Compiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Sep 12, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
1h 50m
Distance
78.5 mi
126 km
Drive Score
7/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$13
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Paterson, NJ
Wikimedia Commons
Seaside Heights, NJ
Wikimedia Commons
The drive from Paterson, NJ to Seaside Heights, NJ covers 78.5 miles and takes about 1h 50m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.
The route leans on Garden State Parkway, Garden State Parkway Southbound, West Central Avenue for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is mostly highway. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 51.1 miles on Garden State Parkway. At current regular gas prices, budget about $13.49 one way before food or hotel costs.
Trip Pace
Same-day drive is realistic
A same-day return is realistic if you keep stops short.
Midpoint
39.2 miles from Paterson, NJ
A natural place for your longest stop of the day , about 53m into the drive .
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Garden State Parkway | 51.1 mi | 1h 4m |
| Garden State Parkway Southbound | 6.2 mi | 8m |
| West Central Avenue | 3.6 mi | 6m |
| Ocean Avenue | 3.5 mi | 8m |
| NJ 35 | 3.4 mi | 5m |
| NJ 34 | 3.3 mi | 3m |
| NJ 19 | 2 mi | 2m |
| Anna O Hankins Boulevard | 1.2 mi | 2m |
Step-by-step road directions between Paterson, NJ and Seaside Heights, NJ.
Start on Colt Street
Turn right onto Ellison Street
Turn right onto Memorial Drive
Turn right
Turn straight onto Ward Street
Continue on NJ 19
Turn slight left onto NJ 19
Take the exit
Merge onto GSP
Continue on Garden State Parkway
Keep slight left at fork onto GSP
Keep slight right at fork onto GSP
Take the exit
Keep slight left at fork
Keep slight left at fork
Merge onto NJ 34
Enter roundabout onto NJ 34
Continue on NJ 34
Continue on NJ 35
Continue on NJ 35
Continue on NJ 35
Continue on NJ 35
Continue on NJ 35
Continue on NJ 35
Continue on West Central Avenue
Turn left onto CR 20
Continue on Ocean Terrace
Turn right onto CR 4
Arrive at destination
Morning Departure
Leave by 9 AM and you'll arrive before lunch.
Evening Departure
Even a 4 PM departure gets you there before dark in summer.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
Departure
Before you leave
Start with fuel, water, and navigation already sorted so the first hour feels easy.
First stop
Around 17 miles or 24m in
Use this first pause for coffee, a restroom break, and a quick traffic check ahead.
Halfway reset
Around 39.2 miles or 53m in
This is the best place for your longest stop, a real meal, and a full fuel check.
Final approach
Final hour starts around 1h 27m
Traffic, exits, and arrival timing usually matter more near Seaside Heights, NJ than in the middle of the route.
Open the route before leaving Paterson, NJ so your first major turns are already loaded.
Day 1
Settle into the route from Paterson, NJ
This is one driving day of about 78.5 miles and 1h 50m.
Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.
Mid-route town
Meal stop
39 mi into the route
Best for: Lunch, fuel, and a longer reset
This sits close to the middle of the route, so it works well for the longest stop of the day.
A short stop after about 17 miles helps settle the day before fatigue starts building.
The midpoint is around 39.2 miles from Paterson, NJ, which is a good place for a longer meal and fuel stop.
These stop ideas are pacing suggestions — the exact town or exit can change with traffic, hotel plans, and fuel range.
5 decision points cluster between mile 0.2 and 61.4 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
Turn right onto Memorial Drive
Lane positioning matters here
Take the exit toward GSP South
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here
Keep slight right at fork onto GSP / Garden State Parkway
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Take the exit toward NJ 138 East, I 195 West, NJ 34: Belmar, Trenton
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Keep slight left at fork toward NJ 34 South: Brielle
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Regular Gas
$13.49 one way
$26.98 round trip
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.79 | $14.80 | $29.61 |
| premium | $5.13 | $15.85 | $31.69 |
| diesel | $5.97 | $18.44 | $36.88 |
Estimated Tolls: $3.43
Toll estimates based on average 2024-2025 rates. EZ-Pass/SunPass discounts may lower the actual cost.
