from Newark, 91 more than the Thruway, and about seven hours of driving. It makes sense only when the Thruway or the Northway is closed, or when you want to break the trip in Syracuse. The drive from Philadelphia covers that road's stops.

Flying from Newark

For most North Jersey guests the drive wins. Of the airports near the cabins, Burlington and Montreal have flights from Newark, and both leave you about two hours from the cabins by rental car. The options are:

Burlington, Vermont (BTV). United flies nonstop from Newark. The airport is about 116 road miles from the cabins, by I-89 north, VT 78 and US 2 across the lake to Rouses Point and US 11 west, about two hours of driving.
Montreal-Trudeau (YUL). United, Air Canada and, since June 2025, Porter have flown Newark to Montreal; check the current schedules. From the airport it is about 84 road miles through the Chateaugay crossing, which is open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., or about 92 miles through Fort Covington, which is open around the clock. The Trout River crossing on NY 30 is closed to U.S.-bound traffic until about May 2028, so do not follow a phone map that sends you there. Bring passports; the border guide has the documents.
Plattsburgh and Lake Clear. Plattsburgh, about 65 road miles from the cabins, has flights to Florida and Washington Dulles, and Adirondack Regional at Lake Clear, about 40 miles away, has Cape Air to Boston and New York JFK. Neither has a flight from Newark.

The airports guide compares the rental counters and the drives from each.

The train

Amtrak's Adirondack does not stop in New Jersey. It leaves Moynihan Train Hall at New York Penn Station at 8:15 a.m. daily on the October 2026 timetable and is due in Plattsburgh at 4:02 p.m., so a Newark guest needs an early train into Penn Station first. The New York City page has the rest of the rail plan, including the rental car at Plattsburgh.

A Friday evening arrival

Check-in is after 4 p.m. With one stop of about 35 minutes for fuel and food, allow about six hours and ten minutes from Newark, six hours from Paramus and a little over six from Morristown on the exit 30 route. To pull up before dark, count back from sunset at the cabins:

Friday	Sunset at the cabins	Leave Newark by	Leave Paramus by	Leave Morristown by
November 13, 2026	4:32 p.m.	10:20 a.m.	10:35 a.m.	10:25 a.m.
December 4, 2026	4:18 p.m.	10:05 a.m.	10:20 a.m.	10:10 a.m.
January 29, 2027	5:02 p.m.	10:50 a.m.	11:05 a.m.	10:55 a.m.
March 5, 2027	5:51 p.m.	11:40 a.m.	11:55 a.m.	11:40 a.m.
May 7, 2027	8:10 p.m.	2:00 p.m.	2:15 p.m.	2:00 p.m.
June 25, 2027	8:49 p.m.	2:40 p.m.	2:50 p.m.	2:40 p.m.
August 13, 2027	8:08 p.m.	1:55 p.m.	2:10 p.m.	2:00 p.m.
October 1, 2027	6:40 p.m.	12:30 p.m.	12:45 p.m.	12:30 p.m.

From May to August a Friday that ends at 2 p.m. gets you there in daylight. From November to March it takes a day off or a Saturday start. For an evening start, here is a plan on a clear road: out of Newark at 4:30 p.m., dinner at New Baltimore about 6:30, exit 37 about 9:45, and Malone about 10:35, before the Price Chopper closes at 11. Message the host your arrival time before the last stretch, and you are at the cabin about 11 p.m. On the exit 30 route the same start reaches Saranac Lake after 9:30, when the Grand Union there, open until 9, has closed; the Price Chopper on Saranac Avenue in Lake Placid, open until 11, is the fallback.

What New Jersey guests come for

Ten of the cabins' reviews come from guests who list a New Jersey hometown, from Ridgewood and Newark to Bridgewater, New Brunswick and Jackson Township, and every one of them gave five stars. They have come in every season, and four of the ten stays were in December or February. A guest from Jackson Township who stayed at The Aviator in December 2025 wrote:

Had a great weekend and skiing was so close.

That skiing is Titus Mountain, three and a half road miles from the cabins, with night skiing. A Newark guest at The Modern Pine noticed the cabin itself: "The cabin is built in a very smart way with a ton of storage space hidden in plain sight." All three cabins sleep four, each with its own hot tub, fire pit and full kitchen, and none is suitable for children under 10. Montreal, about 78 road miles north, makes a day trip; the Montreal day trip guide has the plan.

The drive home

Checkout is before 11 a.m., which puts you back in North Jersey by early evening. Southbound, the Thruway's service areas are New Baltimore at milepost 127, Ulster at 96, Modena at 66 and Ramapo at 33, the last before Suffern; Ramapo's Shake Shack stays open until 11 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. Morris County drivers leave the Thruway at Suffern for I-287 south, and Bergen County and Newark drivers take NJ 17.

The Parkway's Bergen plaza charges northbound traffic only, so it is not on the bill going home. If you are driving back on a Sunday and need to shop, remember the Bergen County stores along NJ 17 are closed; grocery and drug stores are the exception.

Questions

How long is the drive from northern New Jersey to the cabins?

From downtown Newark it is 336 road miles, about five and a half hours of driving, by NJ 21, the Garden State Parkway and NJ 17 to the Thruway at Suffern, then the Northway. Paramus is about 319 miles and five hours twenty minutes; Morristown is 337 miles by I-287. Allow about six hours with a stop.

What tolls does a New Jersey car pay?

On the Newark route, the Parkway's Bergen plaza charges northbound only and takes E-ZPass or cash; Parkway tolls rose 3 percent for 2026. The Thruway is cashless, and a New Jersey E-ZPass is billed at the out-of-state rate, 75 percent above New York E-ZPass since 2024. The Thruway's toll calculator has the current amount. The Northway past Albany is free.

Should we finish through Keene or through Malone?

The router prefers Northway exit 30 and NY 73, 336 miles from Newark. Exit 37 and US 11 through Malone is 363 miles and about 18 minutes longer, but it stays below about 1,340 feet and passes Malone's Price Chopper, open until 11 p.m. After dark or in snow, take exit 37. See winter driving.

Where can we eat on the way on a Friday night?

The Thruway's New Baltimore service area, about two hours from Newark at milepost 127, keeps food open latest: Chick-fil-A until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Shake Shack until 10. Sloatsburg and Plattekill counters run to about 10 p.m. All service areas sell fuel around the clock; there are none on the Northway.

Can we fly from Newark instead?

United flies Newark to Burlington, Vermont, about 116 road miles from the cabins, and United, Air Canada and Porter have flown Newark to Montreal, about 84 road miles through the Chateaugay crossing. Plattsburgh and Lake Clear have no Newark flights. See airports near the cabins.

What time should we leave on a Friday to arrive in daylight?

Check-in is after 4 p.m. Leave Newark about six hours and ten minutes before sunset at the cabins: by 10:05 a.m. on December 4, 2026, when the sun sets at 4:18, or by 2:40 p.m. on June 25, 2027, when it sets at 8:49. From Paramus you can leave about 15 minutes later.

Sources

Facts on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. Hours, fees and schedules change; confirm before you go.

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From Northern New Jersey to the cabins