Moved from South CA to Central NJ, what are some things I should know?

So in CA I could pretty much hop off the road onto a trail or service road pretty much always. In NJ I noticed a lot of overgrown areas, farmland, and water hazards, which don't exist in socal. Should I slap some 80/20s on and forget about the off roading?

I haven't really seen anywhere I could safely stray from the road. Do I need to pay to go to some sort of state park or something?

Thanks guys. I'll be in Central jersey if anyone has any tips. Middlesex/Monmouth area

edit: really stoked about all these good answers gonna be doing alot of riding soon