Clinton Road is 10 miles of two-lane highway through the woods of West Milford, New Jersey. By day, it’s a pretty drive past reservoirs and rocky ridges. After dark, it has more ghost stories attached to it than almost any road in the country, which is why SIXT’s study of the most haunted roads in America put it at number one.
We’ve rounded up the legends, dug into the history behind each one, and provided information on how to drive it yourself, with a route guide, driving tips, and a fall road trip that starts at a SIXT’s New Jersey branch.
The chilling tale of Clinton Road, New Jersey
Clinton Road dates back to the 1700s. It served a small settlement called Clinton, which sat roughly where the road crosses the brook. The village disappeared long ago, but the name of the road stuck, along with the reservoir and the brook itself.
Clinton Furnace, a stone smelter built in 1826, still stands near the reservoir. Today, most of the land along the road is City of Newark watershed or state forest, so there are very few houses, and until fairly recently some stretches weren’t even paved.
Lonely road, deep woods, no streetlights: it was never going to stay an ordinary road for long. Local teenagers traded stories about it for generations. Then Weird NJ magazine started printing readers’ encounters, and eventually gave Clinton Road an entire issue of its own.
Where is Clinton Road?
Clinton Road, NJ, runs for around 10 miles through West Milford in Passaic County, in the forested highlands of northern New Jersey. The road stretches from Route 23 near Newfoundland in the south to Warwick Turnpike at Upper Greenwood Lake in the north, and is roughly an hour’s drive from New York City.
Is Clinton Road haunted?
That depends on who you ask. What’s certain is that it has collected more ghost stories than almost any road in America, which is how it ended up at the top of SIXT’s haunted roads ranking. The ranking measures how often people search for each road alongside words like “ghost” and “haunted” on Google and TikTok, using data collected in July 2026.
The setting does a lot of the work. The trees come right up to the road, and there are almost no streetlights. On cool evenings, mist rolls off the reservoirs, and your phone signal tends to give up at the worst possible moment. Round a bend, and you’ll see headlights flicker through the trees, disappear, then turn up somewhere you didn’t expect them.
Layer a few generations of retold stories on top, and every snapped twig starts to sound like a footstep. Whether that adds up to a haunting is something you’ll have to judge for yourself.
Spooky sightings on Clinton Road
Most of the urban ghost legends here have a real-world explanation if you dig a little. A few don’t.
The ghost boy of Dead Man’s Curve
The legend: The most common ghost story is of a young boy who drowned in Clinton Brook beneath one of the road’s bridges, near a bend known as Dead Man’s Curve. Toss a coin into the water at midnight, the story goes, and the boy will toss it straight back. Please don’t try this: there is nowhere safe to stop on the bridges.
The reality: The story shifts depending on who tells it. Sometimes the boy drowned while swimming; sometimes he fell from the edge of the bridge.
Ghost cars and phantom headlights
The legend: Tales describe a phantom car that’s said to appear if you mention it while driving the road at night. There are also stories of phantom pickup trucks, and even floating headlights with no vehicle attached, that follow drivers to the end of the road before disappearing.
The reality: On a road this twisty, headlights pop into view and vanish again every time a car rounds a bend. That probably explains most of the sightings. Probably.
Cross Castle
The legend: Visitors to Cross Castle have reported seeing strange symbols appearing on walls that were supposedly impossible to reach, and unsettling visions experienced inside the ruins.
The reality: In 1905, railroad official and banker Richard James Cross built a grand stone Tudor-style summer home on high ground near Hank’s Pond for his wife and 3 children. A fire later destroyed part of the house, and the empty shell drew hikers and curious teenagers for decades. Newark’s water department demolished it in 1988, but the stone foundations remain.
Hellhounds, monkeys and the Jersey Devil
The legend: Locals have also reported red-eyed hellhounds, an albino wolf-dog nicknamed “Wolfie,” wild monkeys and strange hybrid creatures roaming the woods at night. Some even link sightings to the Jersey Devil, the state’s most famous monster.
The reality: Just a short drive away, Warner Bros. ran Jungle Habitat, a drive-through safari park, from 1972 until it closed in 1976. Rumors of escaped animals surviving in the woods have fed the creature stories ever since. Today, the old park grounds are state land beside Long Pond Ironworks State Park.
The “Druid temple”
The legend: A cone-shaped stone tower beside the road was said to be a temple where local Druids held secret rituals, with terrible luck for anyone who looked too closely.
The reality: The “temple” is Clinton Furnace, an iron smelter built in 1826 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Planning your Clinton Road drive
There’s very little along Clinton Road itself beyond trees and water, so sort out the practical stuff before you turn off Route 23.
What to expect along the route
The classic way to drive Clinton Road is south to north, starting at the Route 23 lights.
