New Jersey Shore and Maryland

NY RVer wrote:
The wife and I are looking to spend some time in NJ by the shore and possibly taking the ferry to Maryland. Would really prefer to camp right by the shore, but have not been able to find any campgrounds on the ocean. Any suggestions?

First off - you will be crossing that thing , on the ferry that body of water called Delaware Bay into Delaware, Look at the Delaware SeaShore State Park They have sites just past the Ferry and a larger complex at Indian River Inlet, here you will be very close but still across the Highway to the Ocean both of these CG's are in Delaware.

If you need to be in Maryland you will need to go about 35 miles south to Assateague Island,

Hope this is of some help,

I don't know of any campgrounds here in NJ that are adjacent to the shore. We have camped at the Depot Travel Park in Cape May, which is only a mile or so from the beach. We take the bikes when we go there to ride around town as well.

In Maryland we like to stay at Assateague Island National Seashore. They have sites just over the dunes from the beach. No hookups there, but the adjacent State Park has one loop with electric.

As others have noted, Assateague has campsites just over the dune from the ocean. The Maryland State Park has campsites with bathhouses, and one loop has electric. Hard to get reservations for that electric loop in the summer, best to get online at 8:00AM a year ahead. The National Park has no hook-ups, chemical toilets & cold showers, but like the State Park, lots of uncrowded beach.

Delaware seashore SP was fantastic, wish we stayed longer. BTW north campground is brand new, but South has easier access to the beach with new washrooms.

MD and DE have CG's on the water. NJ does not. If you want to on the water you will have to leave NJ.

In NJ , all (or most)of the campgrounds will be located out on RT 9.. and traffic into the shore towns can sometimes be a royal pain... We have stopped staying in NJ ,and started staying in DE.. our go to is Delaware State Seashore Park ( leaving in a few hrs for there).
It's clean and on the inlet with a short 5 minute walk to the ocean.

New Jersey has nothing in the way of beach camping. Not sure why since most every other coastal state does have some. But Delaware has 2,Cape Henelopen and Indian River.Maryland has Assateague and Virginia has First Landing and Kiptopeke.

OP, we stayed at Delaware National Seashore park in August. Its about as close to the ocean as you can get and still have full hookups. Its right on the Indian River Inlet, which cuts the park in two. Its a 2 minute walk to the sand and ocean. Fair warning... you have to cross Rt 1 to get to the ocean. You actually walk under the large bridge that goes over the river, so you aren't crossing a road... but you are parked right next to it. The views aren't the best towards the ocean. You are there for the convenience and full hookups for a reasonable price.

15 minutes north gets you to Rehoboth Beach, DE which is a family friendly beach and boardwalk with fun shops and a funky downtown area. 5 minutes south gets you to Bethany Beach, DE which is a much smaller family friendly beach town with a small boardwalk and some shops. Half hour south gets you to Ocean City, MD which is a large beach town with all kinds of stuff.

Another option, if you can do without electric, is Cape Henlopen State Park. This is literally just across the street from where the ferry lands in Deleware. Gorgeous state park, easy access to the beach (but not as close as Indian River), great hiker/biker trails, they have a small restored WWII Army base with an observation tower you can climb. Lots of beach, a parking lot and bath house at the beach. The RV parking spots are essentially parallel parking along a street with no hookups, but the park is beautiful.

Assateague has 2 campgrounds, one with electric, one without. I've never stayed at either, but I have visited friends at the one with no electric. It is MISERABLE there. No shade, no electric for AC, no views of the ocean (dunes), large flies... No thank you. Having electric might make things better, but in the summer you will basically spend your entire time inside in the AC... why bother going to the beach to sit inside your trailer??? As you can tell, I don't see the appeal of these campgrounds.

Thanks everyone. Seems like Delaware Seashore would be the place to go for some beach time, and some site-seeing within a short drive. I went online to check availability, and does not show Fridays available with full hook-ups, which means I would have to move for a day or two.

spoon059, I'm assuming you were in the North campground with full hook-ups, correct? Were the sites tight? Based on map layout, seems like the South campground is tighter. I've read a few reviews comparing it to a Walmart parking lot, and I would really hate to drive down to be in a parking lot setting.

Also, coming down from NY, but have to make a service stop in Northern NJ off of 287, what would be the best way to get there? Would it be worth taking the ferry in Cape May with truck and TT?

NY RVer wrote:
spoon059, I'm assuming you were in the North campground with full hook-ups, correct? Were the sites tight? Based on map layout, seems like the South campground is tighter. I've read a few reviews comparing it to a Walmart parking lot, and I would really hate to drive down to be in a parking lot setting.

Also, coming down from NY, but have to make a service stop in Northern NJ off of 287, what would be the best way to get there? Would it be worth taking the ferry in Cape May with truck and TT?

Yes, we stayed in the north campground. The spots weren't huge, but they also weren't "tight" in my opinion. The campground is pretty sparse, no big trees, no real shade. The bath house is nice, the laundry is nice. Access to the park is great from Rt 1. Coming across the ferry with a trailer will be EXPENSIVE. You save some time, but the cost might make it unreasonable.

Here is a pic of our site. The pad is asphalt, then crushed gravel, then sand. I've stayed in parking lots before... like Liberty Harbor Marina in NYC. This is not a parking lot... but its also not a tree filled state park either.
Here is a night time pic of the bridge. Its there, the day time views aren't great, but noise isn't bad and the beach is right on the other side. Its a 2 minute walk to the water... not bad at all!
This was our favorite spot in the morning... sitting on the river during the morning dog walk and watching the boats go out. This is looking south to the older side of the campground.