New Jersey Shore
We’ve compiled the best of the best in New Jersey Shore - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Cape May Carriage Company
Park the car and see Cape May's historic district the way they did when these building were born—aboard an elegant horse-drawn buggy. A dispatcher at the edge of Washington Street mall can arrange thirty minute tours for couples group tours for up to eight adults and two children. A fixture on the scene for nearly 30 years, Cape May Carriage Company has a fleet of more than 20 horses that all live on the owners' nearby farm. There are also ghost tours and holiday lights tours.
Ocean and Washington Sts., Cape May, New Jersey, 08204, USA609-884--4466Sight Details
Rate Includes: $50 first 2 passengers -
2. Cape May County Park and Zoo
This small gem of a zoo houses 250 species, including lions, giraffes, lemurs, snow leopards, red pandas, crocodiles, and pink flamingos. Take a walking safari on the raised boardwalk bordering the African savanna habitat, and visit the aviary and reptile houses. A carousel and minature train will lure the littlest ones and the surrounding county park is filled with picnic areas, playgrounds, bike trails, and a pond for fishing.
707 Rte. 9 N, Cape May Court House, New Jersey, 08210, USA609-465--5271Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free., Daily. -
3. Cape May Lighthouse
One of the oldest operating lighthouses in the United States, the 1859 beacon marks the southernmost tip of New Jersey and beams its light 24 mi out to sea. Climb up the winding stairs (199) to the top of the 157-foot-tall structure. From the watch gallery, under the reconstructed lantern, you have views of the Atlantic, Delaware Bay, and Cape May Point State Park. A small museum and gift shop are on-site.
215 Light House Ave., Cape May Point, New Jersey, 08212, USA609-884--5404Sight Details
Rate Includes: $8, Sat-Sun. -
4. Cape May Whale Watch
Board the 80-foot M/V American Star for up-close wildlife viewing with the Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center. An onboard naturalist identifies species of whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals. There are four tours daily in summer and autumn. Complimentary coffee and donuts come with the dolphin breakfast cruise; free pizza and hot dogs are served in the evening.
1121 Rt. 109, Cape May, New Jersey, 08204, USA609-898--0055Sight Details
Rate Includes: $150, Sun-Sat. -
5. Historic District Trolley Tours
Take a 30-minute tour of the east, west, or beachfront area of Cape May aboard one of the MAC-sponsored red trolleys that ply town streets. Combination trolley/Physick Estate tours are offered, along with children's rides, Romantic Moonlight tours, and Stairway to the Stars, a trolley trip combined with a trek to the top of the Cape May Point Lighthouse to stargaze (remember to bring the mosquito repellent).
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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6. Nature Center of Cape May
Part of the New Jersey Audubon Society, the center has tours, art exhibits, aquaria, themed gardens, and a viewing deck and tower for spotting harriers, seabirds, and other winged creatures. Educational activities take place throughout Cape May and within the center's 18 acres of beach, meadow, and marsh habitat that border the man-made harbor.
1600 Delaware Ave., Cape May, New Jersey, 08204, USA609-427--3045Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free, Daily. -
7. Spring Lake Boardwalk
A 1½-mi boardwalk lines the town's Atlantic Ocean beach. Two large beach houses stand, one on each end, with 100-foot-long by 33-foot-wide saltwater pools inside. From June through August, you need a badge to access the beach and beach houses—but use of the saltwater pools themselves is limited to residents and their guests. A beach badge is usually provided by your lodging, or you can buy one at either beach house. Much of the boardwalk had to be rebuilt in 2011 after extensive damage caused by Hurricane Irene. Dogs are allowed on the beach in the off-season, but are never allowed on the boardwalk.
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8. Absecon Lighthouse
The 1857 lighthouse was designed by George Meade, stands 171 feet tall, and is the oldest man-made tourist attraction on the Jersey shore. You can tour the adjacent lightkeeper's house and climb the 228 steps to the top for a great view of Atlantic City. In summer, kids are invited to Wacky Wednesday programs, moonlight climbs, and even sleepover adventures.