Within the first few miles, you’ll reach Van Orden Road, home to the parking area for the trail to the Cross Castle site. Clinton Furnace sits just off the road nearby, followed by Clinton Reservoir and the bridges over Clinton Brook, where the ghost boy supposedly waits. Farther north, the road passes trail access for Terrace Pond in Wawayanda State Park before ending at Warwick Turnpike near Upper Greenwood Lake.
The road is narrow and winding, with barely a shoulder, so take it at an easy pace. Sections occasionally close for bridge and culvert work, so check Passaic County’s road alerts before you set off.
How to drive Clinton Road safely
- Download offline maps before you set off. Signal comes and goes along much of the road, so keep your navigation offline.
- In fog, switch to low beams. On cool fall nights, the ground loses heat fast after sunset and moisture over the reservoirs condenses into fog. High beams bounce off the droplets, while low beams sit beneath the fog so you can still see the road edge.
- Watch for deer around dusk and dawn. A pair of eyes glowing in your headlights is the scare you’re most likely to get.
- Take the bends near the reservoir at an easy pace and stick to the speed limit.
- Stay in the car and keep the drive moving. There are very few places to pull over, so save the photos for daylight.
- If you’re planning a little investigating, stick to public areas, follow permit rules and stay off private and watershed land without a permit. Our ghost-hunting equipment list covers what’s worth bringing, and these tips for ghost hunting paranormal locations explain how to explore safely.
When to visit
Mid- to late October is the sweet spot. The Highlands are usually in full color by then, and Halloween is close enough that you can feel the spooky vibes. Hike and explore in daylight, then finish the Clinton Road drive before it gets dark. If you plan to hike on watershed land, check the City of Newark’s hiking permit page first, because trail access can be limited at certain times of year.
A haunted New Jersey road trip itinerary
Clinton Road is the main event, but at 10 miles it’s over quickly, and the Highlands around it easily fill a full day. Both plans start and finish at SIXT Jersey City Newport.
One day: the Clinton Road legends loop
- Morning: Pick up your SIXT rental car from Jersey City Newport and head northwest toward West Milford.
- Late morning: Drive the full route, spot Clinton Furnace, and take in the reservoir.
- Midday: Hike the trail from the Van Orden Road parking area (watershed permit required) to Cross Castle and pack a picnic.
- Afternoon: Explore Long Pond Ironworks State Park’s trails.
- Sunset: Watch the sun go down over Greenwood Lake.
- Golden hour: Drive Clinton Road once more as the light fades, then head back to Jersey City before full dark.
Weekend: legends and leaves
- Day 1: Follow the one-day loop above, then base yourself in the Greenwood Lake area for the night.
- Day 2: Start at Ringwood State Park to tour the historic Ringwood Manor and wander the formal gardens at Skylands, New Jersey’s state botanical garden. In the afternoon, either stay put for a hike in Wawayanda State Park or cross into New York for Sleepy Hollow, where Washington Irving set his story of the Headless Horseman.
Nearby attractions to add to your trip
- Wawayanda State Park: Rocky ridges, quiet lakes, and miles of trails, including the route to Terrace Pond, a glacial lake perched on a ridge.
- Ringwood State Park: Home to Ringwood Manor, a grand historic estate, and Skylands, the state botanical garden, which looks its best once the leaves turn.
- Long Pond Ironworks State Park: Trails wind past the ruins of an old ironworks village, and the former Jungle Habitat grounds next door give the creature legends a real-world backdrop.
- Bearfort Ridge fire tower: A trail from the Clinton Road area climbs to a fire tower with sweeping Highlands views. It’s on Newark watershed land, so bring your permit.
- Greenwood Lake: A long, scenic lake straddling the New Jersey and New York border, and a good place to watch the sun go down before heading back along Clinton Road.
- Sleepy Hollow, New York: If a single legend isn’t enough, the home of the Headless Horseman makes an easy addition to a Halloween weekend.
More haunted roads in New Jersey
Clinton Road isn’t the only haunted road in New Jersey. Shades of Death Road in Warren County comes with an ominous name and a collection of ghost stories to match, and it’s an easy add-on for a full haunted New Jersey road trip.
And if you’d rather your scares came with a script, find out what a haunted drive-thru is and how a tunnel of terror works, or get inspired by these spooky movie locations you can visit.
Renting a car for your Clinton Road road trip
Planning a road trip along the road ranked number one in SIXT’s haunted roads study? SIXT Jersey City Newport is a convenient starting point, inside Newport Centre Mall at 30 Mall Drive West. It’s easy to reach from I-78, US-1 and US-9, and from there it’s a straightforward drive northwest into the Highlands.
Starting in New York? SIXT’s Manhattan branches, including Times Square and Battery Park, put you on the road to Clinton Road without leaving the city first.
Browse the SIXT fleet and pick the right car for your autumn road trip.
