Union County, NJ Road Trips

All of present-day Union County was part of the Elizabethtown Tract, which was purchased in 1664, by English colonists from the Lenape Native Americans that lived in the area of present-day Elizabeth, New Jersey. Union County was formed in 1857, from portions of Essex County; it was the last of New Jersey's 21 counties to be established. Union County is unique in that it spans both North Jersey and Central Jersey. The North Jersey portion of the county encompasses Elizabeth, Union, Linden, Rahway, Roselle, Hillside, Roselle Park, Kenilworth, and Winfield. The Central Jersey portion of the county comprises Plainfield, Westfield, Scotch Plains, Cranford, Summit, Springfield, Clark, New Providence, Berkeley Heights, Fanwood, Mountainside, and Garwood. Many historic places and structures are to be found in the county, including on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Union County, New Jersey. Much of Union County is relatively flat and low-lying. Only in the northwestern corner does any significant relief appear as the Watchung Mountains cross the county. It is there that highest elevations, two areas approximately 560 feet (170 m) above sea level, are found in Berkeley Heights.

The Union County Performing Arts Center, in the Rahway Arts District, offers professional productions in music and theater as well as training in the performing arts. Tomasulo Art Gallery is in the MacKay Library at Union County College's Cranford campus.

Every fall, Union County holds its annual "Four Centuries in a Weekend" festival for the public, celebrating and touring historic buildings, museums and sites in the county.

Major highways which traverse the county include the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95), the Garden State Parkway, I-78, I-278, Route 1/9, Route 22, Route 24. Route 27, Route 28, Route 35 (only in Rahway), Route 82, Route 124, Route 439, and the Goethals Bridge. Passenger rail service is provided by NJ Transit via the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast Line, Raritan Valley Line, the Morristown Line and the Gladstone Branch. NJ Transit provides bus service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, as well as service to major cities in New Jersey and within Union County. Newark Liberty International Airport is partly located in Elizabeth, within Union County.