Camping in Cape May, NJ

Fall is a great time to camp, with cool frosty evenings, warm sunny days, brightly colored fall foliage and everywhere there is signs of the season's harvest. The air turns crisp and migrating birds are on the move once again. It's easy to imagine sitting around the fire, a nip in the air, with a hot apple cider (or other beverage of choice).

Fall camping is enjoyable everywhere, but nowhere is it better than Cape May on the Jersey Shore. The crush of the summer crowds is long gone, and there really is something for nearly every interest to be found in and around historic Cape May.

But first, a little background: Located on the southern tip of the Cape May Peninsula in New Jersey, Cape May is America's oldest seaside resort. Always popular with vacationers from Philadelphia, and according to Wikipedia, by the 1800s it was considered one of the nation's finest resorts. Owing to hundreds of years of history, much of the old city is designated a National Historic Site, and most of the remaining original structures have been restored. Special events like Annual Victorian Week and Cape May's History Detectives Tour highlight the city's colorful and storied past.

Fishing around Cape May is especially good in the fall. Striped bass, bluefish, weakfish, and flounder can be caught from shore or in the bay, and charter-fishing boats also find tautog (also called blackfish), sea bass, and even pollock and cod on occasion. A license is not required for recreational saltwater fishing, but a license is required for crabbing or clamming. Visit the NJ Fish, Game and Wildlife website for details. Their address appears in the web links section below

Because of it's location on major migratory bird routes, the Cape May area is noted for its unparallel bird watching or "birding." Fall is an especially good time for bird-watching and the Cape May Bird Observatory has programs, walks, and even a birding "forecast" for the 400 or so species of birds that can be seen there.

Whale and dolphin watching boat trips are popular, especially with kids. Cape May whale-watching boats offer a "guarantee" if marine mammals are not sighted on your trip, and kids age 6 and under ride for free (one child for each paid adult).

Hunting for Cape May "diamonds" is also another popular activity for kids. These gems, which are actually quartz crystals, originate hundreds of miles upstream in the swift Delaware River currents, and over thousands of years are tumbled and polished until they wash up on beaches near Cape May. Some are actually cut like real diamonds and made into jewelry, but most are simply kept as souvenirs.

World War II history buffs can explore the Harbor Defense System of the Delaware Bay and climb the restored lookout tower, Fire Control Tower No. 23.

There are walks and tours of almost every kind: nature walks, private home tours, inn tours, winery tours, even ghost tours. There's the Annual Halloween Parade, Pumpkin Festival, Oktoberfest, Antique Auto Show, Murder Mystery Weekends, a visit to Historic Cold Spring Village, or the Cape May County Zoo, or perhaps a ride across the Delaware Bay on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry.

So as you can see, Cape May has lots and lots of Fall activities to keep everyone in your family entertained, with plenty of memories to take home with you, and many of the campgrounds in the Cape May area are open through November 1st or later, including Beachcomber Camping Resort, one of our Free Camping Partners.

Purchase your new or used RV from Media Camping Center in Hatfield and you'll receive over 100 nights of free camping coupons to some of the finest Campgrounds and RV Resorts in the country like Beachcomber Camping Resort, PLUS a 3-park membership to Thousand Trails. For more information on this exclusive benefit, call us at (800) 880-0335, or better yet, stop in for all the details.

Here are a few Website you can check out for additional information on Cape May:

The Cape May times Events Calendar
http://www.capemaytimes.com/cape-may/events.htm

The Cape May Chamber of Commerce Events Calendar
http://www.capemaychamber.com/events.html

Cape May Whale Watcher
http://www.capemaywhalewatcher.com/

Cape May Whale Watch & Research Center
http://capemaywhalewatch.com/

Cape May County Deprtment of Tourism
http://www.thejerseycape.net/

Victorian Cape May-Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts
http://capemaymac.org/index.html

Historic Cold Springs Village
http://www.hcsv.org/

Cape May Bird Observatory
http://www.birdcapemay.org/

Cape May-Lewes Ferry
http://capemaylewesferry.com/

WWII Lookout Tower
http://www.capemaymac.org/content/subpage_main.aspx?id=2030

NJ Dept of Fish, Wildlife and Game
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/

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