Byway Driving Tour

Millstone Valley Scenic Byway Driving Tour

The Driving Tour is meant to be printed and read by a passenger in the car. See the Millstone Valley Scenic Byway Audio Driving Tour for a tour that can be downloaded to a smartphone and used safely by an individual.

The Millstone River Valley is a historically significant area in Somerset County that offers some of the most scenic drives anywhere in New Jersey. The valley is home to a 27-mile travel loop, the Millstone Valley National Scenic Byway. On your trip through the valley, drive slowly. There is a seasonal Byway Center on the Causeway in Griggstown. It’s open weekends 1-4 from May through October. Next to the Center is a place where canoes and kayaks are available for rental.

Take a walk along the canal towpath, ride your bicycle through the Six Mile Run Reservoir area, or stop for a picnic near the canal. Allow at least an hour—ideally two or three—for your tour of the Millstone Valley. We’re confident you’ll remember your visit to the Millstone Valley for years to come.

The Byway takes visitors through the beautiful Millstone River Valley with two lovely waterways. To the west is River Road, winding alongside the Millstone River, and to the east Canal Road follows the banks of the Delaware and Raritan Canal.
The Byway is located largely in Somerset County, New Jersey, but also in small portions of Mercer and Middlesex Counties.
Start at Millstone Borough Hall, 1353 Main St (County Route 533) in Millstone Borough (mailing address "Hillsborough"). The Borough Hall is located in a one-room schoolhouse, built 1860-1861.

TURN-BY-TURN DIRECTIONS

If you like, stop along the Griggstown Causeway to look around. Once the pandemic is over, stop at the Visitor Center to see us on weekend afternoons, April to October. View the Byway video and chat with the guides. Brochures are available.

You are now surrounded by landmarks from Central Jersey’s canal era, which lasted nearly a century from the Delaware and Raritan Canal’s opening in 1834 until it closed in 1932.

The D&R Canal was constructed between the years 1831–1834. Much of the hard labor of digging the ditch and removing trees was done by immigrant workers who were primarily of Irish descent. This work force was supplemented by local laborers and skilled craftsmen.

The main canal is 44 miles long and stretches from the Delaware River at Bulls Island to the Raritan River in New Brunswick. It is 75 feet wide and eight feet deep. It was built primarily to move coal from eastern Pennsylvania to New York City. Canal boats also carried locally grown produce and manufactured goods between Philadelphia and New York, eliminating the hazardous 100-mile route along the Atlantic Coast.

A series of culverts were built during its construction to allow the natural course of local streams to continue their uninterrupted flow beneath the canal, thereby eliminating damage to the canal infrastructure. You can see an example of a culvert behind the Visitor Center.

The Visitor Center was once the home of the Griggstown Bridgetender. The Bridgetender spent much of the workday in the station, the small building across from the house. When a boat approached, he would stop the road traffic and swing the A-frame bridge open to let the vessel pass. Across the canal from the Visitor’s Center you can see the stone foundation of the Griggstown grist mill. Across from the mill is a building that was probably used to house mill employees and store supplies for the mill. Several mills were located on the Millstone River; mills ground the wheat and corn from the Valley’s many farms. Due to the abundance of its crops, the Valley was called the bread basket of the American Revolution.

The Delaware & Raritan Canal is now the centerpiece of the D&R Canal State Park with existing buildings and locks. Take a walk on the historic towpath once used by mules to pull canal boats. The Griggstown lock—Lock #9—is located ¾ of a mile South of the causeway.

Rent a canoe or kayak behind the Visitor Center and enjoy time on the canal.

Millstone Valley Scenic Byway Driving Tour

Take the Tour!

Driving Tour Map

START: 1353 Main Street (Route 533/ Millstone River Road)

TURN LEFT: South on Main Street (Route 533/Millstone River Road)

DRIVE: Continue South on Millstone River Road

TURN LEFT: East on the Griggstown Causeway

STOP: Millstone Valley National Scenic Byway Visitor Center

TURN RIGHT: South on Canal Road

TURN RIGHT: West on Washington Street (Route 518)

TURN LEFT: South on Reeve Road and then TURN LEFT: East on Crescent Avenue

BEAR RIGHT: East onto Kingston Avenue / River Road

TURN LEFT: (North) Onto Route 27

DRIVE: Up the Hill into Kingston Village

TURN LEFT: North onto Laurel Avenue (Route 603)

BEAR LEFT: To stay on Route 603 (Kingston-Rocky Hill Road)

DRIVE: Continue North (across Route 518) onto Canal Road

TURN LEFT: Continue on Canal Rd. by turning left after the Water Treatment Plant

TURN LEFT: Onto Market Street

TURN LEFT: West on to Route 514 (Amwell Road)

TURN RIGHT: Just before the traffic light, Turn Right Onto North River Street (one way)

TURN RIGHT: North on Route 533 (Main Street/ Millstone River Road)

We hope you have enjoyed your tour of the Millstone Valley National Scenic Byway.

Millstone Valley History

Sights on the Drive

Millstone River Valley Map

Millstone Borough Hall,
built in 1860 as as
schoolhouse

The Bridge Tenders
House at Griggstown

Grist Mill and Carnegie Lake from Kingston

Historic Barn at
Blackwells Mills

Your Feedback

© Copyright 2024 Millstone Valley Preservation Coalition

Facebook

Millstone Valley Scenic Byway Driving Tour

Take the Tour!

Driving Tour Map

START: 1353 Main Street (Route 533/ Millstone River Road)

TURN LEFT: South on Main Street (Route 533/Millstone River Road)

DRIVE: Continue South on Millstone River Road

TURN LEFT: East on the Griggstown Causeway

STOP: Millstone Valley National Scenic Byway Visitor Center

TURN RIGHT: South on Canal Road

TURN RIGHT: West on Washington Street (Route 518)

TURN LEFT: South on Reeve Road and then TURN LEFT: East on Crescent Avenue

BEAR RIGHT: East onto Kingston Avenue / River Road

TURN LEFT: (North) Onto Route 27

DRIVE: Up the Hill into Kingston Village

TURN LEFT: North onto Laurel Avenue (Route 603)

BEAR LEFT: To stay on Route 603 (Kingston-Rocky Hill Road)

DRIVE: Continue North (across Route 518) onto Canal Road

TURN LEFT: Continue on Canal Rd. by turning left after the Water Treatment Plant

TURN LEFT: Onto Market Street

TURN LEFT: West on to Route 514 (Amwell Road)

TURN RIGHT: Just before the traffic light, Turn Right Onto North River Street (one way)

TURN RIGHT: North on Route 533 (Main Street/ Millstone River Road)

We hope you have enjoyed your tour of the Millstone Valley National Scenic Byway.

Millstone Valley History

Sights on the Drive

Millstone River Valley Map

Millstone Borough Hall, built in 1860 as asschoolhouse

The Bridge Tenders House at Griggstown

Grist Mill and Carnegie Lake from Kingston

Historic Barn at Blackwells Mills

Your Feedback

© Copyright 2024 Millstone Valley Preservation Coalition

Facebook

Millstone Borough Hall,
built in 1860 as as
schoolhouse

The Bridge Tenders
House at Griggstown

Historic Barn at
Blackwells Mills