Lighthouses of New Jersey and Delaware

New Jersey and Delaware
April 20-24, 2010

 
   

For this year's Lighthouse Trip, we wanted to get into the Mid-Atlantic Region. This is one area where we really haven't been to as far as lighthouses go. When planning the trip, I really wanted to start in New Jersey, and get through a portion of Delaware, and make it to Assateague Island in Virginia before heading back north towards home.

I planned it all out, and on paper, it looked like it would be about five days. But this would be our first lighthouse trip since our son was born. Granted he was almost three at the time of this trip, but we would end up cutting it short. He was very well behaved and enjoyed the trip, but it was just too much time in the car.

April 20, 2010

We started out after work and drove until about 10pm, and stopped for the night just outside Scranton, PA.

April 21, 2010

The next morning, we got up and continued south on I-81. Just south of Scranton, we followed I-380 east to I-80 east. From here, we picked up I-287 and followed that to the Garden State Parkway. We then followed Route 36 east into Leonardo towards the first lighthouse. From Route 36 east, we exited at Hazard Road, where we then crossed back over Route 36 to head north on Leonard Ave. We followed Leonard Ave to the intersection of Beach Road to arrive at the Conover Beacon Lighthouse.

From here, we headed back out to and continued east on Route 36. We exited at Portland Road, and followed that to Hillside Ave. We took a right onto Hillside Ave, and then another right onto Ocean Street. This led us to Lighthouse Road and the Twin Lights at Navesink. Our son had a blast as this was his first time climbing a lighthouse.

From here, it was back out to Route 36, and over to Ocean Ave and Hartshome Drive north to Sandy Hook. By now, our son was into his afternoon nap. So when we arrived at the Sandy Hook Lighthouse, my wife waited in the car with my son while I took some pictures. There was a guided tour that was about to start, but given that it was thirty minutes long, and I had a sleeping son in the car with my wife, I skipped it.

While our son was still sleeping, I headed a little further north, and set out on a path towards the ocean to get a distant shot of the Romer Shoal Lighthouse. From here, it was back out of Fort Hancock, and heading south on Route 36. We followed this out to Route 35 south, and then to Route 71. At the corner of Route 71 and Beacon Ave in Sea Girt, we headed left onto Beacon Ave. to the Sea Girt Lighthouse. By now, it was almost 4:30pm, and starting to rain. After pictures, we headed back out to the Garden State Parkway, and continued south. We stopped at an Applebee's in Manahawkin for dinner, and then found a hotel for the night.

April 22, 2010

The next morning, we were up and on the road heading towards Barnegat Inlet. We took Route 72 east towards Long Beach Island. Once on Long Beach Island, we followed Route 607 (Central Ave.) north to the tip and the Barnegat Lighthouse. Rather than climbing this tower, my son and my wife played on the beach while I made the climb to the top. After spending some time at this lighthouse, we were back on Route 607 heading south. At Route 72, we followed that east to Route 9 south. This led us into Tuckerton.

Once in Tuckerton, we stopped at the Tuckerton Seaport. On site, is the recreation of the Tucker's Island Lighthouse. The original lighthouse toppled into the ocean in October of 1927. After exploring the Seaport, and climbing to the top of the lighthouse, we followed Route 9 back to the Garden State Parkway. From here, we made our way over to Atlantic City.

Once in Atlantic City, we followed Pacific Ave north to the intersection of S. Rhode Island Ave to the Absecon Lighthouse. As our son was napping, my wife waited in the car as I photographed the lighthouse, and made the climb to the top. Once I was back in the car, and we started to drive away, our son woke up, so we stopped in town for some lunch. After that, it was back to the Garden State Parkway heading and heading south.

Our next stop had us exiting at Sea Isle Blvd (Route 625) and heading into Sea Isle City. Once in town, we headed north for several blocks on Landis Ave. At the corner of Landis Ave and 35th Street is the old Ludlam Beach Lighthouse. It no longer has the lantern room, but the current owners are in the process of restoring it.