31 S. Rhode Island Ave., Atlantic City, New Jersey, 08401, USA609-449--1360Sight Details
Rate Includes: $10 lighthouse; keeper\'s house and museum free, Closed Tues. and Wed. Sept.--June -
9. Atlantic City Cruises
Ease into the morning with a skyline cruise, take the family on a quest for marine mammals with a lunchtime dolphin cruise, or toast the end of the day with a happy-hour cruise. In the summer, daily departures from Gardner's Basin aboard Cruisn 1 ply the coastal waters, granting up to 100 passengers a unique perspective on Atlantic City and is ocean and bay inhabitants.
800 North New Hampshire Ave., Atlantic City, New Jersey, 08401, USA609-347--7600Sight Details
Rate Includes: $16, Closed Oct.--May -
10. Atlantic City Famous Boardwalk
Part thoroughfare, part three-ring circus, the Boardwalk is center stage for every imaginable oddity. Conceived in 1870 as a way to allow Victorian-era visitors to experience nature without getting sand in their shoes, the Boardwalk became the place to see or be seen. Named for Alexander Boardman, the promenade's inventor—and not as you might think, for its wooden boards—the 4-mi-long Boardwalk begins in Atlantic City's Inlet section (at Maine Avenue), and heads south into neighboring Ventnor, where it continues for another 1½ mi (to Jackson Avenue). Saltwater taffy was invented on the Boardwalk in 1883, as legend has it, when a storm flooded a candy dealer's wares. The Boardwalk's attractions include amusement piers, museums, arcades, bars, restaurants, carnival games, and miniature golf. The Steel Pier, which once hosted the best music acts of the day as well as the famed diving-horse show, is now home to rides and carnival games. On Schiff's Central Pier you can take a spin in go-carts or play the signature shore game: skeeball. Aside from strolling up and down the boards, the traditional way to experience the Boardwalk is to be pushed in a rolling chair. These wicker chairs evolved from the wheelchairs that infirm visitors used back when the city's promoters' claimed the salty ocean air could cure all diseases. Despite medical evidence to the contrary, after a long stroll on the Boardwalk, you might have to agree.
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11. Boardwalk Hall
The 456-foot-long, 310-foot-wide, and 137-foot-tall architectural wonder was once the largest clear span space in the world. Opened in 1929, the main hall hosted the Miss America Pageant from 1940 to 2004 and is now the city's main venue to see championship boxing and stadium-style performances by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, and Cirque Du Soleil. After more than 80 years, it still holds at least one record. It houses the world's largest pipe organ.
2301 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, New Jersey, 08401, USA609-348--7000Sight Details
Rate Includes: Open only for events, check calendar on web site. -
12. Cape May Point State Park
The diverse mix of ocean shoreline, dunes, freshwater coastal marsh and ponds, islands, forests, and fields makes the 235-acre park at the southern end of the Cape May peninsula a mecca for sea and shore birds during the fall migration. Bird-watchers follow in droves and gather up-to-the-minute information from the Cape May Bird Observatory's Northwood Center. Attractions like surf-fishing, marked trails, observation platforms, the Cape May Lighthouse, picnic tables and shelters, a visitors center, and a museum also make the park ideal for year-round visits.
Lighthouse Ave., Cape May Point, New Jersey, 08212, USA609-8840--2159Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free, Daily dawn–dusk -
13. Delaware Bay Lighthouse Adventures
The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities organizes monthly sightseeing cruises that visit all the viewable lighthouses in the Delaware Bay. Each trip takes seven hours and includes complimentary breakfast and buffet lunch, as well as a cash bar. Boats run by Cape May Whale Watcher leave from Miss Chris Fishing Center at the marina near the entrance to Cape May.