Estimated Trip Cost (one way, 1 person)
Fuel
$13
Tolls
$3
Meals
$25–$50
Total
$42–$67
Rough estimate based on US averages. Hotel $80–$140/night, meals $25–$50/day.
Estimated CO2 emission: 27.5 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-09-07.
Driving Electric?
About $8 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 23.6 | 0 | $8.24 | $3.77 |
| Efficient EV | 19.6 | 0 | $6.87 | $3.14 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 31.4 | 0 | $10.99 | $5.02 |
Gas CO2
27 kg
EV CO2
9 kg (67% less)
This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.
DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.
Current conditions at both ends of the drive.
Origin
Morning in Paterson on Saturday
Local time
6:25 AM
EDT
Current temp
68°F
Showers And Thunderstorms
Destination
Morning in Seaside Heights on Saturday
Local time
6:25 AM
EDT
Current temp
72°F
Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms then Chance Showers And Thunderstorms
Seasonal Notes
Summer travel usually means heavier construction, hotter rest stops, and busier weekend traffic around major cities.
Winter travel shortens daylight, so a route that looks manageable on paper can feel much longer after dark.
Holiday weekends tend to make both departure and arrival windows slower than the raw route time suggests.
Time zone
Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.
Temperature spread
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
The weather snapshot is not static. If you are leaving later, give both cities one more quick forecast check before departure.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
Worth a detour if your schedule allows.
National Historical Park
Silk cloth and steam locomotives; textiles and continuous paper rolls; firearms and aircraft engines. What do these things have in common? All were manufactured in the same place - Paterson, NJ. In 17...
National Historical Park
Today, the brick buildings on Main Street in West Orange, NJ seem quiet, betraying little evidence of the research, development, and innovation of their heyday. Visitors can step back in time to Thoma...
National Historical Park
Morristown National Historical Park commemorates the sites of General Washington and the Continental Army’s winter encampment from December 1779 to June 1780, where soldiers survived the coldest winte...
National Recreation Area
Spanning 27,000 acres from Sandy Hook in New Jersey to Breezy Point in New York City, the park is both the gateway from the ocean into New York Harbor, and the gateway to the National Park Service for...
Park data from the National Park Service API. Alerts update every 2 hours.
78.5 mi in 1h 50m, mostly highway — 51.1 mi of that is on Garden State Parkway.
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Garden State Parkway and Garden State Parkway Southbound. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 0.2 miles in near Memorial Drive.
Demanding - stay alert through the decision-heavy sections
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This drive requires moderate attention. Across 78.5 miles you will encounter 16 spots where lane choice or exit timing matters. Not difficult for experienced highway drivers, but worth previewing the tricky sections before you go.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.2 miles (Memorial Drive): Lane positioning matters here; at 2.8 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here; at 34.1 miles (GSP / Garden State Parkway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
Mostly flat terrain
Total Climb
365 ft
Total Descent
443 ft
Highest Point
229 ft
~44.8 mi in
Elevation Range
224 ft
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
On the drive from Paterson, NJ to Seaside Heights, NJ, road signs begin pointing toward Trenton along the way.
Trenton
Founded 1792
For the township in the Hunter region of New South Wales, see Paterson (New South Wales). Paterson is New Jersey's third largest city (about 155,000 inhabitants as of 2022), and hosts a great attraction: the Great Falls, which are very extensive and second only to Niagara Falls in terms of volume of water in waterfalls east of the Mississippi. Paterson is 12 miles away from Manhattan. It is an ethnically diverse city that houses large Hispanic, Arab, Italian-American, African American and Bengali communities. South Paterson is home to one of the nation's largest Arab communities.
Top landmarks
Founded 1913
Seaside Heights is a borough with almost 3,000 residents (2019) in the New Jersey Shore region. Seaside Heights is a beach town on a barrier island that faces the Atlantic Ocean on the east and Barnegat Bay on the west. It is connected to the mainland community of Toms River via the Thomas A. Mathis Bridge (New Jersey Route 37) over the bay. Seaside Park, directly to the south on the same island, is also covered in this article.
City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 1h 50m. Total distance: 78.5 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
1h 50m drive, comfortable solo distance.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (84%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Compiled by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, EIA for fuel prices, USGS 3DEP for elevation, and NPS for national parks. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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