New Jersey beach vacation

[stew47]

Hello everyone. I’ve never been to New Jersey beaches. Thinking about a late summer beach trip but we usually go south. Can everyone share good and bad experiences? We’re in be Ohio so about 7 hours away.

[docsouce]

We stay in a nice RV park in Galloway N.J. called Shady Pines MH and RV Resort (see campgroundreviews.com ). Well maintained nice pool and they accept Passport America (be sure to call ahead.) Galloway is a good location, close to the beaches,Atlantic City and Ocean City. Cape May is about an hour south of this camp. My brother lives in Galloway and we always visit this area in April so I have no idea what the summer conditions (tourists) are like.

[Rustycamperpant]

Cape May N.J. , the best trip we have ever taken so far. Long drive to get there, but wonderful.

[stew47]

Thanks so much everyone. The area looks beautiful and can’t wait to visit.

[Bill_Diana]

Click here for a Jersey Shore booklet.

Hope you found enough advice about the Jersey Shore. We will be returning to the Beachcomber Campground next week for a 9 night stay.

Some pics from our Beachcomber stay in 2003.

Ocean City in 2004

Again in 2010.

[Tvov]

Ocean City, New Jersey! My family has vacationed there for decades. Picture the classic boardwalk (2.5 miles), ice cream stands, T-shirt shops, water parks, amusement rides, every version of deep fried food you can (or cannot) think of, including of course deep fried oreo cookies.

Completely over the top touristy beach / boardwalk, and we love it. In the middle of the season it is busy and wonderful with all the stereotype summer beach boardwalk atmosphere.

One huge reason we have been going there so long is that it is a "dry" city! Yep, no alcohol. The "nasty" element is basically not there. NO bars along the boardwalk, NO drunks at night... it is great.

I have no idea about nearby campgrounds.

[kfp673]

The beach towns in NJ all have a different feel. If you have younger kids you cant beat Ocean City NJ. We have a family house there and visit every year. Most other times it's rented, but the amusement rides and food on the boardwalk are great. If your kids are older, or just adults then Wild Wood or Sea Isle are good options. Ocean City is a dry town so very much family focused. The others are nice for families as well but have bars and clubs and more night life. Cap May at the very bottom I think is the best if your looking for almost that New England feel. Great town to walk around, shop, eat, etc. As stated before, the campgrounds are a mile or so from the beach, but some are nice. There are 3 or 4 within about a 5 mile stretch toward the top of sea isle which is basically right below Ocean city. We have stayed in this area and enjoyed it as well because you can go to both towns easily. Again, you will have to drive to the beach.

And in reply to the posts above for assateague, I agree on the beauty of that area however you have no chance of getting a site for this year in the state park. If you were planning for next year then you might have a chance. You could stay at Castaways or one of the private parks off the island however. To search this you would look in the Ocean City MD area. Good luck

[suprz]

Another vote for Assateague! It's beautiful...

[dodge_guy]

We stayed in Cape May at Beach Comber Camping Resort. Nice place. About a 15 minute drive to Wildwoods. And still close to other beaches. Glad we went. Enjoyed every minute there.

[esyers]

Jersey Shore campgrounds are not on the beach, usually a few miles away. They do get crowded and can be pricey. We usually hit Holly Shores in Cape May in mid-September.

If you want to be right on the beach, I'd suggest Delaware Seashore State Park. The campground is on the bay side, you do need to cross the highway for the ocean side. Cape Henlopen State Park is also good, but it's a bit of a distance inside the park from the campground to the beach.

Assateague isn't too much further South, as mentioned. We've spent time in the National Park Service campground there. The wind on the ocean side seems to never stop and can really kick the sand around

Safe travels and, above all, enjoy

[mdcamping]

Many yrs ago we stayed at Sea Pirate Campground in westcreek, NJ. At the time nice little well run campground that offered crabbing, had a pool & grill. For beach time back then they offered day passes to long beach island which was about 10 minutes away.

Mike

[tjfogelberg]

We love the Jersey Shore AFTER LABOR DAY. Thousand Trails has 2 nice parks just minutes from the quaint beach towns of Sea Isle City and Avalon. If you don't mind crowds and traffic, be sure to reserve ahead of time for the prime season. After a few weeks on the Jersey Shore, we head down to Cape May and take the ferry to Cape Henlopen SP in DE which is among the nicest beaches you'll find anywhere. Rehobeth DE is a beachey touristy town with fun shops and places to eat. Whippoorwill CG near Ocean City discounts their rates after Labor Day, at least they have in the past. There are lots of campgrounds in this area. Another good one is Big Timber. Sea Isle City has a nice boardwalk and allows bikes on their boardwalk at certain times of the year, Wildwood allows dogs on the beach after Oct 1. It's cooler and fewer mosquitos in late Sept/Oct.

[Airdaile]

I'd do Delaware or Maryland ocean beaches before Jersey. At least there are campgrounds close to the beach in those states.

[ford_truck_guy]

We used to go to the Jersey Shore every Year.... It is WAY OVERPRICED....

Go a bit further south into Delaware, there are a bunch of beach front, beach close campgrounds all over DE and Ocean City MD...

[wanderingaimles]

Since no one seems to be suggesting much, How about just a little bit south?
Assateague State Park in Maryland or Assateague Island National Seashore right next to it?