South Cape May Meadows

Visit

• What to See

  Plants: An invasive reed called Phragmites once overtook the site’s freshwater plant community, but thanks to restoration efforts native rose mallow and cattails now flourish. Along the trails and throughout the meadow, visitors can enjoy a variety of waving grasses, rushes and sedges along with wildflowers including marsh pink, blue mist flower and seaside fleabane. The beachfront supports a diverse shore plant community including seaside goldenrod, beach heather, sea rocket and several varieties of primrose.

  Animals:  Imperiled shorebirds like federally endangered piping plovers, state-endangered least terns and American oystercatchers, a species of special concern, nest on the preserve’s stretch of sandy beach. Raptors soar in the skies and hunt in the meadows, songbirds flutter among the native plants, and waterfowl rest and feed in the freshwater ponds. River otters and muskrats swim in the wetland, deer and foxes move through the dunes, eastern box turtles saunter across trails, and monarch butterflies descend during fall migration.

  Check out recent bird sightings and report your own!

  The preserve’s one-mile trail loops from the entrance through the wetland to the beachfront and back, consisting mostly of stable, hard-packed ground* with bridges across the levees. Enhancements at the entrance and along the pathway include a welcome shed with green roof, a rain garden, purple martin houses, raised wildlife viewing platform, osprey platform with streaming camera, benches, interpretive signs and an 80-foot bird blind. The State Park Connection Trail connects the Preserve’s Main and Boardwalk Trails to the trail system of Cape May Point State Park.

  *Please note: trail sections on the beach and those behind the dune are through soft sand and may not be accessible by visitors with strollers or wheelchairs.

• Other Preserve Amenities

  • Two plus miles of nature trails

  • 80-ft floating bird blind with birding field guides

  • Digital kiosk that features the preserve's ecology and history, the calls of local birds, an interactive preserve map, and much more.
    
  • Information kiosk with trail map and preserve history

  • Two purple martin houses

  • Benches along trails and at dune crossings

  • Bike rack

  • Bridges with handrails

  • Rain garden with native plants for pollinators

  • Gravel parking lot

  • Accessible porta potty available from April-October

  • Living green roof

  • Observation platform with viewfinders

  • Osprey platform visible from the East Trail

  • Staff on site from April to October
  • Solar-powered charging station with six USB ports
  • Downloadable translations of interpretive signs available in Spanish, French and Simplified Chinese. 
  • Half-mile ADA-compliant boardwalk 
  • Free self-guifed audio tour available in Spanish and English. 
• Peak Times

  • Spring Migration: Mid-May to mid-June marks peak activity for migrating shorebirds and both migrating and native songbirds, which are most audible and visible during this time, as they work to attract mates.  

  • May, June and July are the best months for a chance to see least terns, American oystercatchers, piping plovers and black skimmers on our 1 mile of protected beach. Watch your step, as they could be nesting! 

  • July-August the rose mallow blooms profusely throughout the preserve.   

  • June, July and August are a promising period to get a glimpse of osprey with chicks. If nesting and incubation has been successful, they can be seen with a scope or binoculars from the East Trail, feeding, learning to fly and resting on perch posts.  

  • Fall Migration: Southbound songbirds, raptors and monarch butterflies migrate in late August-October; the second week of October is peak raptor migration.   

  • Early September is the best time for a chance to witness massive flocks of tree swallows coming together to fly in synchronized “funnels.” 

  • Winter months are the best times to see northern harriers hunting in the marshes. Also keep an eye out for migrating ducks such as the Northern pintail, green-winged teal and shoveler.

• Preserve Guidelines

  • To minimize disturbance of state protected and endangered species of this nature preserve, please follow these guidelines 

  • Pets are not permitted on the nature preserve  

  • Swimming and fishing are not permitted 

  • Trails are open to foot traffic only 

  • Visitors should stay on marked trails 

  • Please carry out all garbage 

  • Drones are prohibited

  • Note: Beach use is limited to nature viewing only from March 15 - August 31. Stopping, standing or sitting on the beach, even when viewing or photographing nature, can be disruptive to nesting and feeding birds. All beach visitors are asked to keep moving and stay outside of the roped-off nesting area.