Unique Places: Cape May, New Jersey

Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. One of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations, it is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. 

In the summer, Cape May's population is expanded by as many as 40,000 to 50,000 visitors. The entire city is a National Historic District, with nearly 600 preserved Victorian buildings. For a closer view of the gingerbread trim, visit the preserved 1879 Emlen Physick Estate.

Cape May has become known both for its Victorian gingerbread homes and its cultural offerings. The town hosts the Cape May Jazz Festival, the Cape May Music Festival and the Cape May, New Jersey Film Festival. Cape May Stage, an Equity theater founded in 1988, performs at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse on the corner of Bank and Lafayette Streets. East Lynne Theater Company, an Equity professional company specializing in American classics and world premieres, has its mainstage season from June–December and March, with school residencies throughout the year. Cape May is also home for the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts, which offers year-round arts classes. African American history tours are transforming the historic Franklin Street School into a Community Cultural Center.

Cape May is the home of the so-called "Cape May Diamonds". They show up at Sunset Beach and other beaches in the area. These are in fact clear quartz pebbles that wash down from the Delaware River. They begin as prismatic quartz (including the color sub-varieties such as Smoky Quartz and Amethyst) in the quartz veins alongside the Delaware River that get eroded out of the host rock and wash down 200 miles to the shore. Collecting Cape May diamonds is a popular pastime and many tourist shops sell them polished or even as faceted stones.

The pedestrian friendly Washington Street Mall is a hub of shopping activity. For fresh seafood, dine at the Lobster House on Fisherman’s Wharf, overlooking Cape May Harbor.

The Cape May area is also world-famous for the observation of migrating birds, especially in the fall. With over 400 bird species having been recorded in this area and hundreds of local birders, Cape May is arguably the top bird-watching area in the entire Northeastern United States. The Cape May Bird Observatory is based nearby at Cape May Point.

The Cape May Fisherman's Memorial was erected over the harbor in 1988 and dedicated to fishermen lost at sea. It is maintained by the City of Cape May and administered by the Friends of the Cape May Fisherman's Memorial. There is a statue and memorial stones holding the names of local fishermen who died at sea. The memorial has 75 names, starting with Andrew Jeffers, who died in 1893, and includes the six people who died in March 2009 with the sinking of the scalloping boat Lady Mary.

Looking for that uniquely different vacation destination. Call Rawhide Travel and Tours today 602-843-5100 or visit our website rawhidetravel.com. We can help!

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