7 Great Places for a Summer Stroll
7 Great Places for a Summer Stroll
Summer evenings are made for a leisurely walk. The heat of the day has passed, the beaches are relatively quiet, and the action hasn’t quite shifted into nightlife mode yet. An evening walk is also a good way to stretch those muscles that have been loafing around in the sun… and work off some of those fabulous seafood dinners!
Need some ideas for where to walk?
1. The boardwalk. Any boardwalk. There are some really great things about walking on the boards. It’s relatively clean and flat. You’ve got a great view of the ocean, and tons of people and things to watch. You know how long your walk will be — if you’re walking the Wildwood boardwalk, for example, you’re walking around two and a half miles one way. Go down and back, that’s a five mile excursion! If you’re a morning person, the boardwalk is just full of people walking and jogging. A walk on the boardwalk is a great way to burn off some calories without even realizing that you’re actually exercising.
2. On the beach. Any beach! You’ll burn a few more calories walking on the shifting sands. Or you can take your shoes off and stroll on the wet sand at the waterline. A walk on the beach gives you a chance to pick up shells. (Shells make great free souvenirs of your Jersey shore vacation!) Try to time your beach walk before 10am (when most beaches officially open for the day) or after 5pm (when the lifeguards go off-duty) so you don’t have to dodge sunbathers on blankets while you walk.
3. Sunset Beach in Cape May. From Sunset Beach, you can actually walk out to the tip of the beach. And for you shell hunters, you can pick up Cape May Diamonds on Sunset Beach. There’s a sunken ship, the Atlantus, just off shore — the currents around it deposit tumbled quartz onto the beach.
4. Sunset Lake in Wildwood Crest. The best sunsets at the Jersey Shore, even better than sunsets in the Florida Keys! While you’re walking around the lake, you can watch people attempting watersports. Sunset Lake is also the site of the Turtle Gut Inlet Memorial, site of the only Revolutionary War battle in Cape May County. And if you walk on the right night, you’ll get to hear the sounds of free summer concerts.
5. Nature trails. If you’d like to walk somewhere a little more wild, you can try the trails at the Cape May County Park or the Wetlands Institute or even the Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary. You can’t go TOO far into the sanctuary, but you’ve got a good chance of spotting some birds while you’re strolling around the edges.
6. Beachcomber walks. Several towns offer environmental walks on summer mornings. Learn a little more about the beach, the dunes, and the ocean.
7. Historical sites. Walk through downtown Cape May for a look at restored Victorian homes. But Cape May isn’t the only place to check out the architecture of yesteryear! Stroll the streets of the Wildwoods to get a look at Doo Wop architecture, a style of building that is uniquely 1950s and 60s. And you can relive the early days of Ocean City with a stroll down Central Avenue — the 300 block is a good place to look at life a hundred years ago.