Wildwood, New Jersey, at the southern end of the Jersey Shore, attracts tens of thousands of visitors every day during the summer season. In search of sun, sand, fun, and relaxation, visitors love Wildwood days filled with fishing, crabbing, a visit to the lighthouse and English gardens, as well as two miles of boardwalk featuring specialty stores, arcades, Polish water ice shops, restaurants, and nightlife.
If the best things in life are free, then you can count Wildwood Beach as one of them. Listed as one of the best beaches in the United States by The Travel Channel and "New Jersey Star-Ledger's" No. 1 "Top 10 Family Beaches," Wildwood's five miles of white sand, Atlantic Ocean beachfront offers varied recreational activities. Swimming, sunbathing, skim boarding, body boarding, surfing, kite flying, and ocean kayaking are popular pastimes. The beach is also the place to be for special events, including concerts, championship volleyball tournaments, monster truck rallies, and motocross and Hobie Cat races.
Morey's Pier features three piers of thrill rides, concessions, amusements, and water parks, Morey's spans 18 acres over six beachfront blocks. Family owned and operated since 1969, "Amusement Today" voted Morey's the third best seaside amusement park in the world. The facility is actually three amusement piers and two water parks in one: Surfside Pier, Mariner's Landing, Adventure Pier, Ocean Oasis Waterpark and Beach Club, and Raging Waters Waterpark. Major rides include rollercoasters such as The Great Nor'easter, Sea Serpent, Great White, and Zoom Ploom.
In-season hours for the amusement piers are noon until midnight, with the water parks operating from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Special packages are offered every day of the week. As of 2010, a combination all-day amusement piers and water parks pass is priced at $210 for a family of four.
Take a trip on the trolley through Wildwood's famous "Doo Wop" district, an area filled with classic 1950s-style motels. Before real estate development took over Wildwood in the mid-2000s, 100 of these architectural gems stood proudly. Only 50 are left, including the Yankee Clipper, Chateau Bleu, and the Bel Air. Tickets for the Doo Wop Trolley Tour are sold inside the Doo Wop Experience, at Ocean and Burke Avenues, across the street from the Wildwood Convention Center. Tours begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, giving visitors a chance to catch the kitschy neon signs lit up in all their glory.
