Things to do / Travel Guide
Jersey Shore is more than just the boardwalk, casinos, and the beaches of Atlantic City. Even Atlantic City's link to the land is all the resorts that have been taking advantage of the ocean and the region's first-class outdoors for over a century and a half. The ocean air cannot be appreciated anywhere better, and for all the small waterways creeping and crawling throughout the region, better get your kayak and your fly fishing gear! Biking proves a fun time on and off the Boardwalk, and hiking in the Pinelands provides a rare wildlife treat. Up and down the Jersey Shore, in places like Cape May, Pine Barrens, Sandy Hook, Point Pleasant Beach, and Long Branch, the great outdoors awaits you!
Water Activities on the Jersey Shore
Only on the Jersey Shore can you kayak through pine barrens, cedar and cranberry bogs, wetlands, wildlife preserves, saltwater marshes, estuaries, canals, creeks, ocean coves, and bay harbors while watching for whales, dolphins, and nearly 200 species of migratory birds. Gamble on a route through Sandy Hook's coves, islands, and estuaries, or kayak amidst woods and wetlands at the 1,200-acre Manasquan Reservoir.
There's nothing better than fresh bass; nothing better than angling that striped bass in the region's waters from Sandy Hook Bay to Cape May. It's fly fishing that's caught on here, and other potential catches are bluefish, stripers, weakfish, and fluke. At Sandy Hook Bay you can head out to the nearby islands in search of the choicest channels, flats, and drop-offs. In Barnegat Bay you'll find several generous weakfish holes, while down in Cape May people boast of catching four species in a single day!
Don't forget to check out the numerous saltwater fishing charters along the shore, on which you can try your hand at catching blackfish, bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, and flounder. Belmar is the Jersey Shore's maritime mecca, but the Highlands offer great opportunities as well. Just avoid those nor'easters.
Speaking of which, they might have been bad news for many a ship crew, but you can do no wrong on account of them in search of the estimated 4,000 shipwrecks littering the Jersey Shore's Atlantic Ocean floor. Preferred dive sites include many of the cities and towns along the shore, such as Atlantic City, Belmar, Cape May, and Sandy Hook. One of the best wrecks for diving exploration is the freighter Brunette, sunk in the 19th century with all its cargo, and for all the hardware store merchandise you're likely to find it's been called the “home depot wreck.”
At the wreck dive sites, as well as at all the numerous artificial reefs along the Jersey Shore, you'll hit the jackpot with sightings of underwater aquatic life, such as shellfish, crustaceans, lobster, sea bass, and black fish, among others.
Land-based Activities on the Jersey Shore
Back on land, biking has become one of the trademarks of the Jersey Shore for all its bike-friendly boardwalks. Atlantic City can boast the longest boardwalk in the world, at more than four miles long, but an unforgettable experience is to ride the continuous, 11-mile, intercity boardwalk, connecting the cities of Long Branch to Spring Lake. Ante-up for a morning ride in the breezy ocean air, past azure seascapes, going on mile after mile - life somehow has renewed meaning.
If you want some cool mountain biking fun, the Jersey Shore does not disappoint either. Estell Manor County Park was designed by mountain bikers themselves, making the park one of the best Jersey Shore biking routes. In addition, Cheesequake State Park's White Trail is an easy route for mountain biking through saltwater marshes and white-cedar swamps brimming with waterfowl.
A center for off-road biking of the highest caliber is Wharton State Forest in the Pine Barrens, where two trails will take you on a whirlwind tour of the pristine wilderness and diverse plants and animals. Within the woods you'll come upon the curious specimen that is Batsto Village, which produced bog iron and glass in the 19th century.
The Pine Barrens contain 850 species of flora and over 350 species of mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. As such, it's a great place to hike, and the hiking trails are numerous and well-worn. Try the Batona Trail, reaching deep into uninhabited territory for 50 miles, while coastal hikes through forested swampland provide for some satisfying bird watching.
The Jersey Shore is blessed with resort-quality golf courses. Some big names include Hominy Hills, which many consider New Jersey's absolute finest, or Sand Barrens, with stretches of sand flashing against a backdrop of the purest emerald green waters.
Jersey Shore from Above
With a region as beautiful and variegated as the Jersey Shore, there must be additional ways to explore and discover than by foot or on water. Indeed, if excitement is how you see things, then try skydiving over the Pine Barrens onto the soft sands of the shore's beaches. Helicopter flights abound over Atlantic City and the Pine Barrens, and, for a touch of nostalgia amidst the great views, try a ride in an antique WWII-era biplane!
When people ask you how your trip to the Jersey Shore was, you can tell them the kayaking hit the jackpot, you played your hand while biking, you went all-in while diving, at fishing you won the big one, and the golf was, well, an ace in the hole. Oh – and that you probably did some gambling in Atlantic City too…
Outdoor Recreation in Atlantic City, Wildwood, Cape May, New Jersey Shore
Outdoor-Sports-Recreation
Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge
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