Free things to do in NJ, but you may find some of them a stretch

Looking for some fun stuff to do in New Jersey without it costing much? How about without it costing anything?

That was the assignment when Tripadvisor recently put out a list of the highest-rated free things to do in New Jersey. You know who would have loved this concept? My dad. I loved him dearly, but let's just say dad didn't like to spend money.

He literally used to go to the local train station in Rahway and take a seat on the platform just for the excitement of watching the Amtrak express trains come barreling through the station at full speed without stopping. Or he also used to make an evening of going to the airport and finding a good spot to stand and watch the jets take off and land. I kid you not.

So I went through the list you'll see below and a lot of it indeed makes sense. You'll see things like the Waterfront 9/11 Memorial in downtown Jersey City. Somber, but free. Or the Princeton University Art Museum. Yes, the admission is free. Duke Farms is another. Beautiful place in Hillsborough to walk around on a nice day and I can personally confirm, yes, it's free.

But then there are things on the list that, while technically free, I'm not sure you're going to find very interesting or fun without spending money.

For example, the Borgata Casino. Actually several casinos made this list as you'll see. Yes, I suppose you can go to a casino and walk around the gaming floor and soak in some atmosphere, but will it be all that exciting without spending anything? Not even getting a drink? Hmmm.

Or there's the Ocean City boardwalk. Yes, walking any boardwalk can be fun, and even peaceful. But tell me you're going to have a good time without buying some pizza at Tony's or do some rides at Castaway Cove or Gillian's Pier.

So check out this list that covers free things to do all over the state, and see which ones you'd consider free versus "free".

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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