The Hereford Inlet Lighthouse is located in North Wildwood, New Jersey. Unlike other lighthouses you see up and down the eastern seaboard…this one is done in a Victorian-style. It reminds me of the old Victorian houses would see lining the southern Jersey Shore in the late 1800s. You still see some Victorian homes in the area, especially down in Cape May that have been lovingly restored. However, hundreds have been demolished over the past several decades. Sad!
This lighthouse was built in 1874 and was designed by Paul J. Pelz, the architect of the US Library of Congress. It was built to help mariners and to mark the entrance to the Hereford Inlet. It’s listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places, 1976, and listed on the US National Register of historic places in 1977.
You can visit the lighthouse for FREE and walk around the property including the beautiful botantical gardens outback. If you want to enter it to learn about the history and to take a tour…that will cost you a fee. There’s a small (very small) gift shop inside.
Behind the lighthouse you’ll find the gardens and a marked walking bath. It’s primarily shaded and is a nice little walk on a hot summer day. If you continue on the walking path it will take you up on the North Wildwood Seawall. There are park benches up there that you can sit on and get gorgeous views of the inlet and Atlantic Ocean.
In my first photo above you’ll actually see the side of the lighthouse that faces the parking area and street. It’s actually the backside of the house, but it’s the side you enter if you want to go inside for a tour. The actual front side of the house faces the Hereford Inlet and Atlantic Ocean. That’s how they built the homes back in the late 1800s. You’ll see that side (the front side) in my second photo. The final photo shows the walking path that leads up onto the seawall.
If you’re going to be visiting the Stone Harbor, Wildwood, and/or Cape May, New Jersey areas I highly recommend stopping in to the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse for a visit. You can get some beautiful family photographs while you’re there.
I am so glad that they made this a historic site. It is really beautiful and so are the garden. I would love to visit it someday.
Both the building and grounds are so beautiful. One I would love to visit and see in person. The history behind these lighthouses is so fascinating.