The south New Jersey coast is a busy, fun place to take the family on a summer vacation, and the beaches and boardwalks are the main reason for the region's popularity. The southern coast, south of Atlantic City, consists of nine towns within Cape May County and has become a favorite destination of New Yorkers and Pennsylvanians. Each of the top beaches along the southern coast of New Jersey has its own personality.
This is a family destination located just 30 minutes south of Atlantic City, and it is quiet and less crowded than some of the other beaches along the coast. You won't find any neon lights here, and the boardwalk is smaller than the others you'll encounter along the shore. At the same time, you can stay in Avalon but spend your evenings in the more crowded and noisier beach towns, such as Wildwood.
Avalon has a lot of piers and jetties, making it the perfect destination for those who like to fish. Seven Mile Beach in Avalon has the highest sand dunes on the Jersey shore. The beach is perfect for kids--a nice, gentle surf and lifeguards--and was voted Best Beach in New Jersey by "The Washingtonian Magazine."
The beaches in Avalon also are handicapped accessible, thanks to a donation of surf chairs that can be borrowed from the lifeguard station. Beach passes are $24 for the season, $12 for the week or $6 a day as or March 2010.
Avalon Beach Chamber of Commerce
30th & Ocean Drive
Avalon, NJ 08202
609-967-3936
avalonbeach.com/beach.htm
Cape May, a charming town known for its Victorian architecture and more refined Jersey Shore sensibilities, is home to miles of beachfront and boardwalks, with different beaches and beach personalities.
You can commune with nature at Higbee Beach, which is a wildlife preserve and home to all manner of migrating birds. You can walk the trails at the relatively quiet beachfront Cape May Point State Park, or you can swim, suntan and play miniature golf at Sunset Beach, a popular destination for vacationers.
If you're a surfer, you might like Poverty Beach or Jefferson Beach, known for their surf conditions. At beaches such as Sunset, Cove Beach, Steger's Beach and others in Cape May, you can find shopping, snack stands and the usual Jersey Shore attractions, though on a smaller scale.
Children under 12 get into Cape May beaches for free; the rest of us can obtain beach badges from the Cape May Information Center. A daily badge is $5, weekly is $10 and a season badge is $20 as of March 2010. Cape May beaches get an estimated 80,000 visitors each weekend during the summer.
Cape May Chamber of Commerce
P.O. BOX 556,
Cape May, NJ 08204
609-884-5508
capemaychamber.com/
Because of its location just 2 hours from Philadelphia and New York City, Ocean City is always a bustling destination in the summer, and it has plenty of beachfront--8 miles of it--for you to enjoy. If you're looking for a place to suntan but need dozens of activities to choose from away from the sand, then Ocean City will appeal to you.
The town has 2 1/2 half miles of boardwalk, and some 19 different beaches with lifeguards along the Atlantic for you to choose from. Close to the beach, and sometimes on the beach, are activities such as shopping, mini-golf, wave-runner rentals, surfboard rentals, a music pier, basketball and tennis courts, pavilions and playgrounds. You can purchase beach tags at City Hall, the Welcome Center or the Information Center, at $20 for the season, $10 for the week or $5 for the day as of March 2010.
Remember that because of its religious history, Ocean City does not sell liquor. You can, however, purchase liquor just outside the boundaries of Ocean City and bring it to your rental home or hotel accommodations.
Ocean City Chamber of Commerce
16 E. 9th St.
Ocean City, NJ 08226
609-399-1412
oceancitychamber.com/
Wildwood is a major resort town on the south Jersey coast and has been for some 50 years. Its world famous boardwalk goes on forever--some 37 city blocks--and its population swells from 5,400 off-season to 250,000 in the summer. So if you're not comfortable in crowds, Wildwood is not your cup of tea.
Because of the boom in its popularity during the 1950s, Wildwood is known for the funky "doo-wop architecture" of its buildings, including its many hotels and motels. The town has preserved the 1950s feeling, and that's a real attraction for the visitors who fill up Wildwood's 8,000 hotel rooms and 3,000 condos each summer. In addition to its wide, free-admission beaches, Wildwood has three beachfront water parks, roller-coaster rides, go-karts, arcades, snack bars and restaurants, and even a tram that takes beachgoers up and down the boardwalk. Morey's Piers is a major attraction in Wildwood, an 18-acre location with a huge water park and a gigantic wooden roller coaster. There are watercraft rentals, party-boat rentals and fishing marinas here--Wildwood has just about anything a summer vacationer could want from a vacation, except for maybe peace and quiet.
Because the beaches are free, try to get there early because parking can be difficult at high noon. Or book accommodations within walking distance of the beach, and forget about your car for the duration of your stay.
Greater Wildwood Chamber of Commerce
3306 Pacific Ave.
Wildwood, NJ 08260
609-729-4000
gwcoc.com/