Once we left there, it was back to the Garden State Parkway. We exited at Route 147 (North Wildwood Blvd.) We followed this east to East Chestnut Ave, and then followed East Chestnut Ave towards the intersection of North Central Ave. This brought us to the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse.

After leaving the lighthouse, we followed East Chestnut Ave west to Route 621, and then followed Route 621 south to Route 47 and back to the Garden State Parkway. At the end, we made a right onto Route 109 (Sandman Blvd.). We followed this for a short distance, and then made a left onto Route 162 / Route 626 (Seashore Road), which we followed to Sunset Blvd. At Sunset Blvd., we made a right and followed this down to Sea Grove Ave. We followed Sea Grove Ave a short distance to Light House Ave. Light House Ave. led us to the Cape May Lighthouse.

The lighthouse is normally open for climbing; however, when we visited it was closed. With this, we walked to the boardwalk and over to the beach. While there, we witnessed dolphins swimming just off shore. We really enjoyed this area, and wish we could have stayed longer! By the time we left Cape May, it was already 5:30pm. Upon leaving Cape May, we followed the streets back to the Garden State Parkway, and headed north. We exited at Stone Harbor Blvd (left), which turned into Dennisville Road (Route 657). Around the Town of Dennisville, the route changes to Route 47 (Delsea Drive). We followed Delsea Drive for close to six miles, making a left onto Route 616 (Glade Road). We followed Glade Road until it changes names to East Point Road, which we followed to the end. The East Point Lighthouse would be our last lighthouse for the day. To finish up, we followed Route 47 and Route 55 into Vineland. There we stopped for dinner and found a hotel for the night.

April 23, 2010

After getting up, and checking out, we followed Route 55 north for quite a few miles, to Route 322. We then followed Route 322 west to I-295, which we followed north to exit 18. Once in Paulsboro, We took Route 667 (Delaware Street) north to Billings Ave, which we followed to Second Street and into the Ball Diamond Parking lot. This was the Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse.

Upon leaving, we headed back to I-295 and followed that south towards Pennsville, NJ. We exited at North Hook Road, and followed that south to Route 49 (South Broadway). Here we made a left, and went a short distance to Lighthouse Road, which we followed west to the Finns Point Lighthouse.

After taking several pictures of this tower, we left the area on Route 630 (Fort Mott Road) to head back out to Route 49. We then followed Route 49 into Pennsville, where we connected up with I-295 and headed across the bridge to Wilmington, Delaware. From I-295, we connected to I-495 via Route 13.

Our first stop had us exiting off of I-495 at exit 3. We were attempting to see the Bellevue Rear Range Lighthouse which sits on the grounds of the Cherry Island Landfill. From what we had read, access is usually granted onto the landfill to visit the tower. However, when we were there, access was denied due to construction that was going on at the landfill. With that, we jumped back onto I-495 north.

Our next stop was just one exit away at exit 4. This dropped us off at Hay Road, which we followed to Route 3 (Edgemoor Road). We took Route 3 to Brandywine Blvd, and then headed east to Haines Ave. A quick right onto Haines Ave, and then a quick left onto Lighthouse Road put us at the Marcus Hook Rear Range Lighthouse.

Upon leaving there, we made a left onto Lore Ave and followed that several blocks to River Road. We made a left onto River Road, and followed that to Riverside Drive. We followed Riverside Drive down to the bend, and turned into the first apartment complex parking lot on the right after the bend. At the back of that parking lot is the Cherry Island Rear Range Lighthouse.

After leaving the Cherry Island Rear Range Lighthouse, it was back onto I-495 south to exit 1. We then followed Route 13 (North Dupont Highway) south to Route 141 (East Basin Road). That led us to Route 9 (West 7th Street) which changes names to River Road after a short distance. We followed this for a bit to Grantham Lane. Making a left onto Grantham led us to Bay West Blvd. At the end of this road was the New Castle Front Range Lighthouse. Note: I didn't know this at the time, but the New Castle Rear Range Lighthouse was in a parking lot off of Grantham just on the other side of Route 9.

At this point, we decided to cut the trip short and start heading towards Hershey, PA to spend a day there before beginning the journey back home.

[ Home ]