The Cape May Point State Park in New Jersey is home to the world-famous Cape May Lighthouse, a small indoor Nature Museum, a Hawk Lookout Deck, the World War II Bunker on the Beach, Picnic Pavilions, and two small nature trails. There’s a beach entrance if you want to spend some time sunning yourself on the beach too!
We enjoy being out in nature and walking a wide variety of nature trails. We found one inside the park that’s short and an easy walk. It’s located by the Hawk Watch pavilion and runs around a small lake…situated just yards from the beach. You’ll want to park in the back of their parking lot and follow the signs to the Hawk Watch area to find the trails.
If you’re interested in bird watching and/or hawk watching you’ll find a schedule located at the entrance of the Hawk Watch pavilion for that. You can then walk up and out onto the wooden deck to see some of the birds in the area. On the day we were there we saw beautiful white swans out in the water sunning themself. It was something and the honking was quite loud!
We then headed out onto the nature trail which was an easy walk. There’s not alot of shade, so you’ll want to bring along your sunscreen and a water bottle on a hot summertime day. Since you’ll be doing a lot of walking…wear comfortable shoes! Flip-Flops and Sandals wouldn’t be appropriate (in my honest opinion) so bring along your sneakers or hikers.
Along the path you’ll occasionally come along a few information boards that contain information on the wildlife and plants that are in the area. They’re worth a quick read if you’re interested. While out on the path we spotted several white swans, a few shorebirds, butterflies, dragonflies, and one small black snake. Eeeeek!
On your way back to the trail entrance you’ll see the Cape May Lighthouse! You can stop and pose for photos, so that it’s standing behind you in the photograph. If you walk up onto the Hawk Watch platform you can get some beautiful views of the lighthouse for your photographs too. Great spot for posing for family photos if you’re interested in that.
We had a really nice time walking the trails and visiting the Hawk Watch platform. It’s a FREE activity that you can do while visiting the Cape May Point State Park.
This does look like a great place to hike and observe nature. I would also love to climb the lighthouse.
One of our favorite activities is hiking nature trails. I love when they have informative boards that describe the history and animals. Just did one on a converted railroad trail and saw an owl. A highlight.