Origin
Princeton, NJ
Morning in Princeton on Sunday
Local time
6:19 AM
EDT
Current temp
61°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Princeton, NJ to Toms River, NJ
Compiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 19, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
1h 9m
Distance
42.2 mi
68 km
Drive Score
6/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$7
one way
EV Charging
Good
8 stations
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
1h 4m
★
6 AM
1h 10m
8 AM
1h 21m
10 AM
1h 13m
12 PM
1h 12m
3 PM
1h 14m
5 PM
1h 20m
8 PM
1h 6m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Princeton, NJ
Wikimedia Commons
Toms River, NJ
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
If you are planning a trip from Princeton to Toms River, expect a straightforward 42.2-mile journey through the Northeast. You can comfortably complete this drive in about 1 hour and 9 minutes, making it an ideal single-day excursion. Because the route stays entirely on local roads, you won't need to budget for highway tolls, keeping your fuel costs around $7. This transit is perfect for those who prefer avoiding major interstates in favor of a more direct, localized path. It is a simple, no-frills transition between these two New Jersey locations, requiring no overnight stops.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Franklin Street | 6.8 mi | 10m |
| Princeton-Hightstown Road | 5.9 mi | 10m |
| Lakewood Road | 4.8 mi | 7m |
| Whitesville Road | 4.3 mi | 7m |
| Cedar Swamp Road | 4.1 mi | 6m |
| East Veterans Highway | 3.8 mi | 5m |
| Siloam Road | 2.8 mi | 4m |
| Washington Road | 2.8 mi | 5m |
Longest stretch:
Franklin Street
— 6.8 mi, about 10m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Princeton, NJ and Toms River, NJ.
1
Start on NJ 27
0.1 mi
·
26 sec
·
Nassau Street
2
Turn right onto CR 526; CR 571
1.6 mi
·
3 min
·
Washington Road
Use the straight / right lanes.
3
Enter roundabout onto CR 526; CR 571
174 ft
·
5 sec
·
Washington Road
4
Continue on CR 526; CR 571
1.1 mi
·
2 min
·
Washington Road
5
Continue on CR 526; CR 571
81 ft
·
2 sec
·
Washington Road
6
Turn right onto NJ 64; CR 526; CR 571
5.9 mi
·
10 min
·
Princeton-Hightstown Road
Use the straight / right lanes.
7
Continue on CR 571
0.8 mi
·
1 min
·
Stockton Street
8
At end of road, turn left onto NJ 33; CR 539
353 ft
·
12 sec
·
Main Street
9
Turn slight right
94 ft
·
3 sec
10
Turn right onto NJ 33
6.8 mi
·
10 min
·
Franklin Street
Use the straight / right lanes.
11
Turn right onto CR 527A
1.3 mi
·
1 min
·
Iron Ore Road
12
Continue on CR 527A
0.5 mi
·
44 sec
·
Smithburg Road
13
Continue on CR 527A
0.5 mi
·
46 sec
·
Woodville Road
14
Continue on CR 527
1.9 mi
·
2 min
·
Smithburg Road
15
Continue on CR 527
2.8 mi
·
4 min
·
Siloam Road
16
Continue on CR 527
4.1 mi
·
6 min
·
Cedar Swamp Road
17
Continue on CR 527; CR 528
3.8 mi
·
5 min
·
East Veterans Highway
18
Turn right onto CR 527
4.3 mi
·
7 min
·
Whitesville Road
Use the left lane.
19
Turn left onto CR 622
1.0 mi
·
1 min
·
Cox Cro Road
20
Turn right onto US 9
2.8 mi
·
4 min
·
Lakewood Road
21
Continue on NJ 166
2.0 mi
·
3 min
·
Lakewood Road
22
Continue on NJ 166
0.7 mi
·
1 min
·
North Main Street
Use the left / straight / right lanes.
23
Turn left
78 ft
·
5 sec
24
Arrive at destination
Where to Stop
Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.
Mid-route town
Meal stop
21 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.
Pacing Suggestions
Fuel and coffee
A short stop after about 42 miles helps settle the day before fatigue starts building.
Meal break
The midpoint is around 21.1 miles from Princeton, 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.
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 105 decision points cluster between mile 0.1 and 31.5 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
5
0.1 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
CR 526; CR 571 / Washington Road
Turn right onto CR 526; CR 571 / Washington Road
Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / right lanes.
