South Cape May Meadows
Managed by The Nature Conservancy
26 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dogs usually not allowed
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Cape May Historic District (Additional Documentation) · Photo: Smallbones · CC0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Cape May
18% of Cape May’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 18% of Cape May’s land is conserved, about 285 acres. 248 acres are parks and preserves, 90 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns · #73 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
18%
285 acres · of 2.5 sq mi of land
Trails
1.7 mi
0.7 per sq mi of land
Park land
248 ac
90 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.6 mi
4.5 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
1
1 beach · 2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Cape May?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cape May have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cape May is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #73 of 468 in New Jersey. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, trail miles lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cape May’s overall grade.
Conserved land18% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.7 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (2 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land90 acres of park per 1,000 residents (248 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13AParks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · NJ 98% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 97%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 85%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Cape May’s 18% is ahead of 66% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 49% of them.
Water is 15% of Cape May’s area (0 of 3 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 16%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is South Cape May Meadows, with 0.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 5 parks & preserves
Harborview Park1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsSouth Cape May Meadows26 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · The Nature Conservancy
Lafayette Street Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsCape May Kiwanis Community Park3 acres
DirectionsCape May Dog Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
285 conserved acres
18% of Cape May’s land. Water is left out: Cape May has 2.5 square miles of land and 0.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Cape May’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city194 ac
State fish & wildlife80 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits6 ac
Not recorded106 ac
Local Park · 148 acLocal Recreation Area · 101 acState Conservation Area · 80 acLocal Other or Unknown · 49 acPrivate Conservation · 6 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 21 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| unknown Local Park | Not recorded | 106 | Open |
| Cape May City Beach or Boardwalk Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 95 | Open |
| Cape May Coastal Wetlands Wildlife Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 78 | Open |
| Cape May City Park Local Park | Town or city | 35 | Open |
| Cape May Nature Center Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| South Cape May Meadows Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Cape May Ave Open Space Median Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Physick Estate Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Cape May Migratory Bird Refuge Site Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 6 | Unknown |
| Cape May Point State Park Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
17 places to go in Cape May
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Cape May
The Cove
DirectionsPublic pools in Cape May
1 public pool without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Cape May
13 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Cape May
U.S. Coast Guard - Training Center Cape May
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
19Tennis
3Baseball
1Soccer
1Skate park
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register, one a National Historic Landmark
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Cape May: April to July
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.7 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.3 | 14.9 | 14.6 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 10.0 | 9.4 |
| High (°F) | 44 | 45 | 52 | 62 | 71 | 80 | 85 | 84 | 77 | 68 | 57 | 48 |
| Rain (in) | 3.3 | 3.1 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 4.1 |
February is the driest month (3.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 85 °F). 4.6 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Cape May →
Next door
Cape May and its neighbors
Cape May has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape May | 18% | 0.7 | 90 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Lower Township | 38% | 0.7 | 258 | 97% | A+ |
| West Cape May | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Cape May
Where can I hike in Cape May?
The longest trail networks: South Cape May Meadows, 0.1 miles; Lafayette Street Park, 0.1 miles; Harborview Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cape May is conserved land?
18% of its land, against a typical 11% for a New Jersey town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Cape May’s trails?
South Cape May Meadows and Lafayette Street Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Cape May?
4.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.5 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Cape May?
13,673 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cape May or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 248 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Cape May have?
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #73 of 468 in New Jersey. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Cape May neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →