I thought I had seen large Walmarts before coming to this place, but whatever I had witnessed prior to arriving to this particular retail outpost is quite small in comparison. This lot is easily 3 football fields wide and when you consider all of the surrounding area, it might even well be closer to 4. The parking perimeter apart from being quite massive, is also fairly new and / or incredibly well-maintained offering up very decent space between lanes as well as with the parking spots themselves. Insofar as the surrounding area is concerned, it’s more suburban and at that, a feeling of being somewhat distanced from the actual residential area.
If like me, you were driving through northern PA, but decided to take a pitstop at this location, you'll suddenly find yourself magically transported to another state altogether with no sign welcoming you to the great garden state of NJ. Apart from this store’s behemoth size, another one of the greatest advantages of this store is its proximity to highway 78, which is less than a 2 minute drive once you exit the turnpike. The ease and convenience that you’ll find yourself experiencing being this close to a major highway might typically have you concerned with having to deal with accompanying traffic and the noise that comes with it, but in this case, this area is not congested at all and in fact, because of its raised elevation and distance creates very little noise at all.
This paved parking paradise is flat and incredibly manageable, wherein you won’t have to worry about a ton of frenetic traffic darting this way and that. There’s decent lighting, but given that you are smack dab on the edge of suburbia, you won’t need much to feel very safe & secure here. From an amenities standpoint, in the immediate vicinity, you’ll discover no end to the store fronts, eateries, retail diversions and strip malls you’ll encounter here.
Insider’s tips? Here’s a few:(1) Should you be RV'ing with your four-legged friends, then you’ll be in luck as just due east of here you’ll discover a nice patch of nature called Natural Lands’ Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary, which is great for birding and seeing local wildlife as well as offering up some decent bike trails and hiking paths for you and your pet to stretch your legs; (2) When you grow tired of trying to conjure up that next meal from the remains of what is in your onboard mini-fridge or you just want to try out some local fare, then there’s a very decent smattering of local dive joints like Franks Pizza & Italian Restaurant, Bagel House, Drake’s Joint, Rath’s Deli, Bella Mia Pizzeria and Stone Tavern; (3) Should you need to load up on anything, obviously you could do the bulk of that shopping here at this mall-like Walmart, but if that’s not your thing, nearby there’s a Target, Lowe’s, Big Lots, Bourbon Street Wine & Spirits, Michael’s, HomeGoods, Marshall’s, Home Depot and Aldi; (4) Looking for a fun diversion for the kiddos? Then head on over to Crayola Experience for some coloring fun inside of a family-friendly warehouse complete with themed events, restaurant, store and endless coloring experiences; and (5) The best spots here IMHO at this Walmart are those that are furthest east along the frontage road that brought you to this place, which while positioning you closer to the main thoroughfare connecting you to all of the shops and restaurants, keeps you far enough away from the front entrance of the store.
While scoring criteria may vary from one person to the next, here are the 5 most important criteria that informed my rating of this overnight location: convenience (EZ on- and off-access), safety & security, quality (of facilities), peace & quiet and amenities (either on-site or nearby).
Here’s how I ranked this particular overnight spot:
Convenience: 5
Safety & Security: 5
Quality: 5
Peace & Quiet: 5
Amenities: 4
Overall, I scored this location a 5.
Happy Overnighting!
