A Guide to Cape May County NJ’s 16 Towns

Cape May County is New Jersey’s southernmost county, a peninsula bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Delaware Bay on the other. It is made up of 16 municipalities, from Ocean City in the north to Cape May Point at the tip. Here is a quick guide to Cape May County, NJ’s towns, grouped by area, so newcomers and longtime locals can get to know the whole county.

Ocean City and Upper Township

Towns: Ocean City and Upper Township.

Ocean City is the county’s northern gateway, a family beach town with a boardwalk, the Music Pier and a year-round downtown on Asbury Avenue that hosts the Christmas parade every December. Across the bay, Upper Township covers mainland communities including Marmora, Tuckahoe and Beesleys Point, along with the beach community of Strathmere on Ludlam Island. The Tuckahoe Inn in Marmora is a year-round favorite on Great Egg Harbor Bay.

Sea Isle City and Dennis Township

Towns: Sea Isle City and Dennis Township.

Sea Isle City shares Ludlam Island with Strathmere and centers on Excursion Park, home to the Winter Village and the Mayor’s Tree Lighting. Inland, Dennis Township is rural and wooded, with villages including Dennisville, Ocean View and South Seaville.

Seven Mile Island

Towns: Avalon and Stone Harbor.

Avalon and Stone Harbor share Seven Mile Island. Avalon’s shopping district hosts Festive Friday and Snowfest Saturday every Thanksgiving weekend, and Stone Harbor has a compact, walkable downtown. The Wetlands Institute sits on Stone Harbor Boulevard on the way onto the island.

Middle Township and Woodbine

Towns: Middle Township and Woodbine.

Middle Township is home to Cape May Court House, the county seat, along with the free Cape May County Park and Zoo, the Museum of Cape May County and a cluster of breweries. Woodbine, in the northwest corner of the county, was founded in 1891 as a Jewish agricultural colony and is home to the Sam Azeez Museum of Woodbine Heritage and much of Belleplain State Forest.

The Wildwoods

Towns: North Wildwood, Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and West Wildwood.

Together these four towns are known as the Wildwoods. North Wildwood has the 1874 Hereford Inlet Lighthouse and its gardens. Wildwood has the famous boardwalk, the Wildwoods Convention Center and Byrne Plaza downtown. Wildwood Crest is a quieter, family friendly beach town centered on Sunset Lake, and West Wildwood is a small residential borough on the bay side.

Lower Township

Towns: Lower Township.

Lower Township wraps around the southern end of the peninsula, including Villas, North Cape May, Erma and Diamond Beach. It is home to the Cape May Airport, where you will find the Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum and Cape May Brewing Company, plus Higbee Beach and the Cape May-Lewes Ferry terminal.

Cape May, West Cape May and Cape May Point

Towns: Cape May, West Cape May and Cape May Point.

The City of Cape May is the county’s best known town, famous for its Victorian architecture, the Washington Street Mall, Congress Hall and the Emlen Physick Estate, which anchors the Christmas Candlelight House Tours. West Cape May is a small borough with farms, wineries and Grana BYOB. Cape May Point, at the very tip of New Jersey, is a quiet residential borough beside Cape May Point State Park, the Cape May Lighthouse and the Cape May Bird Observatory.

Getting Around

The Garden State Parkway runs the length of the county and ends at mile 0 in Cape May. Route 9 links the mainland town centers, and Route 47 runs along the Delaware Bay side. The barrier island towns are a short drive east of the Parkway, and the Cape May-Lewes Ferry connects the county to Delaware.

Find Your Town

All 16 municipalities are listed on the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce’s community pages. See the Cape May County municipalities.

More in Cape May County: holiday events, nature spots, history day trips and local restaurants in every corner of the county.