4
1.8 mi into trip
|
~4m in
|
CR 526; CR 571 / Washington Road
Enter roundabout onto CR 526; CR 571 / Washington Road
Roundabout - know your exit number before entering
4
2.9 mi into trip
|
~6m in
|
NJ 64; CR 526; CR 571 / Princeton-Hightstown Road
Turn right onto NJ 64; CR 526; CR 571 / Princeton-Hightstown Road
Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / right lanes.
5
9.7 mi into trip
|
~18m in
|
NJ 33 / Franklin Street
Turn right onto NJ 33 / Franklin Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / right lanes.
6
31.5 mi into trip
|
~50m in
|
CR 527 / Whitesville Road
Turn right onto CR 527 / Whitesville Road
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$7.00 one way
$13.99 round trip
$4.21/gal
25.4 MPG avg
15 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.61 | $7.66 | $15.32 |
| premium | $4.93 | $8.18 | $16.37 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $9.32 | $18.63 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$7
Estimated CO2 emission: 14.8 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $4 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 12.7 | 0 | $4.43 | $2.03 |
| Efficient EV | 10.6 | 0 | $3.69 | $1.69 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 16.9 | 0 | $5.91 | $2.70 |
Gas CO2
15 kg
EV CO2
5 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.
Travel Intel
Current conditions at both ends of the drive.
Destination
Toms River, NJ
Morning in Toms River on Sunday
Local time
6:19 AM
EDT
Current temp
45°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
45°F
Manalapan, NJ
21 mi in
Time zone
Same local time
Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.
Temperature spread
16 degrees cooler at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
1h 9m on the road
Use the two city cards together: check the sky where you start, then compare it with the local time and temperature at arrival.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
What kind of drive is this?
Expect a turn-heavy local drive rather than a high-speed interstate cruise, as this route maintains a 0% highway share throughout. You will navigate a series of local roads, starting with a 6.8-mile stretch on Franklin Street, which serves as your longest uninterrupted segment. The journey relies on Princeton-Hightstown Road and Lakewood Road to guide you toward your destination. Since the road profile is consistently technical with frequent turns, you will need to stay alert behind the wheel. The experience is defined by these winding local connectors, offering a steady pace rather than the monotony of a wide-open highway.
Only 0% highway — the rest is turn-by-turn surface driving.
24 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 6.8 mi on Franklin Street.
How Hard Is This Drive?
5/10
Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. You will hit about 10 points where you need to pay attention to lane position or signs. The trickiest moment comes around 0.1 miles in near CR 526; CR 571 / Washington Road.
Driving Effort
5/10
Moderate - straightforward overall, but long enough or busy enough to require pacing
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This drive requires moderate attention. Across 42.2 miles you will encounter 10 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 0.1 miles (CR 526; CR 571 / Washington Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 1.8 miles (CR 526; CR 571 / Washington Road): Roundabout - know your exit number before entering; at 2.9 miles (NJ 64; CR 526; CR 571 / Princeton-Hightstown Road): Lane positioning matters here.
Elevation Profile
Mostly flat terrain
205 ft
23 ft
Total Climb
95 ft
Total Descent
277 ft
Highest Point
205 ft
Elevation Range
183 ft
About the Cities
Starting in Princeton, NJ
Full guide →Princeton, home to the prestigious Princeton University, is a municipality with a population of approximately 32,000 (2017) in Mercer County, central New Jersey.
Arriving in Toms River, NJ
Full guide →Toms River is the county seat of Ocean County, New Jersey. It is a few miles west of the beaches of the Jersey Shore Region, midway between New York and Philadelphia and a short distance from Atlantic City. Toms River is easy to get to by car as the Garden State Parkway bisects the town, and it is served by express bus service to and from New York City.
City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 1h 9m. Total distance: 42.2 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
1h 9m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (0%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Scenic Drive
Mostly surface roads route profile with national parks nearby.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 6.8 miles on Franklin Street. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.
Yes. At under 2 hours behind the wheel, this works well for families — plan one quick stop if you have younger kids.
The main spots that need attention: at 0.1 miles (CR 526; CR 571 / Washington Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 1.8 miles (CR 526; CR 571 / Washington Road): Roundabout - know your exit number before entering; at 2.9 miles (NJ 64; CR 526; CR 571 / Princeton-Hightstown Road): Lane positioning matters here.
Yes — Morristown National Historical Park. See the National Parks section for detour distances and tips on detours.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Toms River, NJ before heading back.
How this page is built
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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