2nd Ave. and Wilson Dr., Cape May, New Jersey, 08204, USA609-884--5445Sight Details
Rate Includes: $30-$85 -
14. Divine Park
Spring Lake, as the name suggests, is a spring-fed, ½-mi-long lake running northwest to southeast inside Divine Park. You can paddle along the calm water in a rented boat or kayak. By sidewalk, Divine Park's perimeter is approximately 1⅓ mi, but two picturesque wood bridges cut across the lake. The park is nicely landscaped all around, with a large, white gazebo at the far northwest end.
801 W Lake Dr., Spring Lake, New Jersey, 07762, USASight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
15. Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge
More than 48,000 acres of coastal habitats—including nearly 5,000 acres of woodland—are protected in this refuge. Peregrine falcons and bald eagles are among the winged visitors. There are numerous trails to explore like the 8-mile self-guided wildlife drive; the 3-mile dog-friendly Bristow Trail, which is a great place to see migratory songbirds; or the Akers Woodland Trail, an easy ¼-mile jaunt that's wheelchair and kid-friendly. To get here from Atlantic City, head west on U.S. 30, then right on U.S. 9. After about 5 miles, make a right onto Great Creek Road.
800 Great Creek Rd., Oceanville, New Jersey, 08231, USA609-652--1665Sight Details
Rate Includes: $2; cars and motorcycles $4 -
16. Historic Cold Spring Village
Craftspeople in date-appropriate costumes demonstrate their trades using traditional tools, methods, and materials at this nonprofit, living-history site on 22 shady acres north of Cape May. The farming village is made up of more than 20 restored buildings originally built between 1691 and 1905, including a blacksmith shop, a bookbindery, and a schoolhouse.
720 U.S. 9, Cape May, New Jersey, 08204, USA609-898--2300Sight Details
Rate Includes: $12, Closed Mid-Sept.--May -
17. Historic Gardner's Basin
Once home to pirates, privateers, and whalers, this neighborhood across the water from the Marina district is now a restored maritime village and waterfront park complete with Crafters Village, historic vessels, restaurants, and the Atlantic City Aquarium.
800 N. New Hampshire Ave., Atlantic City, New Jersey, 08401, USA -
18. Historic Smithville
This enclave of restaurants and shops (or shoppes, as they prefer) is centered on the Historic Smithville Inn. Car shows, parades, drum and fife performances, and other special events descend upon the quaint brick streets throughout the year. To get here from Atlantic City, take the Atlantic City Expressway to northbound U.S. 9.
615 Moss Mill Rd., Smithville, New Jersey, 08205, USA -
19. Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC)
Peer into the life of the Victorian elite during a 45-minute tour of the 18-room mansion built in 1879 for Emlen Physick, a nonpracticing physician (courtesy of a family inheritance) who lived with his mother and maiden aunt. The mansion's timber-outline exterior is in Stick Style, avant-garde for its day. Guides point out original furnishings and discuss period customs and clothing. Most tours can be combined with trolley rides through Cape May's Historic District and, on Fridays, tours have a family focus. Take time for afternoon tea or a light lunch at the Twining's Tearoom, in the estate's carriage house. Entrance to the adjacent Carriage House Gallery is included in the tour price.
1048 Washington St., Cape May, New Jersey, 08204, USA609-884–5404Sight Details
Rate Includes: $10 adults, $5 children ages 3–12 (one child free with every adult admission for \"Family Friday\" tours), Mid-June–mid-Sept., daily 9:30–5; mid-Sept.–Dec., daily 11–4; Jan.–mid-Mar., weekends 10–3; mid-Mar.–Apr., Sun.–Fri. 11–3, Sat. 10–5; May–mid-June, daily 10:30–4:30 -
20. Noyes Arts Garage
Located in the city's Arts District and home to artist's studios, galleries, shops, and a café, the Garage hosts special events throughout the year. It's also home to 1,200 square feet of gallery space for The Noyes Museum of Art and the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey.
2200 Fairmount Ave., Atlantic City, New Jersey, 08401, USA609-626--3805Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free, Closed Mon.--Tues.
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