Taking the Backroads to Long Beach Island

If you live more than, say, forty-five minutes from the shore, you should have a "back way" to get there.

When the Parkway, 195, Route 70, Route 33, or AC Expressway is backed up due to traffic or an accident, most New Jerseyans have an alternate route.

It may be generally slower and a lot more scenic. There might also be a place or two you like to stop along the way. Growing up and living in South Jersey, if you wanted to get to LBI and didn't want to deal with Route 70 on the weekend, or any day for that matter, there is a great "back way" of getting to Route 72.

That is the main road that takes you to Long Beach Island.

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If you take this way you get to drive right through the heart of the unofficial capital of the Pine Barrens, Chatsworth. It's actually a part of Woodland Township. There used to be a general store there called Buzby's, but now it sits idle. A family lives in the house above it but the store is empty.

There is, however, a beating heart of commerce in the little town called Hot Diggidy Dog. The owner, Robin has been selling hot dogs and sodas to road-weary shore-bound travelers for over 20 years.

Her little business has grown over the years and is a famous stop in the middle of nowhere for local South Jersey drivers headed to the beach. Before you get there and for a while after her spot, there is NOTHING. So, if you're hungry, thirsty or need to use the port-o-potty, best pull over in Chatsworth.