6 Best Sights in New Jersey Shore, New Jersey

This small gem of a zoo houses 250 species, including lions, giraffes, lemurs, snow leopards, red pandas, crocodiles, and pink flamingos. Take a walking safari on the raised boardwalk bordering the African savanna habitat, and visit the aviary and reptile houses. A carousel and minature train will lure the littlest ones and the surrounding county park is filled with picnic areas, playgrounds, bike trails, and a pond for fishing.

The 1857 lighthouse was designed by George Meade, stands 171 feet tall, and is the oldest man-made tourist attraction on the Jersey shore. You can tour the adjacent lightkeeper's house and climb the 228 steps to the top for a great view of Atlantic City. In summer, kids are invited to Wacky Wednesday programs, moonlight climbs, and even sleepover adventures.

Ease into the morning with a skyline cruise, take the family on a quest for marine mammals with a lunchtime dolphin cruise, or toast the end of the day with a happy-hour cruise. In the summer, daily departures from Gardner's Basin aboard Cruisn 1 ply the coastal waters, granting up to 100 passengers a unique perspective on Atlantic City and is ocean and bay inhabitants.

Craftspeople in date-appropriate costumes demonstrate their trades using traditional tools, methods, and materials at this nonprofit, living-history site on 22 shady acres north of Cape May. The farming village is made up of more than 20 restored buildings originally built between 1691 and 1905, including a blacksmith shop, a bookbindery, and a schoolhouse.

The non-profit Marine Mammal Stranding Center is on call to rescue stranded dolphins, seals, sea turtles, and whales that travel up this way and into New York Harbor. The Sea Life Museum is the only part of the center that's open to the public. Its exhibits relate to ocean life and showcase bones recovered from the beach and life-size replicas of fish and marine mammals. To get here from Atlantic City, cross the Brigantine Bridge to Atlantic-Brigantine Boulevard.

The 20-acre theme park, about 10 miles west of Atlantic City, has 50 larger-than-life buildings and displays illustrating the tales of popular childhood stories—perfect for the under-8 set. There are also whimsical low-speed rides, gift shops, food stands, and a picnic area. The Easter Bunny visits in April, there's fall and Halloween fun in October and early November, and Santa arrives in mid-November.