The Wildwoods, when you want the boardwalk

The Wildwoods are the other shore trip from these houses, about fifteen minutes by car from The Delford and Fern. Cape May is quiet porches. The Wildwoods are a boardwalk, a wide free beach, and a pier full of rides. Go when the group wants that, not when you want another version of the bay.

Morey’s Piers is the name people mean when they say the rides. There are three piers, amusement and water. Tickets and height rules change every season, so look them up the morning you go rather than trusting a blog. The beach in front of the boardwalk is broad and, unlike many Jersey ocean beaches, you are not buying a beach badge for a tiny square of sand. Confirm the current rules. They have shifted before.

The boardwalk itself is the walk. Pizza, arcades, a tram if the distance gets long. It is a lot of people on a July night. A weekday afternoon is kinder if you have small children. Bring sunscreen and a plan for where you parked. The lots around the piers fill, and the walk back in wet shoes is the part families argue about.

You do not need to sleep there. The houses are close enough that the Wildwoods can be a half day. Swim in the ocean, ride one thing, eat something you would not cook, and drive back. The bay sunset is still at the end of your own street. That split, ocean in the afternoon and bay at night, is the best use of a week here.

If the group splits, one car can go to the piers and the other can stay at the pool. Both houses have a pool in the yard. The Delford’s is heated and open from April 25 to October 25. Fern’s listing does not publish season dates, so ask when you request.

For the calmer version of a shore day, stay on the bay beaches. For the Victorian town instead of the boardwalk, see a day in Cape May.