Cape May Point State Park

Cape May Point State Park At A Glance...

Todays Sunrise: 6:41 am, Sunset: 7:06 pm
New Jersey Southern Shore Region Cape May County

About Cape May Point State Park

Noteworthy features of Cape May Point State Park include it's constantly changing shoreline, dunes, freshwater coastal marsh and ponds, forested islands and varied uplands make it a well-known location for viewing the fall bird migration. Located on the southern tip of New Jersey, Cape May Point State Park is a key site on the NJ Coastal Heritage Trail, with an environmental center that houses a classroom for interpretive programs and a museum on the area's natural and historic features.

That mix of habitats in a small space is the whole point of the place. Woodland, freshwater ponds, marsh, dune and open beach all sit within a flat half-mile walk of each other, which is why a morning here can turn up more species than a whole day somewhere larger.

Three marked trails, all level and much of them boardwalk, connect the ponds and their observation platforms to the beach and the World War II gun battery. The Cape May Lighthouse stands inside the park and is open to climb, though it keeps its own hours and admission.

Activities:
- Equestrian / Horseback
  Check to make sure this is allowed before going there
- Fishing
- Hiking
  More like walking
- Jogging / Running
  Trail running would be a lot of fun
- Walking
Amenities:
- Restrooms/Bathrooms
- Beach
- Parking Lot(s)
- Nature / Environmental Center
- Picnic / Sitting Area
- Benches
- Picnic tables
- Lighthouse
Trails:
- Boardwalks
- Flat / Easy
- Walking Paths
Park Type:
- State Parks
- Historic Area
  WWII Bunker
- Scenic Areas (overlooks/waterfalls)
Attractions:
- Lighthouse
Rules/Regulations:
- Entrance Fee Required
  To the lighthouse only

Contact / Location

Primary Address:

Get Directions P O Box 107,
Cape May Point, New Jersey 08212

Contact:

Maps & Brochures:

Related:

Camping in NJ State Parks and Forests

Trail & Path Info

Three marked trails cover about 3.2 miles between them, and every one of them is flat. This is a walking park rather than a hiking park. There is no climb anywhere on it, and the footing is sand, mown path and a good deal of raised boardwalk over wet ground.

Duck Pond Trail, 0.5 mile. The short one, and the one to take if anyone in your group uses a wheelchair or pushes a stroller, because it is boardwalk the whole way. It runs through woodland and out to Lighthouse Pond West and Lighthouse Pond East, with wildflowers, butterflies and waterfowl along it in the warm months.

Monarch Trail, 1.2 mile loop. Through the middle of the park, on boardwalk where it crosses the marshland. This is the one that carries on down to the beach and the World War II gun battery, so if you are only walking one trail and you want to see the bunker, walk this one. Monarch butterflies come through in early fall, which is where the name comes from.

Plover Trail, 1.5 miles. The longest walk in the park, looping around the ponds and the back of the dunes.

Observation platforms stand at the water's edge on the ponds, and they are the reason to walk this park slowly rather than quickly. Herons, ducks and muskrats are regular from them, and osprey and river otter turn up. Most of the park sits inside the Cape May Point Natural Area, so deer, rabbits, foxes, turtles and snakes are all part of an ordinary walk here.

Bring something for the wind. The trails are sheltered in the woods and completely exposed the moment you reach the dunes, and the dunes are where you will want to stand the longest.

Things to See & Do

The hawk watch platform is why people drive here from other states. Cape May Point sits at the end of a peninsula that funnels migrating raptors down the coast, and the platform near the lighthouse is staffed by counters from September 1 into early December. It is open to anyone, not just the counters, and in fall there is usually somebody on it willing to tell you what you are looking at.

Work the ponds slowly. Observation platforms stand at the water's edge on Lighthouse Pond West and Lighthouse Pond East, and they reward standing still. Herons, ducks and muskrats are regular; osprey and river otter turn up. In winter the ponds fill with waterfowl and the sight lines open once the leaves are down.

Walk out to the Bunker. The concrete World War II gun battery sits on the beach at the far end of Monarch Trail, left over from the Harbor Defense Project of 1942, when this ground was a military base rather than a park. It was built well back from the water and the sea has since come to it, which tells you as much about this shoreline as any sign does.

Get out to the dunes and the beach. This is where the park stops being sheltered and starts being a headland. Scoters, long-tailed duck, red-throated loon and northern gannet work the water off the dune crossing, and the view is straight out at the point where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic.

The environmental center has an exhibit gallery and a classroom, and park rangers run nature programs out of it. New Jersey Audubon's Cape May Bird Observatory also runs two-hour guided walks around the park through the year, and those pre-register rather than take walk-ins.

Fish the shoreline for striped bass, bluefish, flounder, weakfish and tautog.

Climb the Cape May Lighthouse. It is inside the park, 199 steps to the top, and it keeps its own hours and admission separate from the park - see its own listing before planning around it.

If you are making a day of it, the Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge is close by and worth pairing with this park in any season.

Best Time of Year to Visit

Fall is what Cape May Point is famous for, and it earns it. The hawk watch platform near the lighthouse is staffed by counters from September 1 into early December, and on a good day the raptor flight overhead is the reason birders drive here from other states. Monarch butterflies move through the park at the same time.

Winter is the season nobody warns you about, and it is genuinely good. The park does not close and the ponds do not empty. On one January morning here a New Jersey Audubon field trip logged 34 species inside the park, among them tundra swan, northern shoveler, gadwall, American wigeon, northern pintail, green-winged teal, ring-necked duck, bufflehead, pied-billed grebe and American coot. Walk out to the dune crossing and the open water adds scoters, long-tailed duck, red-throated loon and northern gannet. The cold is not the problem here, the wind off the water is, so dress for that and come anyway.

Spring and fall both bring songbirds, best early in the morning along the woodland edges. Summer is the beach season, and the warm-weather wildflowers and waterfowl along Duck Pond Trail are at their best.

Special / Seasonal Events

Fall hawk watch season runs from September 1 into early December with counters on the platform, and New Jersey Audubon's Cape May Fall Festival brings its biggest program of the year to the point. This is the park's own busiest and best season.

Monarch butterflies come through in early fall, which is where Monarch Trail takes its name.

The Cape May Lighthouse runs its own evening events from inside the park - full moon climbs, new moon Stairway to the Stars climbs, and the Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey every October. Those are Cape May MAC's, on MAC's schedule, and they are listed on the lighthouse's own page.

Dates move from year to year. Check New Jersey Audubon for the birding programs and Cape May MAC for anything involving the tower.