The Cape May County Park and Zoo is located in Cape May Court House, New Jersey. When heading to south New Jersey...you'll want to come down the Garden State Parkway or down Route 9. Both of these major routes will lead you to the zoo. If you're a GPS user, the zoo is located at 707 N. Route 9 in Cape May County. The zoo is less than a 30 minute drive from Atlantic City, Ocean City, Stone Harbor, Avalon, Wildwood, and Cape May.
This beautiful park and zoo is open year-round. During the summer tourist season you'll find the zoo opening at 10:00 AM and closing at 4:45 PM. Closed during major holidays or during severe weather conditions. One of the nicest things about this place is that its 100% FREE to visit. They do have a donation bucket at the entrance gate into the parking lot and I recommend that you drop in a nice donation if you can afford it. The attendant will direct you where to park and hand you a map. If you're handicap, you'll find the handicap parking up near the inner entrance to the park.
You'll be doing a lot of walking and you'll be spending the majority of your time outdoors. Please dress appropriately for the weather conditions and wear comfortable walking shoes. If you're visiting with children, I recommend that you write down all of your emergency contact information on a slip of paper and put it into the pocket for each child. No pockets? Use a Sharpie Marker and write your info and phone # on the bottom of their shoe! The park can get crowded during the summer season and during special events.
As soon as we passed through the gate we were greeted by some guinea hens and peacocks who roam around the zoo freely. They're not caged and they're not afraid of people. Please watch where you're walking, don't try to pet them and you should NEVER feed any of the animals. If you walk calmly and slowly...you can get up close and personal with them to take your photographs.
My grandchildren were thrilled to head to the farm animals section next. These animals will allow you pet them and feed them (you have to purchase feed from the machine) right through the fence. On the day that we were there...my grandchildren had a blast feeding the overly-friendly cow. Matter of fact, she left them pet her too. One of their highlights from our visit. After visiting this section I recommend that you stop by their hand sanitizer station to clean your hands.
There are two indoor, air-conditioned exhibits and the first one that you'll come upon is the indoor bird aviary. Head on inside to walk through the aviary to see all of the various birds flying around, nesting, eating, swimming, playing, etc. They're not caged, so they can indeed "poop" on you! If you're sensitive to smells or afraid of birds, you should skip visiting the aviary building.
You'll find various areas within the park where you can stop and get some family photographs. I love snapping pictures of my grandchildren posing with the various props along the way. I counted at least 6 different areas where you can get some really nice photos to remember your day. There is a decent sized snack bar in the middle of the zoo where you can get some finger foods, ice cream, popsicles and cold beverages. You can sit at tables that are shaded by large umbrellas if you need to sit down and get out of the sun. You'll find a small public restroom nearby too.
Some of the areas that you walk on are paved pathways and other areas are wooden boardwalks. I'm partially disabled and I found it all to be easy walking. If you're disabled and have issues walking you can rent a manual or motorized wheelchair at the gift shop. Just be forewarned, I think they're expensive. In addition, all of the public restrooms that I visited that day were handicap accessible. In my honest opinion, the entire park is handicap-friendly, so you shouldn't have any issues.
The park can get crowded especially during the summertime and during weekends. We prefer going to the zoo early in the morning (right after they open), during a weekday. It's one of our family's favorite activities to do when we're down at the Jersey Shore. You'll want to allow around 3 hours in your schedule when visiting. This will allow you to visit at your own pace and to see all of the exhibits. If you plan on having lunch or dinner at the park, you'll want to add on some additional time.
After our visit we like to head into their air-conditioned gift shop to pick up some souvenirs. You'll find t-shirts, hoodies, hats, jewelry, home goods, toys for the kids, snacks, bottled beverages, stuffed animals, books, etc. Overall their prices aren't too bad.
Cape May County Park and Zoo in Cape May Court House, New Jersey is one of the best zoos on the entire east coast...definitely the best in the state of New Jersey. It's beautiful, well maintained, easy to navigate, and you gotta love that its free! The perfect way to spend the day.
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