Tides & Towns
Jersey Shore · NJ

Cape May

The nation's oldest seaside resort, rebuilt in Victorian style after an 1878 fire.

Population
2,768 (2020 census)
Motto
The Nation's Oldest Seashore Resort
Historic district
The whole city, since 1976
Tides
Two highs, two lows a day

Then

  1. 1611–1614

    Dutch captain Cornelius Jacobsen Mey charts the coast and claims it for New Netherland. The cape takes his name.

  2. 1823

    The first documented lighthouse at Cape May Point is built. A second follows in 1847; both sites are now underwater.

  3. 1859

    The current Cape May Lighthouse, about 157 feet tall with 217 steps, is built.

  4. 1878

    A five-day fire destroys 30 blocks of the town center. The rebuilt town gives Cape May its Victorian look.

  5. 1970

    Volunteers save the 1879 Emlen Physick Estate from demolition and form what becomes the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities.

  6. 1976

    Cape May becomes the only U.S. city designated entirely as a national historic district.

Now

Cape May's streets of Victorian houses are the heart of the town, and the lighthouse and Physick Estate are open to visitors.

It is a famous birding spot, especially in fall migration, with more than 400 species recorded; the Cape May warbler is named for it. Beachcombers hunt for Cape May diamonds, clear quartz pebbles that wash up on Sunset Beach.

The Cape May–Lewes Ferry crosses Delaware Bay year-round in 70 to 85 minutes.

On the water

From NOAA's predictions for Cape May, NJ over the next 365 days. Heights are in feet above mean lower low water (MLLW).

Pattern
Two highs and two lows a day, close in size
Typical daily range
5.1 ft
Biggest swing
7.0 ft on Jan 23
Smallest swing
3.4 ft on Mar 30
Highest high
6.5 ft, Aug 2 at 9:27 PM
Lowest low
−1.0 ft, Jan 23 at 2:21 AM

15 tide stations around Cape May

Show all 15 stations

Sources