NEW JERSEY’S classic boardwalks and sandy beaches scream summer—sometimes too loudly, when it seems people from all surrounding states are elbowing in to block the view. This summer, because of pandemic adaptations that are being carried into the future, some of the best attractions that were previously “walk-in only” (or don’t walk in, because there’s a wait) are operating by timed-entry or reservations, making them counterintuitively easier to visit for those who plan ahead. Here are three trips with a twist: a cultural tour of Cape May, a peek at the western Jersey wilderness and a jaunt up the Hudson River from vibrant Jersey City to Edgewater.
Timed Tricks
Cape May is closer to the Mason-Dixon Line than one might expect from New Jersey. Witness its new Harriet Tubman Museum, which opened for in-person visitors on Juneteenth, 2021. In the early 1850s, Tubman lived in Cape May, where she worked as a domestic laborer and cook to earn proceeds to fund her missions, which helped guide enslaved people from the southern states to freedom in the north. The museum inhabits the Howell House, the former parsonage of the Macedonia Baptist Church. Advance reservations are recommended. Hourly tickets are available through Eventbrite ($10, harriettubmanmuseum.org). Outside of town, a very different attraction is the Hawk Haven Vineyard & Winery, whose coveted seating was previously first-come-first-served but who now takes reservations and voluntarily limits capacity. New Jersey increasingly makes high-quality wine, and Hawk Haven has what some consider one of the state’s best wine programs. The reserved seating means more opportunity to talk to the staff about the wine, shorter lines at the food trucks that make appearances at peak times and clearer views of the band during performances at live-music summer series “Rootstock.” hawkhavenvineyard.com
Outdoor Excursions
Birds touch down at the Cape May Bird Observatory after crossing the Delaware Bay; the whole area is a birding spot of national repute (njaudubon.org).
Dining
Cape May’s southern proximity rises again in the Caribbean-influenced, French New Orleans menu at 410 Bank Street, a restaurant in an 1800s carriage house (410 Bank St., Cape May, 410bankstreet.com). Nearby, the Mad Batter dishes up good casual food with front-porch people-watching (19 Jackson St., Cape May, madbatter.com). A topless painted mermaid presides over the crafting of classic cocktails at the King Edward Bar (301 Howard St., Cape May, chalfonte.com).
Sleeping
Pick from five accommodations, including an original Sears, Roebuck and Co. mail-order home and a 1700s whaling cottage, on the Beach Plum Farm, a Cape Resorts property known for its gourmet market (from $749, beachplumfarmcapemay.com). The dark-wood Lokal Hotel has Scandinavian design touches, an outdoor grilling station and a heated saltwater pool (from $792, staylokal.com).
